RuneScape (http://www.runescape.com/)

common sense media says

Medieval multiplayer game isn't for all kids.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that RuneScape discussion forums can be read by anyone, but only paying members can post messages. Some of the topics contain barely disguised vulgarities and sexual references, though there are moderators who keep an eye on things and who can ban users who get too out of line. Under the terms and conditions agreed to at sign-up, players must use the chat feature only as an extension of their role-playing activities. The terms and conditions document warns against inappropriate behavior, and extensive instructions are given to help the user block unwanted communications using the built-in game functions. Combat and dueling is an important part of the game; however, according to passionate discussions in the forum, there is a lot of cold-blooded murder going on, too.

Educational value: Meant to entertain rather than educate.
Positive messages: Overall, this is a supportive community whose passion for the game can verge on the fanatical. The site makes a real effort to ban abusive behavior and to encourage families to play together.
Violence: The game involves combat between monsters and other players.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: Occasional mild swearing could come up on the forums, but mostly this passionate community is interested in playing and discussing the game, not trash talking. Swearing during gameplay is bleeped out by a filter. Offenders are banned.
Consumerism: There are ads on the site, but its main support comes through subscriptions -- although you can play for free. An online store sells RuneScape T-shirts, but the link is not prominently displayed.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Ale, stout, wine...but drinking does affect your combat skills.
Privacy & safety: To register, you need to provide a username, password, date of birth, and country of residence; email address is optional (as is subscribing to newsletters, special offers, etc.). However, while players are not required to submit much information to register, the site's privacy policy indicates that RuneScape collects additional information to track users' behavior, and shares some of this information with third parties such as advertisers. The game is not intended for children under 13, although the site acknowledges that there are players younger than 13 on the site. These players can't use the free chat feature and are limited to QuickChat, which allows them to converse with pre-selected language, unless a parent submits a consent form. Parents who want to allow kids under 13 to have full access to the site's chat features must complete a parental consent form.

More on RuneScape

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the pros and cons of this game. What do you learn that may be valuable in the real world? How do you feel about the violent aspects of the game?
  • Families can also talk about online chat. Should parents give kids under age 13 permission to use the site's full chat features? Why or why not?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Teens and tweens, especially boys, will be fascinated by this role-playing game. But parents should look over their shoulders and see what's really going on. Is the player slaying dragons or other humans? It is possible to play this fascinating game without the murder and mayhem, so RuneScape gets a cautionary yellow for "know your kid."

Online interaction: There's lots of online interaction in this immensely popular, global massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Swearing is discouraged, if not outright forbidden. The interactions can be impassioned -- borne of a love of the game -- but aren't mean-spirited.


This review was written by Jean Armour Polly
 
 

Review It

 

Review RuneScape





Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
 

What parents & educators say

11

Most useful reviews by all members

 
Play first, then judge
This is a game that is massive. It litterally has no end; it could go on forever. Believe it, this game is actually educational. There was a study done on this game and it showed people that played had an increased knowledge of personal finance and time management. There is some drinking in the game, but it isn't an issue because your attack is slowed. If you have patience, you will enjoy this game 10 times more. This game keeps my mind occupied but exercises it at the same time. Its not just senseless killing, its a thriving world with endless possibilities.

 
RuneScape is a great, safe, and fun game for kids.
I am a mother of two boys, and my older son plays RuneScape. I have watched him several times, and I have no concern whatsoever about this game. There is minimum violence, but compared to all the violence in the real world, RuneScape violence does not seem to stand out at all. There is no blood at all, and swords or daggers don't even touch the opponent. There is alcohol, but drinking does lower your strength, and my son says that this is not a good thing. Therefore, the alcohol issue is not that big. The game does teach kids to save up for what they want, and teamwork is required in many minigames. There is almost no swearing, for curses will be blocked and will show up as little stars. For offensive players, moderators wander around RuneScape, banning them. The game is a little addictive for my son, but ever since I installed parental controls so that he has limited computer time, he has been doing just fine. Personally, I think this game is a fun, sometimes educational, and overall, a pretty great game. For my son, RuneScape is a great replacement for World of Warcraft, which I recently banned him from due to innapropriate content.

