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Parents' Guide to

PrimaryGames

By Jean Armour Polly, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Ads more primary here than the games.

Website http://primarygames.com/
PrimaryGames Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 4+

Based on 3 parent reviews

IDM
IDM Parent of 6 and 6-year-old
December 6, 2010
age 5+

Creationism, not science

The science section contains no true science. It is simply creationism hiding under a claim to be scientific. Suggestions that man and dinosaurs might have roamed the world together. Children should not be exposed to this rubbish.
E-ticket-lizabeth
E-ticket-lizabeth Parent of 5-year-old
February 1, 2010
age 2+

Fine for online, but watch the downloads!

The games on here are mostly fantastic, but my son just asked to download a Dora Carnival game. I checked out the site and it looked fine, so I told him to go ahead. When we opened it to install it, the game actually came from WildTangent, and that's a site with frequent virus problems. NO WAY am I going to let him install something from WildTangent. Primary Games needs to sponsor different sites.
See all 3 parent reviews

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What’s It About?

Created by an educator, this site aims to please kids from pre-K to fourth grade. It's arranged by subject area. There's a section for math, science, language arts, social studies, and more. A handy curriculum guide helps you choose appropriate games for each grade level. There are many other puzzles, including matching games, word searches, and sliders. Other parts of the site include printables like award certificates and coloring pages.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (7 ):

This site has created and licensed some entertaining games, but the downside is the over-the-top emphasis on ads, which cost the site at least one star in this review. In the Social Studies section, for example, you can try your hand at solving a strategy puzzle with Diego Smart. Unfortunately, the game is sponsored by a company that also tries to sell you a digital camera or printer after your game is over.

Some of the games, however, involve less advertising. In the math section there's "Da' Numba'," for example. The Tetris-like object is to click on falling tiles that add up to the target number. The clever part is that certain combinations unleash special sounds and animations, such as the "Numba Rumba." It's cute and helps kids learn to do fast mental math.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about having ads on educational sites. Do you think it distracts from learning? If a site needs to have ads, what's a good way to keep them subtle?

Website Details

  • Genre: Gaming
  • Pricing structure: Free
  • Last updated: November 15, 2019

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