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What is Ask About Games?
Ask About Games is a UK-focused online safety resource that helps parents and families understand and manage video games. It is run as a campaign by Ukie, the trade body for the UK games industry, with support from games businesses and industry stakeholders. Its stated mission is to help families navigate the world of video games safely, and it does this mainly through practical guidance rather than reviews or news.
The site is built around a four-step "Get Started" path:
- Agree boundaries first: download the Power Up Pact and talk with your children about in-game interactions, spending and time limits.
- Keep talking: use the Conversation Guide for ongoing discussions about online safety, from quick daily check-ins to deeper talks about critical thinking.
- Set up controls: follow walk-through guides for parental controls across networks, consoles, devices, apps and platforms.
- Choose age-appropriate games: browse free game guides that indicate what suits each age range.
Alongside these, the site publishes individual game guides covering titles such as EA Sports FC 25 and EA Sports FC 24, Marvel's Wolverine, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Knack 2, Heave Ho 2, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Cobalt Core and others.
Who it suits: a parent whose child has just started playing online multiplayer and who wants a structured way to set rules and controls, rather than a list of games to buy.
A practical next step: start with the Power Up Pact conversation before touching any settings — agreeing limits together tends to work better than imposing controls silently. Then use the parental-control walk-throughs for the specific console or platform in your home, and check the game guide for any title your child is asking for.
For broader UK industry context, Ukie itself publishes information at Ukie.
How do I use the Power Up Pact and Conversation Guide to set rules with my child?
Use the Power Up Pact as the agreement you build together, and the Conversation Guide as the script that gets you there. The Pact is where you record what you have mutually agreed — in-game interactions, spending and time limits. The Conversation Guide is the discussion tool for the wider online-safety topics around games, from quick daily check-ins to deeper talks about critical thinking. Neither works as a document you hand down; both work when your child helps write the rules.
A practical sequence
- Talk first, without a device in reach. Pick a calm moment, not mid-game or after an argument. Ask what your child enjoys about the games they play and who they play with.
- Use the Conversation Guide for the wider picture. Cover who they talk to, what they do when someone is unpleasant, and what they would do if a stranger asked for something. Keep it to a few minutes rather than one long lecture.
- Agree specific parameters and write them into the Power Up Pact. Vague promises fail. "Reasonable screen time" means nothing at 9pm on a Sunday; "45 minutes on school nights, 90 minutes at weekends, console off by 9pm" is checkable by both of you.
- Cover spending explicitly. Decide whether purchases need asking first, whether in-game currency is allowed, and what happens if a card is linked to the account.
- Set the technical controls afterwards. Parental controls across networks, games and consoles, devices, apps and platforms are the enforcement layer, not the starting point. The site's walk-through guides are aimed at exactly this step.
- Review it. A pact signed in September will not fit a child who has started playing online with friends in January. Revisit it when a new game, console or friendship group arrives.
What each tool is for
| Tool | Job | Best used when |
|---|---|---|
| Power Up Pact | Records mutually agreed rules on interactions, spending and time | You are ready to commit rules to writing |
| Conversation Guide | Opens up discussion about online safety in and around games | You need a starting point or a regular check-in habit |
| Parental control walk-throughs | Applies technical limits at network, console, device, app and platform level | The rules are agreed and need backing up |
| Game guides | Shows what is appropriate for each age range | You are choosing a game or responding to a request |
Choosing a game to fit the rules
The game guides indicate what is most appropriate for each age range, and the site lists titles across a wide spread — from football titles such as EA Sports FC 25 and EA Sports FC 24, through Marvel's Wolverine and LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, to smaller or more unusual picks like Knack 2, Heave Ho 2, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Drink More Glurp, Denshattack!, Darwin's Paradox!, Cobalt Core and Bubsy 4D. Use them as a filter before you agree to a purchase, not as a verdict on whether your particular child is ready.
A worked example
Your 11-year-old wants to play an online football game with voice chat. You open the Conversation Guide and ask who else is in the lobby, what happens when someone insults them, and whether they would tell you. You agree: voice chat only with people they know, no headset after 8pm, no buying player packs without asking. That goes in the Power Up Pact, both of you sign it, and you then set the console's communication and spending restrictions to match. Two months later you check the guide again, because the lobby has changed.