 
And 5th graders parents let them play Grand Theft...
And complain about Runescape!!! I am a 45 yr mother and have let my daughter play (free) Runescape for 4 years now....she's turning 13 in September. I have no problem with that game. She know's it's just a game (not to mention it's all midieval) It's not like she's going out and jacking cars and killing cops......put it in perspective. Some kids play Grand Theft and think it's ok to go out and do it in real life......Kids playing Ruinscape are more likely to be cutting down trees or doing quests..

jeffjeffjeff
teen, 17 years old
 
Its realy fun.
K, I dont understand why some poeple put drinking as a problem? lol... in runescape you can drink bear, ale, and wiskey but its not like it does anything? just a item and all you do is drink to give more hit points.. you cant get drunk... on a different note, runescape is my favorate game. i got 600M and im lvl 132. i played 8 yrs and found to problem with it ever... seriously parents, i advice 7+ even though i dont want them on becuz they will just annoy me =P

theguywhowants ...
kid, 12 years old
 
poifect for ages 0 and up!
yeah this game is AWSOME!

redpin
teen, 16 years old
 
Good for first timers to mmo's
It is quite mild but since PvP has been abandonded its not that fun. It is fun for A while but the lack of updates makes it boring over time. PLAY BEFORE PLAYING THE MMORPG MABINOGI THIS GAME IS SIMPLE (NON-MEMBER VERSION) TO GIVE YOU THE FEEL OF AN MMORPG IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ONE BEFORE.

GamerX
kid, 13 years old
 
Helps improve life skills
This is the most popular game on the internet is what I heard and would probably say. When the website was older I saw it saying that RuneScape is a game that teaches some life skills, but that line is now long forgotten. I would still say this is helpfull in learning... stuff. When I first started playing I didn't know anything about ores on Earth, but after a while, in school I became better at identifying ores and rocks! The players are barely innapropriate, although sometimes they use the term "noob" in a harsh way. I'd say this is recomended for people learning at an age of 9 or higher.

Game Reveiwer
teen, 17 years old
 
Okay for teens, you decide for anyone younger.
It has it's bad parts, and some younger kids shouldn't play it. It does have beer in it, but no drugs or smoking. Every now and then a player can slip in a cuss word past the state of the art blocker. My younger brother plays, and he did learn to type, spell, and read much better than he use to. I did as well, but not by much.

SwedishAvian
kid, 13 years old
 
Good (Not Great)
It is a good (not great) game. The is no blood or extreme violence, but there are some issues. One is that there are sexual issues in gameplay. Partial nudity posses a problem in the game. I'm a Runescape player myself and I have seen or read about details in the game.

Object1to100
teen, 15 years old
 
Runescape*
Love runescape and have played for 5 years. The review is not up to date by saying that bad language is bleeped with *s. Now you can have filter on or off. On violent content topic the review says Player vs. Monster. There is also Player vs. Player. Still no problem with the game, Always being updated, and over 2 billion players.

Airconditioner4
teen, 17 years old
 
Wait, runescape is PG-13? there is no serious violence, and the fights do not involve blood, just a few wacks and falling over. Why do people think this game is not for kids? You guys at common sense media suck at rating.

Remacno
adult
 
About RS
I joined RS in their opening year a really long time ago. At first, it did not interest me, as I was not into the whole MMORPG thing. In recent years, after I have left my account alone all these years, got back into playing it. There are many fun things to do, various quests and constant event updates for holidays and such. I would have to say that my favorite thing about it is the members options should you choose to become a member. $5 a month isn't that bad and it sure as heck beats WoW in that manner. Lol But to be perfectly honest, the game is only fun if you decide to pay the $5 a month since you can travel further, learn more spells and work on more skills and get a wide variety of ever expanding quests to work which will keep you busy for a very long time. I would say that this is a great site to join if you are willing to pay for a membership as there are many more things to do than non members. However, should you join, work on being a free member for a while and clear all of the free quests so that you don't have to waste the membership cost on getting to the levels to do the members quests.

Judging Ryan
teen, 15 years old
 
A Bit More Challenging And Mature Game
Well, I believe that it should be for ages 10 and up for many reasons. First, when I was still in elementary and under 10, I LOVED Pokemon. But once I got over, I got teased more because Pokemon is a little kid game and I was becoming more older. But, I am not saying that Pokemon isn't fun, it still is. But back to the first reason, RuneScape is more mature than Pokemon and I'd advise people who like duelling/fighting/battling in games to change from Pokemon to RuneScape because Pokemon teaches kids the little kid lessons fast. So, RuneScape will teach the kids stuff that older kids like them should know, like puzzles (For example in the RuneScape minigame, Barrows, before a player can enter a door, they may have to solve a puzzle, most commonly sequences). Another reason is because kids shouldn't get into the habit of playing games where they control creatures or very small people in those small game consoles. RuneScape is a bigger world, more challenges and they play a role as an avatar who isn't a creature and isn't small. Though, it's still not real. So if a kid always thinks that there are creatures like Pikachu in the world, that wouldn't be fun, right? That's what I think, I just play it to look at the creatures and draw them, that's all I play Pokemon for now. And last, the life lessons. You, adults, may notice improvements in your child's education because when you chat to others, kids may learn new words and talk more mature than a little kid. BUT, if your kids are equal or dropping in education or using bad words that they are learning in the game, I would either watch them for some time on a daily schedule to monitor them, or if you have to leave the house for something and leave your kid, find a way to make sure they can't access the computer. When I was in elementary, I never did the work in school and got bad grades. But now, after playing RuneScape (membership) for awhile, my grades improved and I am more mature and social. But, let's not forget the main thing that kids should do for RuneScape. Give RuneScape a break and have your kids or you or both get outside and get active. And, if they are really into a creature or an avatar in RuneScape, have them draw it. Well, parents, I hope you and your kid(s) have a great time with RuneScape and going outside for a break. Thank you for reading! :)

