But most importantly, it’s a very engaging introduction to how video game physics can work, how objects interact and bounce off the environment and yourself. Portal 2 also tells a hilarious story with award-winning dialogue. The goal of Portal is to simply get from one side of the room to the other, all while using a special gun that shoots two portals for you to travel through.

Portal 2 (Windows/MacOS): This might seem like the most advanced game so far, but mechanically it’s very simple, and like Minecraft, is a great way to acclimate to 3-D, first-person movement.

Untitled Goose Game is an excellent teacher of how to pick out important visual cues you can interact with in gaming. Your next task is a variety, including moving certain objects around to something more complicated like distracting the farmer so you could run past him. The first task, for example, is as simple as opening a farm gate. You do this by interacting with the environment.

Untitled Goose Game (all consoles, Windows/MacOS): The indie darling of 2019 is a simple, two-button game of getting a goose through a town and making mischief.

It gives you a taste of online competition in a game where almost anyone can immediately grasp the rules.

It’s another layer of pressure, but Tetris has never been an easygoing game. You’re also competing with 98 other players to see how long you can keep your screen free of blocks. You do play by yourself for the most part, but there is a competitive twist.

Tetris 99 (Nintendo Switch): It’s mostly the game you remember, and it’s free.

And because it has no enemies, no time limit and no pressure, it’s a great way to get used to 3-D movement. People of all ages play this, and it’s a great game to share with family. Cooperative play only makes an easygoing game even easier, which is in itself a reward, if only because it makes it easier to absorb the gorgeous sights and sounds. Sky is an online multiplayer game that enables only encouraging or helpful actions - actions which can be ignored, if you so choose.

Sky (iOS): Award-winning indie developer thatgamecompany is known for making beloved, easy-to-play games that are meant to stir universal emotions like curiosity and wonder.

Or you could join millions of others on already-created servers to keep playing and find your community. Once you’re acclimated to Minecraft, you could graduate to other games. And most importantly, it gives new players a low-stakes, low-stress environment to get used to moving in a 3-D space. It’s incredibly easy to run on any device, including just about any PC.

Minecraft (iOS/Android, all consoles, Windows): There’s probably no better “modern game as training wheels.” It’s history’s most popular game for several reasons.

Sims 3 fun things to do