Decision criterion
If your child will engage in the conversation and help set the numbers, lead with the Pact and use the Conversation Guide lightly. If they shut down or the topic feels awkward, start with the Conversation Guide over several short sessions and only write the Pact once you have something you both actually accept. If you are dealing with an immediate problem — unexpected charges, contact from a stranger — skip ahead to the parental control walk-throughs and the relevant game guide, then return to the conversation when things are calm.
For background on who runs the site, the campaign is powered by Ukie, the UK games industry trade body, and supported by games businesses and industry stakeholders. You can read more at Ask About Games.
How do I set up parental controls on consoles, devices, and apps for my family?
Start with the console or device your child uses most, then work outward: platform-level controls first, then game/app-level settings, then network-level filtering if you want a backstop. Ask About Games frames this as a four-step process: agree a family pact, talk through online safety, set up controls across networks, games, consoles, devices, apps and platforms, then choose age-appropriate games. Its walk-through guides are organised around exactly those layers, which is a sensible order because a console-level setting often overrides anything you do inside a single game.
A practical setup order
- Create the child's own account. On PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo, a child account is usually managed by a parent account with its own PIN or password. This is the single most useful step, because it lets you set limits centrally rather than chasing them per game.
- Set spending controls. Require approval for purchases, remove stored payment methods from the child's profile, and turn off or password-protect in-game purchases where the option exists.
- Set time and communication limits. Decide daily or weekly play windows, and restrict who can message or voice-chat with your child — friends-only is a common middle ground.
- Layer device and app controls. Use the phone or tablet's own family settings (screen time, app limits, content restrictions) for mobile games and chat apps that sit outside the console ecosystem.
- Add network-level filtering if needed. Your router or your broadband provider's parental controls can block categories of content across every device at once — useful for younger children, less useful for teenagers with a phone data plan.
- Review the game itself. Age ratings and content descriptors tell you more than the platform settings do; the site's free game guides indicate what is appropriate for each age range.
Where the trade-offs sit
| Approach | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Console/platform family account | Younger children on one shared console | Doesn't cover mobile games or chat apps |
| Device screen-time and app limits | Phones and tablets, mixed app use | Easy to bypass if the child knows the passcode |
| Network/router filtering | Whole-home backstop for younger kids | Fails once they use mobile data or a friend's Wi-Fi |
| In-game settings | Specific titles with heavy chat or spending | Inconsistent between games; must be redone per title |
A concrete scenario
If your 10-year-old plays on a shared console and also has a tablet, set up the console child account first, then mirror the same rules in the tablet's family settings. Write the agreed limits into a short family agreement — the site provides a Power Up Pact for exactly this — so the rules are something you decided together rather than something imposed. Expect to revisit it every few months, since games update and children's social lives shift.
Next step: open the platform's own family settings page for your console, complete the child account and spending controls there, and then use Ask About Games for the conversation guide and per-game age guidance before you buy anything new. If your child is a teenager, treat the controls as a starting point for negotiation rather than a wall — the conversation usually does more work than the filter.
How can I tell if a specific game is age-appropriate for my child?
Use the age rating plus your own child’s maturity and the game’s online features. Ask About Games is built around that exact task: it offers free game guides “which indicate what is most appropriate for each age range,” along with parental-control walk-throughs and conversation tools Ask About Games.
H3 Start with the official age rating In the UK and much of Europe, look for the PEGI rating on the box, store page or console listing. PEGI age labels (3, 7, 12, 16, 18) are not a measure of difficulty; they indicate whether the content is considered suitable for that age. Content descriptors flag why a rating was given, such as violence, bad language, fear or in-game purchases. A game rated 12 may still be fine for a mature 10-year-old, while an 18-rated title is usually a firm no for a younger child.
H3 Check the free game guide Ask About Games publishes guides for individual titles, including recent and family-oriented releases such as EA Sports FC 25, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Knack 2 and Cobalt Core Ask About Games. These guides are useful because they go beyond the rating: they summarise the kind of content a parent is likely to care about and suggest an appropriate age range.
H3 Ask these questions before saying yes
- What is the PEGI rating and which content descriptors apply?
- Does it have online multiplayer, voice chat or user-generated content?
- Are there in-game purchases, loot boxes or spending prompts?
