Opinions on World of Warcraft for 12yo girl?

[Matryoshka]

My youngest (12yo) is a bit too obsessed with screens. We try to limit her time, and limit it to only after her work is done, but she is relentless. We do not have a gaming system of any kind, not even a DS, but we have in the past year or so allowed a couple of games on the PC, and then there are apps on the tablet and my smartphone that she will waste time on whenever she can get her hands on them.

 

Anyway, for 'real' games she has Minecraft and Sims on the PC. She doesn't play Minecraft much anymore since she much prefers Sims. She has played WoW a couple of times at other people's houses, and after playing it at her cousin's yesterday she asked if she could have it here. I have always been reluctant about that game because I've heard it's addictive and she already leans that way. I also know it can be played online with other people, which I wouldn't want her to do. She says she has no interest in interacting with other players, she just wants to wander around and go on quests by herself. I think this is true - i think Sims can also have that kind of interaction, and she's never shown the slightest interest. But I think you have to choose to go "out there" on Sims - is WoW like that, or is it interactive by default?

 

She's asking for the free download, not the full game. Does that limit online interaction? If it doesn't, is there a way to make it on the home machine only? Is there any redeeming value to this game at all, or is it just a big addictive time waster? Is there anything horribly inappropriate for a 12yo girl (she showed me a ratings site that had parents give it a rating of 12+, but I think the official rating is 15+?)

[Murmer]

I would not say there is anything wrong with it for a 12 year old BUT it is all online and the interaction (chat) is always on. You don't have to interact with others but some people do try to interact. I usually just say no thanks because I prefer doing it alone. There are some quests that "require" a group...I just skip them. It is not possible though to make is a solo no interaction game. I do enjoy it as an adult but I also have the ability to do just 1 quest and get off...it can be highly addicting though so you would need to set strict time limits on it if you did allow it.

[dbmamaz]

The free version is almost full. my 16 yo son has used both free and full version and he's slightly fuzzy on what you can and cant do in the free version. you cant use in-game mail, cant sell things in the in-game auction house, cant trade items with other players. But you can still chat with them and do quests with them. You cant get your character past level 20 (current max level is 90, maybe?)

 

Our whole family used to play but we all got tired of it. i mean, after several years. i miss it sometimes, but i just dont have the time. my teen will buy himself some game time 2-3 times a year, but usually tires of it before its done. He's very social, so not having anyone to play with makes him lose interest some. honestly, i loved making friends in game, but the players have trended much younger. I started playing maybe 6 years ago?

 

I dont think there is anything particularly inappropriate. She can even pretend she's a boy if she wants, no one will know. we are heavy gamers, but my youngest used to play a little when he was 3 . . . he knew if he clicked on a cow and clicked '1' he could kill the cow and hear it moo. when he was 5 he liked to make a character in a different region and kill cats to hear them meow.

 

The whole point, tho, is to do quests to level up. a lot of these quests include killing creatures or enemies, or involve gathering things in a place you will need to kill enemies in order to finish the task. but its very cartoon, no blood. you can die and you just have to run back from the graveyard, no big deal.

 

i dont think there is much in the way of redeeming qualities. its just fun. you would need to be really clear on time limits. there used to be a way to do parental controls on it, but i dont know if thats available on the free version.

[Eagle]

In WOW you are not able to avoid other players -- you are all playing in the world together. You cannot play it just on your home machine. The free trial does limit interactions in that you aren't exposed to the general chat channels, but strangers can still talk to you directly.

 

The rating is really because who knows what random strangers will say in an online game. The content of the game itself is fairly tame, although the game is about acquiring weapons and armour to be able to kill monsters and other players' characters. The violence is done in a fairly cartoony way, unlike some games out there that look realistic. There are certainly worse games out there.

 

It is an incredibly addictive game, although that is in part because of the social aspect. I would recommend that you download it and play together so you are aware of what is going on.

 

[Dana]

It's been referred to as WarCrack because of how addictive it can be.

 

I don't think I'd let my son play it at 12. He does have addictive issues with gaming though, so we've started limiting his gaming.

 

I haven't played WoW (played the original WarCraft games before they went online). I found them addictive enough without being MMORPGs :)

[Matryoshka]

Thanks everyone. I let her have it. She will be limited to 1 hour on the game computer a day after all work is completed (Windows Parental controls will let me limit that), she has no problem agreeing not to interact with others, and if she runs out of stuff to do in the free version, she's done (although it sounds like she'll have plenty to do).

[Dory]

It can be a fun and innocent enough game for a kid her age so long as she's careful who she hangs out around. When I was trying it out I ran into people who were basically trying to find people to have virtual s*x with. You are able to take clothes off in it. And I had a few people propose that I do so. I would consider letting me kid play it, but I would keep a pretty close eye on things.

[dbmamaz]

i only had one person really offensively perverted - they were walking behind my character on a path and saying they liked the way my rear was moving. of course, several of my characters were male (my youngest liked to create characters and i'd often end up playing them) and one of my 2 female toons was a gnome - not alluring lol. actually it was often fun playing w my husband because most of his characters were female and most of mine were male, so we'd be in a group with other people and . . idk, it was just funny.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I think it is fine for a 12 year old. The free version allows quite a bit of play. She should still be able to play with friends/cousins with the free version. My boys play sometimes at ages 10 and 13, they tend to lose interest after a bit and go back to other games. You can set a language filter and turn off various chat channels within the game if it makes you more comfortable. I played, I had most chat channels turned off simply because they were annoying.