Nothing gets my 9-year-old more excited than starting a new game on her Nintendo 3DS. Well, maybe a new fantasy book, but her Nintendo games are a close second.
Sophia’s current obsession are Nintendo’s Tomodachi Life and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Both 3DS games are the perfect virtual world games for girls. My gamer girl loves the characters and homes she’s created in each world so much, it’s all she can talk about. In fact, she made some videos to show you some of her favorite parts of each game.
As a parent, I love the open ended play of both games, which allows for creativity and critical thinking–important skills for my future scientist. Not only are they are great virtual world games for girls (and boys too!), parents will also love the fun, creative ways their kids will incorporate their real life into their virtual worlds.
Tomodachi Life Review & Walkthrough
Tomodachi Life gives you everything you need to create a world full of people you know (or don’t know). Sophia created a Mii character for each member of her family, the Friendship Trio (her best friends), and even some classmates. Each character is fully customizable, from hair to skin color to clothing, even their personalities and voices.
Here is Sophia and her Sophia Mii. Aren’t they cute? She loves that she can change her Mii skin tone to match her own. Not all games allow my brown-skinned girl to create an exact virtual version of herself, and she loves Tomodachi Life even more for that. She even created her brother Jaxson, who has wild hair and lives in a pizza themed apartment.
I want to live in a pizza themed apartment. Or maybe not. I might be hungry all the time.
Once created, your Mii characters can interact with other Miis and play mini-games. You can even help them solve problems and earn gifts or level up. Sophia loves making her Mii friends perform live on stage. In the video below, she shows step-by-step on how to make your Mii perform a song. (Sorry for the low sound from the 3DS):
Of course The Friendship Trio got a standing ovation from us. As they would in real life.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf Review & Walkthrough
In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Sophia plays the town’s Mayor. She must navigate her town and ensures that everything runs smoothly and her citizens are happy. She can set town rules, decide which bridges or benches to build and even decide on new cafes. Thanks to this game, Sophia’s learned to budget (those bridges costs money, I mean bells). She must decide if it’s worth to spend the money on a new project that her townspeople wants.
Sophia’s town is snow covered and decorated for the holidays! The super fun thing about Animal Crossing: New Leaf is that the game moves in real time. Meaning when it’s morning in real life, it’s morning in the game. Sometimes she plays early on Saturdays but must wait until 10AM for certain shops to open. There’s also seasonal changes and the town also celebrates holidays. This keeps the game new and fresh for her. Everyday in Animal Crossing: New Leaf is different.
We bought little brother a copy of the game so he could be Mayor too. With Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, the kids can wireless connect their devices and play in each other’s town. I love watching them play together and they get a kick out of visiting the other’s towns.
Sophia shares her review of Animal Crossing in the video below. You’ll get a mini-tour of her town and visit the Shampoodle Hair Salon. The Mayor’s hair is a mess and needs to be fixed ASAP!
Ta-da! Do you like the Mayor’s new hairdo?
Sophia the Mayor is hanging out in her customized apartment, with a carpet made of grass and flowers. Of course my gamer girl needs a pink flower to match her glasses!
Perfect Virtual World Games For Girls
I’m glad to see games like Tomodachi Life and Animal Crossing: New Leaf from Nintendo. Aside from her Nintendo Pokemon games, Sophia doesn’t care for games that involve a lot of fighting or battles. So these virtual world building games are perfect for my little gamer girl!
If you’re still searching for a holiday gift for your daughter, both Sophia and I highly recommend these Tomodachi Life and Animal Crossing: New Leaf!
Does your daughter like to play video games?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
This is really cute! My daughter loves to play games on the tablet, and I think this would be right up her alley!
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Us girls totally need this!!! I love every bit of this! When I was a little girl I LOVED games…as I got older there was nothing catered to me…this is awesomesauce!
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Girls are gamers too!
My son loves to play games on his tablet AND my iPhone.
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