 
I only gave it language because it's an online game. It's fun and exciting, nothing bad, except for as soon as you get in to this, you will become a "Warcraft Nerd." Be warned!

RunescapeFan
teen, 17 years old
 
Be mature.
The game is fine if you are mature. The community can actually teach social skills. However, the game monsters can be a little scary for younger kids.

Tom N.
teen, 15 years old
 
Good for children of almost every age!
It's a great game to play, very fun with many thing to do. There are a few things that parent(s) should be concerned about, for example, the use of drugs & every once in a while you may hear a bad word or two from a player who happens to slip past the world filter, but that's a rare occasion, and in the event that this happens the player(most of the time) will recieve a 24-48 hour mute, or a permanent mute/temporary ban/permanent ban ;) It's also a lil' educational seeing as players learn to speak to other players, that is, if they're over 13 and have the privilige of talking to others(this is a parental feature in Runescape implented a few years back.

ashowiscool
teen, 14 years old
 
Runescape isn't really that bad, the only reason I say 13 and up is because of the age block, but I would let my six year old cousin use my account. Why? Frankly, because he's not stupid. That's the real issue, being stupid. If you're stupid enough to give out personal information then just get off the internet because you're making my school and my parents on my tail about it.

skyheart15
teen, 16 years old
 
Great site, appropriate for anyone ages 8 and up
Best site of its kind. Extremely fun. All swear words bleeped out. Very well moderated. Free chat, but most of it is about hte game, not real life chat. Fighting is all fantasy style. Although most killing is of monsters, killing people- NPC (a computer "non-played character") or PvP (player versus player) also plays a large part, however, I would recommend it to any kid 8+ as a safe and appropriate site.

Ckmj824
adult
 
Now, as you can tell, I'm an adult, and I do play Runescape in my spare time while not a work. For younger kids, this is a little "off", there are many skeletons, goblins, and spiders that younger children may find scary. Runescape also contains a lot of strategy and mind-working skills which may be again, difficult for younger children. One of the quests that requires strategy is a quest were you need to get a pirate some rum from another island, but the island has a law that you cannot carry alcohol on their ships anymore (you travel to the island on a ship, this game is not so much like todays world) so you have to "smuggle" the rum into a crate of bananas. Now you see, younger children wouldn't actually see this catch. Speaking of rum, there is a lot of alcohol in the game. Beer, wine, rum, etc. etc. There are also drunken NPCs (non player characters) such as drunken men in various bars. The men wobble around when walking and when you talk to them they say "i see two of you" and other odd things. There's also the "drunken dwarf" which appears at random times, if a player talks to him, the dwarf will give the player a free kebab and beer. Swear words and inappropriate language are bleeped out with "*" There are lots of scams in this game, there are players who stand in trading areas and say things such as, "Join clan chat FreeGP and make millions of coins" (clan chats are chats were groups of players & friends can talk privately) There are not only scams in the real game, but outside of the game too. Some people say they are game moderators and if you give them your username and password they will get your player to level 138 (high level in the game) and all your skills to 99 (highest level you can get your skills to) Don't let your child fling the keys over to this person who is lying. Never let your child's passwords on ANY website fall into the hands of someone all the way across the country. What these people will do? Hack and or ban your account. You just have to play Runescape in a safe way to have an enjoyable time.

 
Perfect for adults, but not for kids or teens
I don't like it. It hogs the hard drive. There is no way you can play that game. You want a membership? It charges monthly fees. It should not be on the Internet. You have to be an adult to join.

An independent voice for families
Age-appropriate reviews
 

vote now

Will you visit RuneScape?


Already visited it? What do you think?

 

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors


About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age