Start assimilating your munchkins

101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up, a recently released book aimed at kids aged 8-12, is a great way to start brainwashing the little gamer in your life into joining us. Author Ben Bertoli has assembled a great list of age-appropriate games that will give kids an amazingly complete introduction into different game systems and genres.

The surprisingly deep list of games covered includes beloved classic RPGS (EarthBound, Chrono Trigger), more recent releases with exclamation marks (BoxBoy!, Guacamelee!), and indie greats (Costume Quest, Bit.Trip).

Each game included has a page or two dedicated to detailing its features, history, and further gaming suggestions if the kid takes a particular shine to the game or genre. The illustrations and layout are kid friendly and fun.

The book itself is well constructed, featuring a Flexibound binding and glossy pages, giving a higher quality look and feel than one might expect for the price. My four-year-old drags our copy around the house and leaves it laying around everywhere. After a couple of weeks of wear, the book is holding up quite well.

101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up is available from most major book sellers. For a list of games featured, check out the images on the Amazon page here: