Parents' guide

Before a game moves into your house

Most games are fine. Some are built to keep children playing and paying. These are the questions that tell them apart, and the settings that keep you in control either way.

Four questions to ask about any game

1. Is there a ceiling? Can you buy everything it sells and be done, or can money keep going in forever? A ceiling is the single best sign of a fair game.

2. Is anything random for money? Loot boxes, packs, gacha pulls and spins sell a chance, not a thing. That is the structure of gambling.

3. What does the game do when you stop? Timers, streaks that break, rewards that expire and friends who need you are designed to pull players back.

4. Who can talk to my child? Voice and text chat with strangers, and worlds built by other players, need settings switched on before play starts.

Games with a spending ceiling No paid randomness Low addictive design G or PG, and fair

How to read a game page

Money health is our verdict on the business model, from Fair to Harmful. It's set by the worst badge that matters, so a fair game with even a minor gambling-like feature is not rated fair.

Price-tag badges show how you pay — the business model. Hooked badges show the techniques used to keep players paying or playing. Tap any badge for a plain-English explanation of what you're actually buying.

Addictive design counts the engagement hooks built into the game, from 0 to 5. It isn't a medical measure and doesn't mean your child will get addicted: it tells you how hard the design works to bring players back.

Spending ceiling tells you whether there's a limit. "No ceiling" means the game sells things you can buy again and again — currency, boxes, boosts.

Average price is the regular price across Australian stores. For free games we show what the in-game purchases cost instead.

What age ratings do — and don't — tell you

In Australia, games are classified by the Australian Classification Board: ACBG ACBPG ACBM ACBMA 15+ ACBR 18+. Ratings judge content — violence, language, drug use, sex, gambling themes — and add consumer advice such as "in-game purchases" or "online interactivity".

Since 22 September 2024, Australian rules say a game with in-game purchases linked to chance, such as paid loot boxes, must be rated at least M, and a game with simulated gambling at least R 18+. The rule isn't retrospective, so older games can still carry lower ratings.

Overseas boards are moving the same way. North America's ESRB and Europe's PEGI flag in-game purchases and, since 2020, paid random items. PEGI's criteria from 2026 add notices for time-limited offers and pressure to play, and push games with paid random items to PEGI 16 by default.

What ratings don't do is tell you how a game is built to make money: whether it runs on timers, streaks, limited-time pressure or a shop that never runs out. A game can be rated G and still be designed around a constant stream of purchases. That's the gap the badges fill.

Switch on the controls

Every major platform lets a parent approve purchases, cap play time and filter by age rating. Set them up before the first game is installed — it's much harder to add limits later. Some games (Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft) have their own extra settings; we link those on each game's page.

Nintendo Switch 2 / Nintendo Switch

Parental Controls app + Nintendo Account ↗

Spending limits are not in the app or on the console: set eShop restrictions in the parent's Nintendo Account (family group). The free Parental Controls app sets daily play time, bedtime, age-rating presets and who your child can communicate with.