Video games have incredible potential to ignite creativity in kids, but they require the right game to be able to ensure the experience is more beneficial than mind-numbing. Just like any other tool, video games can be incredibly useful for helping kids learn to creatively engage with problems, solve puzzles, and even generate original ideas.
These games can tap into the best and brightest parts of a child’s imagination, but it’s important to see which game fits your kid’s taste, and avoid excessive or addictive behavior by creating boundaries and rules that work best for your situation and needs.
My personal selections focus on games that actively encourage creativity through open-ended play, customization, and problem-solving rather than rigid objectives or fast-paced competition. While some titles include online features or optional purchases, each title offers meaningful opportunities for your kid to build, design, experiment, and express ideas in ways that align with their interests.
As with any game, the experience will depend on how it’s used, which is why understanding each title’s creative strengths and setting clear boundaries can make all the difference.\
Here are some of the best games to encourage creativity in kids.
Minecraft
First up, Minecraft is widely hailed as the most popular game for creativity in kids and teenagers alike, and for good reason. Players are dropped into the middle of a vast world where they can gather resources, build shelter, and progress by exploring and figuring out how the game works, with very little hand-holding, opening the door for kids to play Minecraft however they choose.
And with creative mode, the entire world opens up, allowing players to build anything they can imagine, from rudimentary working calculators to expansive landscapes based on real-world locations.
How Minecraft Encourages Creativity: Minecraft is a game that fosters creativity and exploration, with an open-world design that gives children an almost unlimited canvas to create anything they can think of. There is also a thriving online community around the game, which means kids can get more ideas for their own builds. However, be mindful that Minecraft and the associated videos can be addictive.
Systems Available To Play On: PC, Xbox (One/Series X/S), PlayStation (4/5), Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
Roblox
Roblox can be a divisive video game among parents due to the online nature of most of the content, but as long as you navigate and inspect the areas of the game that your child engages with, it can be an incredible place for sparking creativity and building entire games, worlds, and spaces for a child to explore and grow.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: Roblox has an almost endless supply of user-created content available on the open market, but there are also creative spaces and offline areas where the game serves as a pure creativity engine. Just be sure to check what games your kids engage with.
Systems Available To Play On: PC, Xbox (One/Series X/S), PlayStation (4/5), Android, iOS
Super Mario Maker 2
Mario is one of the most prolific characters in the world of video games, and many parents will remember playing some edition of a Super Mario game in their own childhoods. Now, the creativity and wonder of the popular platforming game are in the hands of a younger generation, as Super Mario Maker 2 allows players to design levels from the ground up, including a variety of enemies and power-ups.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: Whether your child enjoys solving the puzzles as laid out by others, or wants to take a peek behind the curtain and get involved in the design and building of the levels, Super Mario Maker 2 is easily one of the best platforming games with unlimited potential as kids learn how to create puzzles that can be navigated and spark joy in others.
Systems Available To Play On: Nintendo Switch
LittleBigPlanet 3
The LittleBigPlanet series follows SackBoy, a blank-canvas character who exists in a world full of puzzles and places waiting to be designed, enhanced, and discovered. The levels help players to progress and learn how to customize everything, from their character to their surroundings, and with shapes, stickers, and other fun creative elements, everything is possible.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: Beyond the story mode progression, there are free play modes and spaces for kids to create their own levels and environments. As they collect more objects and textures, they can be even more creative and take their puzzle-solving skills to the next level as they create sprawling, imaginative spaces.
Systems Available To Play On: PlayStation (4/5)
Dreams
The creators of LittleBigPlanet also created Dreams, the perfect continuation of LBP that lets kids take their creativity to the next level. Beyond simple level design, Dreams incorporates music, animation, and other details that make its creative engine far more powerful and expansive.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: Dreams functions as essentially a music studio, an animation studio, a game design studio, and more, all wrapped up in a fun space that requires no coding skills to get stuck into. It’s a breeding ground for creativity that deserves so much more attention, but because it exists as a PlayStation Exclusive, it may not reach the broader audience that could make the best use of it.
Systems Available To Play On: PlayStation (4/5)
Pokopia
Pokémon has always been a giant in the game space, but recently, with the release of Pokopia, they have expanded their reach into the more creative open-world dynamic that has gone incredibly viral. While adults may turn to games like Stardew Valley, Pokopia is great for fans of the series at any age, with an expansive world to explore.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: Pokopia combines creativity with a charming storyline based on one of the biggest franchises in existence. As kids unlock new powers and befriend more Pokémon, the world opens up more and more, and the ability to create and reshape the world around them becomes increasingly unlimited.
Pokopia also made our list of the best Nintendo Switch 2 games for kids.
Systems Available To Play On: Nintendo Switch 2 Exclusive
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
While many have compared Pokopia to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the two games have fundamental differences. There is a lot more hand-holding in Animal Crossing, while it also maintains a stricter in-game calendar and timeline. There is also a limit to how certain structures, such as buildings and bridges, can be built.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: Despite the limitations, this is a wonderful, cozy game that can be enjoyed alongside kids and provides ample creativity and exploration as they unlock new features, discover new creatures, and build a thriving community full of charming animals.
Systems Available To Play On: Nintendo Switch
Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts is a unique entry in the world of video games, in which a character named Maxwell navigates various puzzles using a notepad that can bring just about anything into existence. The game opens the door to creative problem-solving, encouraging players to think outside the box and find unexpected solutions.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: As the series has progressed, so too has this game’s ability to help players truly let their imaginations run wild. Not only can you create things with a single word instruction, but it’s also possible to add other nouns and give items and creatures more characteristics that not only help to solve any issue, but also make it so much more immersive and engaging.
Systems Available To Play On: Steam, Xbox (One/Series X/S), PlayStation (4/5), Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
Toca Boca Games
If your kids don’t have a console or a PC to hand, there are also options that are primarily on mobile, such as the Toca Boca series of games. The entire series opens the door for kids to create and refine characters, spaces, and other elements, making every detail uniquely theirs. And while it is free to play, there are also expansions to the game world that can be unlocked with additional purchases.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: For an on-the-go, convenient creativity game that allows kids to put their imagination to the test, the Toca Boca series is a great option. Rather than focusing on winning or following a linear story, the games feature challenges and scenes that kids can customize, build, and redesign however they choose.
Systems Available To Play On: Mobile
Kerbal Space Program
Kerbal Space Program is a powerful game that blends quirky humor with an incredible deep dive into physics, engineering, and design. Kids can build rockets, spaceships, and other aircraft to help the race of small green aliens known as the Kerbals explore their solar system.
How Game Name Encourages Creativity: The incredibly impressive aspect of the Kerbal Space Program games is how they incorporate real-world physics and push kids to learn about how things really work and interact. There are three core modes, sandbox, science, and career, which all focus on different elements, but across the board, these are incredible games to help foster creativity, particularly in STEM.
Systems Available To Play On: PC, PlayStation (4/5), Xbox (One/Series X/S)
