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The Family Gamer Awards FGA suggests ideal games for different family age-groups: Infants, Juniors, Students, Workers, Parents and Seniors.

These awards complement PEGI's age-appropriate ratings by suggesting games each age group will enjoy. Rather than warning families about which games are inappropriate, we suggest which games each age group will get the most out of.

The games awarded for infants for example, not only contain appropriate content for 3 year olds but are also easy enough for them to play and enjoy.

Four times a year we pick the best games in each of our family age groups:

Games for Infants (3 to 6 yrs)
The best games for toddlers, very-young children and pre-school kids from 3 to 6 years old. These games work with the basics of play and should easily engage the super young players in our families. Simple and easy controls and bright colours engage young players in some educational and informative games.

New Super Mario Bros U
Buy:
UK US
2012 Autumn New Super Mario Bros U: It may look like the Wii game but the new controls and a return to classic Mario design make this a much more fully populated Mario experience. Surprises and secrets abound in this multiplayer platformer perfect for student players to crowd around.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: Autumn 2012
- Platform: WiiU version(s)

Wii-Party
Buy:
UK US
2010 Autumn Wii-Party: Wii-Party is an instant classic, intelligently designed for very young players and grownups alike. The matching animal noises to Wii-motes is ideal for toddlers and pre-school kids. The board games are great fun for infants and early-years children.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: Autumn 2010
- Platform: Wii MotionPlus version(s)
Games for Juniors (7 to 11 yrs)
The best games for primary school, junior and young children aged from 7 to 11 years old. These games provide experiences that connect with a basic joy of discovery and play. Although still simplistic they engage with a wide range of basic principles.

Skylanders Spyro's Adventure
Buy:
UK US
2011 Autumn Skylanders Spyro's Adventure: The quality of the toys and simplicity of using them to save your progress in the videogame make this ideal for junior players. The gameplay itself is like a more action focused Lego game, and again, ideally suited for pre-teens.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: Autumn 2011
- Platform: Wii 3DS 360 PS3 version(s)
Games for Teens (12 to 15 yrs)
The best games for secondary, high-school, teenagers, adolescent kids and young-adults aged from 12 to 15 years old. These games provide thrilling experiences that major on brash, loud protagonists and aim to connect with the students in our families.

Wii-Sports Resort
Buy:
UK US
2009 Summer Wii-Sports Resort: The simplicity and fidelity of control make this simply the best sports game on the Wii. Golf here gives even Tiger Woods a run for its money. Table Tennis is the most direct racket game to grace a console. Archery creates a nail biting fine tuned challenge to rival any adrenalin sport.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: Summer 2009
- Platform: Wii MotionPlus version(s)
Games for Students (16 to 17 yrs)
The best games for students, studying, college, school and young-adults aged from 16 to 17 years old. These games provide experiences that are great to share in halls, offer multiplayer thrills, or demand commitment and dedication to progress.
Games for Workers (18 and over)
The best games for those with full time jobs, workers, 9-to-5-ers, employed hard-core gamers 18 years and over. These games provide more of a challenge in both dexterity and problem solving. They are often more about strong single player experiences that hard working hard core gamers. Although these are often longer experiences that are also ideal to switch off and chill out after a long day at the office.

Legend of Zelda Twighlight Princess
Buy:
UK US
2006 Legend of Zelda Twighlight Princess: It is the scale of Zelda that makes it so enjoyable to play. Twighlight Princess introduces a magical world, already familiar to players of the previous games, in which to play. You progress through a series of dungeons with a new weapon or gadget near the entrance that leads to a variety of puzzles. The adventuring spirit it captures and the sheer amount of time and effort to complete it make this ideal for student gamers.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: 2006
- Platform: Wii version(s)
Games for Parents
The best games for parents, mums, dads, carers, aunties and uncles. These games connect with the gamer on a more mature level. Story driven and often open ended, the experiences here provide space to play with complex issues and engage in moral dilemmas. Either that or to escape the grind of the work/home balance.

Mirror's Edge
Buy:
UK US
2008 Winter Mirror's Edge: This game takes a familiar platforming genre and introduces a first person perspective. What results is a brilliant and unique experience that is as much about how we interact with our environment as it is about shooting the bad guys.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: Winter 2008
- Platform: PS3 360 PC version(s)

Endless Ocean
Buy:
UK US
2007 Spring Endless Ocean: The slower pace of simple diving exploration belies an expansive and enthralling world to discover. Intrigue and mystery develop alongside stomach tingling underwater vistas and impressive sea bound fish and mammals.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: Spring 2007
- Platform: Wii version(s)

Ico
Buy:
UK US
2005 Ico: An enchanting puzzle game with a grown up theme -- lost children in dangerous spaces. The gameplay is a cross between platforming and puzzling, but is it the experience of controlling two lost children as they lead each other to safety that makes this such a compelling play for parents. (Later released on the PlayStation 3 in HD).
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: 2005
- Platform: PS2 PS3 version(s)

Legend of Zelda The Four Swords
Buy:
UK US
2004 Legend of Zelda The Four Swords: Not only is this a simple way to start playing Zelda adventure games, but by connecting four GBA consoles and using them to control the multiplayer this creates some of the most unique family gameplay we've seen.
Family Gamer Award Details
- Award: Game of the Year
- Date: 2004
- Platform: Gamecube GBA version(s)
Games for Grandparents
The best games for grandparents, older, senior, grown-up, mature, retired and wiser people. These games provide a slightly slower, although no less challenging experience. Time and consideration are of the essence as our most senior gamers enjoy interacting with other players and perfecting their approach.

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