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Parents' Guide to

Free Realms

By Carolyn Koh, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Beautiful MMORPG lets kids have fun safely.

Game Windows , Mac 2009
Free Realms Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 12 parent reviews

shadowsoinc
shadowsoinc Parent of 18+-year-old
March 28, 2022
age 18+
OH MY GOD THIS IS BEST GAME EVER oh my god i remmber when i play the game when i am kids ever time i feel like play new World is a so cool
Carriena
Carriena Adult
September 27, 2013
age 7+

Kid-Friendly Game!

Well, my kid, she is 10 years old, she has played Free Realms, and she absolutely loves it. Here are pros of Free Realms: Membership: Membership on Free Realms is very cheap, and forget paying 70 dollars a month for lifetime, for a lifetime membership it only costs $35.00 and it's a ONE TIME PAYMENT! I consider this very cheap, compared to other games my 10 year old plays. Gameplay: The quality is very good, it is 3D and kids can easily make friends here. Free Realms is a mostly kid-friendly game. (See "cons" of Free Realms.) Appearance: At first in Free Realms, as you know, you may choose a human or a pixie to represent you in-game. There are different types of make-up and face paint, not to mention beards and mustache(s) for boys! The hair choices are nice too. There are up-dos, and long hair, even short hair. For the pixies, there are also different wing patterns you can choose from. As for clothing, they do not have skirts, but they do have shorts. Fortunately, they only have three pairs that my daughter has mentioned and from what I have seen, they are all appropriate, meaning they do not show off her player's butt or anything. The shirts are appropriate, though they do have "midriff" shirts as my daughter says they are called. Though they do have these shirts, they do have things that can cover their bellies. Social: Con: Well, there is a very strong filter on Free Realms, I have seen before when my 10 year old was in the bathroom, I walked by the computer, and there were girls saying, "i need a dayt" and "dayum" and other ways around the chat filter. Pros: This is a very nice game for social activity, as I said before, they have a very strong filter, it blocks numbers, and there are no sexual words or activities allowed, no swearing, (though players have partially gotten past that roadblock) nothing inappropriate or unsuitable for kids. In-game currency: The currency in Free Realms are Coins and Station Cash. Coins are currency that you can earn while you do battles, open chests, etc. etc. Station Cash: Station Cash costs money. Though you can get game cards or just pay through the game from your credit card. It is completely safe, they do not scam, they do not steal your money, nothing negative. My daughter has had no complaints that she didn't get her station cash, or got something she didn't like. In a short description: Free Realms is a kid-friendly game that is appropriate for almost all ages!
See all 12 parent reviews

What’s It About?

FREE REALMS is an MMORPG – a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game created by veteran MMORPG studios, Sony Online Entertainment. It is targeted at children 10 to 14 and their families. Children choose a character –- either human or pixie -- to represent them in the game. They are free to explore this wide open world as they wish and play it in the way they want to choosing to take on jobs, going on missions, fighting others, and/or playing minigames.

The game is flash based and played through the Free Realms website. All character creation is done on the website and once satisfied with the character and the name, clicking play launches a new window and the character arrives in the world. Movement and most actions in the world are accomplished by mouse click. Others are automatic, such as teleporting to certain points in the world you've visited by clicking on that point in the map, and obtaining rewards.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12 ):
Kids say (66 ):

The website is like a social networking page where children can share their likes and dislikes, links, and messages. This, however, can be controlled by the parent. The choices for things to do in game are very broad. The child can simply run around, exploring the land, or learn a job by doing a task. Each job has its own associated outfit and the character is automatically dressed for the job. Combat in Free Realms is also a choice as well.



The world is massive and the quests or tasks available in any area are plentiful. Younger children may get confused when faced with so many choices; parents may want to assist or play along to provide a little focus. Because there is so much choice within the game, this game will appeal to kids, but adults playing with their children will not be bored. This is a game that can keep families entertained for many, many hours.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can calk about why games are not truly "free." How do the game developers make money in this game? Families can also talk about choices, why one may wish to focus on certain jobs in the game, be a jack-of-all-trades, or try playing every one of them, or not many at all. Why are jobs and skills something that has to be learned? Why does experience help?

Game Details

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