- Can I set time limits, disable chat or restrict spending?
- Will my child play alone, with friends, or with strangers?
- How does my child typically react to scary, frustrating or competitive content?
H3 Use the four-step routine Ask About Games sets out a practical sequence: agree parameters with your child using the Power Up Pact, discuss online safety with the Conversation Guide, set up parental controls across networks, games, consoles, devices, apps and platforms, and then choose a game using the free guides Ask About Games. The order matters — controls work better when your child understands the reasoning, and a conversation is more useful when you already know the game’s rating and features.
H3 Compare the evidence you have
| Source | What it tells you | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| PEGI rating and descriptors | Age suitability and reasons for the rating | Does not account for your child’s sensitivity |
| Ask About Games guide | Parent-focused summary and suggested age range | Covers selected titles, not every game |
| Store page and trailer | Actual footage, modes and monetisation | Marketing can underplay online or spending elements |
| Your child and their friends | What they want to play and why | Peer pressure can override judgement |
H3 A concrete next step Pick the exact title your child is asking for, check its PEGI rating and descriptors, then search Ask About Games for a guide to that game. If no guide exists, watch a few minutes of gameplay footage, check whether online chat and purchases are present, and set the console or platform controls before the first session. If the rating is above your child’s age and the descriptors include violence, horror or online interaction with strangers, treat that as a strong reason to wait or to choose a different title.
What tips does Ask About Games offer for managing in-game spending and screen time?
Ask About Games centres its advice on agreeing rules with your children before problems arise, rather than imposing limits afterwards. Its four-step "Get Started" path puts conversation first: families download a "Power Up Pact" and mutually agree parameters around in-game interactions, spending and time limits, then use a Conversation Guide to keep talking about online safety — described as everything from daily check-ins to deeper discussions about critical thinking.
Practical advice the site gives
- Agree spending limits together. The pact is framed as a mutual agreement, not a parental decree, which matters because children are more likely to accept a limit they helped set.
- Pair limits with regular conversation. The Conversation Guide is meant to be ongoing, so spending and time rules get revisited as games, friends and habits change.
- Back up agreements with technical controls. Step 3 walks through setting parental controls across networks, games and consoles, devices, apps and platforms — useful because a console-level limit won't catch spending inside a mobile game, and vice versa.
- Check age suitability before buying. The game guides indicate what is most appropriate for each age range, so you can judge whether a title fits your family before it becomes a spending or time issue.
A concrete way to use this
If your child plays a football game with in-game currency, treat it as three separate jobs: agree a monthly cap and what happens when it's hit (the pact), turn on purchase approvals and spending limits on the console and platform account (the controls), and check the guide for that title to see whether its content and online features suit your child's age. The site's own framing is that the conversation and the controls work together — controls alone tend to get bypassed or resented.
Where to go next
Start with the Power Up Pact and Conversation Guide if your family has no agreed rules yet, or jump straight to the parental controls walk-throughs if you already have house rules but no technical enforcement. For age-rating detail beyond the site's own guides, the pan-European PEGI ratings are the reference point UK families will see on boxes and store pages.
Who runs Ask About Games and how is it funded?
Ask About Games is run as a campaign by Ukie, the trade body for the UK video games industry, and it says the campaign is supported by games businesses and industry stakeholders. That structure matters: the guidance comes from an industry-backed organisation rather than an independent consumer charity or a regulator.
On funding, the site describes the campaign as “powered by Ukie” and supported by games businesses and industry stakeholders. It does not spell out a detailed funding breakdown on the page, so treat any specific budget or sponsor list as something to verify separately.
What this means in practice
- The site’s purpose is parent- and family-focused: helping households navigate video games and wider online safety.
- Its materials lean practical: a “Power Up Pact” for agreeing rules on in-game interactions, spending and time limits; a conversation guide; parental-control walk-throughs; and age-range game guides.
- Because it is industry-supported, it is useful for understanding mainstream, publisher-aligned advice. For an independent second opinion on a specific game or platform, cross-check with a regulator or consumer organisation.
Next step: if you want to know who specifically backs it, look for an “About Us” or campaign partners section on Ask About Games, and compare its advice with a regulator such as PEGI for age ratings or Internet Matters for broader family online-safety guidance.
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