Beyond Princess Peach: Video Games for Young Girls

💭 Rebel Princess reflections

Like many of you, my first experience playing video games was with Super Mario Bros. 🍄 Unlike many of you, I stopped playing very early. Since my last game (NBA Jam), consoles have exploded in quality, from 8-bit chunkiness to 4k clarity. So when my daughter started expressing interest after trying her friend's Switch, I was suddenly out of my depth. Of course, I fell into a weeks-long research deep dive. 🤓 

I know that my daughter will eventually discover the Mushroom Kingdom, where the narrative is driven by boys and the token female is still the trope of a damsel in distress in a tower. 🏰 My job is to just diversify the content that she consumes. Because, these early impressions matter. They shape how kids internalize who gets to do things and who gets rescued. 🦸‍♀️

In the end, we settled on our first video game - Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. It’s a gentle adventure starring a little girl exploring an island, snapping photos of wildlife 📸, and going on side quests like saving a stranded dolphin. 🐬 Agency, curiosity, and a bit of environmental stewardship!

We all want our kids to enjoy what we loved growing up. Ironically, I’m realizing that most of the content that we loved… is exactly what we need to avoid as parents of Rebel Princesses. ⚠️

🎮 Top 3 Video Game Recommendations for Rebel Princesses

For 4-8 years old:

• Alba (Console) - A gentle, sun-soaked eco-quest where young Alba shows kids that activism starts small and bravery can look like caring loudly.

• Carto (Console) - A cozy map-shifting adventure that celebrates curiosity as a superpower and reminds little girls that they can literally reshape their world.

• Monument Valley (Mobile) - A breathtaking puzzle journey where Princess Ida quietly rewrites the rules - proof that grace and grit can go hand in hand.

For 9-12 years old:

• Röki (Console) - A Nordic fairytale quest where Tove’s bravery and tenderness carry her through monsters and myth - an ode to big feelings and even bigger courage.

• Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori (PC) - A magical Mongolian riding adventure that features a fearless girl and her horse, teaching kids that partnership beats domination every time.

• Sky: Children of the Light (Mobile) - A dreamy, heart-led adventure where kids learn that kindness, collaboration, and a little courage can light up even the darkest skies.

 📢 Gamer parents wanted: please share your tips!

I believe that the best we can do is to offer our Rebel Princesses varied inputs: a wider range of narratives to choose from and more room to see themselves as the heroes in their own stories.

This is exactly why this newsletter exists. It’s the easiest way to discover high-quality content you might never reach for naturally - genres you don’t consume, platforms you don’t follow, creators you’d never stumble across. Think of it as a curated shortcut to fresh ideas, formats, and worlds that can expand your daughter’s imagination without requiring you to index the entire universe of kid culture. 💡

Of course, this only works if I am transparent about the content I don’t normally consume and actively gather feedback from those who do. So Gamer Parents, please share your recos or refer us to your Gamer Parent friends. 🙏

⏭️ Other Rebel Princess Certified Content

Especially for families with zero screen time, we recommend the following:

• 📖 Top 5 Book Recommendations: From a board book series redefining what it means to be a princess to a chapter book series about a Japanese-American 8-year old navigating family traditions, friendships and personal growth

• 🎲 Top 5 Board Game Recommendations: From an Uno-like game with math and totally suitable theme of Queens saving Kings to a resource management game played in Marie Curie’s life timeline and helping her win her double Nobel Prize!

Dedicated to our Trailblazers in Tiaras,

Rebel Princess Dad