If you are a parent with young kids it’s only a matter of time before you hear the name Roblox. It feels like just yesterday we installed the gaming platform and started playing games. Today our kids are constantly playing Roblox and we are part of the Roblox YouTube community sharing our gameplay with others.
If you are trying to figure out what in the world is going on with this game that has grabbed so much of your young kids, teens or tweens attention, this parents guide to Roblox is for you.
What is Roblox Exactly?
Created way back in 2006 Roblox is a free (you can make in game purchases) game creation platform for massively multiplayer online gaming. What does that mean? It means with Roblox downloaded and installed on one of the many supported operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, XBox One) you can play 3D games against other players all around the world.
The Roblox Corporation provides both the gaming software to play these games and game creation software called Roblox Studio for developers to make games. In essence Roblox is a platform. Just like Facebook is a place for users to put up their own content Roblox is a place for developers to make and share games that other people can play.
Who is Playing Roblox
In 2021 Roblox had 39.6M daily active users . 67% of Roblox users are under the age of 16. 25% are under 9. According to Roblox Corporation 54.86% of daily active users are under 13 years old as of 2020 and 72% of these users are connecting on mobile devices. Only 25% are on desktops and 3% on consoles.
What Can You Do in Roblox
Roblox is all about playing games. While there are many different types of games, below are some of the most popular game types.
Maze Games – There are many different types of maze games in Roblox. Some involve random gameplay, others involve having to unlock doors with keys while avoiding other characters. Piggy is a great example of this type of game.
Cartoon 3D Shooters & Tower Defense – Think of slightly less graphically violent but still fun games where players use projectiles (guns, missiles, bombs, paintball guns, marbles) to destroy other players or their defenses. War of Colors is a good example of a classic Roblox tower defense game.
Obbys – These are obstacle courses where you jump across platforms, avoid obstacles and sometimes solve puzzles in order to reach the end of the game.
Roleplay & Open World Games– One of the interesting things many players do is roleplay. This is similar to what children do in real life. They come up with characters, scenarios and world rules. There are many popular Roblox games like Welcome to Bloxburg!, Adopt Me!, Feather Family and Royale High that provide both virtual communal spaces (Castles, Parks, Malls, Farms, Hospitals) and private spaces like homes where players can setup their scenes.
Simulators & Tycoons – These games provide users with the ability to live out different experiences. Many simulate real-world activities including jobs. Games like Work at a Pizza Place, Bee Swarm Simulator, Big Brain Simulator. Typically users have to perform repetitive tasks in order to earn points or money (in game currency). Doing so unlocks tools or other items that increase a players ability to meet new objectives and unlock new items.
Tycoons are another part of this. They involve doing repetitive tasks to gain points that can be used to build forts or spaces and unlock accessories. Princess Tycoon, Super Hero Tycoon and others are examples.
Story Games – Largely driven by the horror genre story games involve participating in an interactive choose your own adventure style story. A premise “you’re stuck on an airplane because of a monster” starts a narrative. Players have to perform tasks to survive or move the narrative forward. Usually there are options presented to the players that will take the group toward different endings (good, bad and other endings). The Airplane series is one of the most popular that has spawned several different sub story games that all tie into the larger narrative. Airplane, Airplane 2, Airplane 3, Airplane 4, Cruise Ship Story.
Styling Your Avatars – In addition to playing games users can customize their avatars with both unpaid and paid outfits and accessories. Developers can create clothes, faces, backpacks and other gear and sell them in the Roblox avatar shop. Additionally many games offer in-game opportunities to customize players avatars.
Chat & Friending People on Roblox
Massively multiplayer online games allow users to play with people all over the world. A chat feature is available in most Roblox games. This allows players to talk with one another. Roblox puts forward a great deal of effort to try and keep chat clean of swear words and to moderate bullying, dating and sexual content. However players put a great deal of energy forward to try and get around it. If you’ve heard horror stories about Roblox, chat is involved.
Of all the areas of concern this should be the largest for parents. Chat can be disabled outright for players but at present it is all or nothing. You cannot block chat from specific games or block specific types of chatting.
Most kids will want to “friend” their real-life family members, classmates and others. This can be done easily. The problem is, online bullying, kids feeling left out and other problems.
Where Can I Download Roblox?
One of the amazing things about the platform is how widely available it is.
You can play Roblox on mobile including Android and iOS (Apple) products. That means phones, iPads and other tablets. All players, regardless of devices, can connect with each other meaning mobile gammers can interact with PC and console gamers exactly the same. Just search the Apple App Store or Android Store for
Mobile & Tablet: You can also play Roblox on PC (Windows), Mac or Linux. You download Roblox from the web or through the Windows store. Then you open up a web browser, go to Roblox.com and then select your game. Once selected the program will open up and you can play with a keyboard and mouse or a game controller.
Computer Gaming: The Windows version of Roblox actually has two different versions. One is available in the Windows app store, the other is a downloadable .exe installer. While they both give you access to different games, the one main difference we’ve found is the Windows app will let you use touch screen controls. The executable does not. If you are planning on playing with a touch screen on a computer, use that.
Console: Roblox is also available on XBox and Playstation.
Nintendo Switch: Sorry, Roblox is NOT available on the Nintendo Switch and it likely never will be.
What are the Most Popular Roblox Games?
There are thousands of Roblox games out there. A few consistently attract a large number of players. These include Adopt M and Jailbreak.
Who Makes Roblox Games?
It’s important to remember that Roblox is a platform that makes very little of its own games. Think of it like Facebook or Twitter. Both companies run platforms where people go to post their content. While each have their own active pages almost all of the content on both sites is generated by non-employees.
Independent game developers generate almost all of the games available.
All About Roblox Stock
In March 2021 Roblox became a public company that issues stock available for purchase by the public. The gaming platform is massive and has seen enormous growth over the years. Anyone who would like to bet that the company will continue to maintain and possibly further grow the platform can purchase shares of the company.
There has been a lot of interest from parents and grandparents in purchasing Roblox stock for their young family members either as a long-term investment or as a way to teach them about the stock market.
We are not financial advisors and make no recommendations on whether doing so is a good idea. We provide the links below to you
