Millennials Prefer Board Games, Gen Z Chooses Video Games: What Today’s Kids Play Outside—and Will Backyard Games Disappear?

A generational shift in play habits highlights how children’s games have evolved from traditional outdoor activities to digital entertainment. At the same time, experts emphasize that classic yard games are unlikely to disappear.

Researchers Olga Vasilyeva and Ksenia Ovsyannikova from the State University of Management examined how preferences in games differ across generations. Their findings show that the Silent Generation, born between 1924 and 1944, tended to favor physically active and team-based outdoor games such as elastics, gorodki, tag, dodgeball, and naval battle, reflecting a culture shaped by discipline and sports-oriented values. Baby Boomers, born between 1944 and 1967, grew up with limited access to toys and often engaged in imaginative and structured games such as playing house or school, as well as checkers, chess, lotto, hopscotch, and tag.

Generation X, born between 1967 and 1984, experienced a period of major social change and developed independence early. Their play combined traditional outdoor games like hide-and-seek and tag variations with the emergence of early video games such as Tetris, Dendy, and Sega. Millennials, born between 1984 and 2000, witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union, the turbulence of the 1990s, and the rise of the internet. While they continued to spend time outdoors, they increasingly gravitated toward board games and became the first generation to transition significantly toward video gaming. Generation Z, born between 2000 and 2010, grew up in a fully digital environment and largely shifted toward online communication, video games, simulators, and mobile applications.

A survey conducted by Komsomolskaya Pravda among parents of children aged 6 to 15 suggests that outdoor play remains relevant. Children from Generation Alpha still actively engage in traditional games such as tag, hide-and-seek, edible-inedible, the floor is lava, and blind man’s bluff. At the same time, they introduce modern variations, blending elements of digital culture into their play. For example, in “zombie tag,” each caught participant joins the chaser, while in “Moscow hide-and-seek,” the seeker must identify who has touched their back.
Adolescents aged 12 to 13 spend more time using smartphones, yet they remain physically active. Many continue to explore urban environments, spend time outdoors with friends, and participate in sports such as basketball and football.

Family and child psychologist Natalia Iskra notes that live play continues to play a crucial developmental role and is unlikely to disappear. She explains that play is the primary activity through which children acquire social experience, learn to interact with others, take initiative, compete, and cooperate. According to her, traditional yard games will continue to be passed down through generations, even as children adapt them to reflect their current experiences. Increasingly, elements of video games are incorporated into outdoor activities, demonstrating how children creatively reinterpret play rather than abandon it.

Despite rapid digitalization, outdoor games are not fading away but evolving. By combining long-standing traditions with modern influences, children continue to reshape how they play, ensuring that active, social games remain an essential part of childhood.

Based on materials from Komsomolskaya Pravda