Brawl Stars
Fast cartoon team battles on the phone, with a shop that never takes a break.
Matches take under three minutes, and that's exactly what makes the game hard to put down: there's always time for one more. But because every match is equally short, an agreement on a number of matches actually holds here. Ten matches is half an hour, and the ending is known before you start.
The limits by age, and the moves that make them stick: Screen time for kids and teens, a complete guide.
The most important things to know
Brawl Stars is fast three-on-three battles in cartoon style from Supercell, the company behind Clash of Clans. It lives almost entirely on the phone, and in the Norwegian Media Authority's survey it's among the games most Norwegian children report playing, especially boys of primary school age. If you've never heard of it, that's because it never passes through the living room TV.
The age labels are low (9+ in the App Store, PEGI 7 on Google Play) because the violence is bloodless cartoon stuff. What the labels don't capture is the tempo of the shop: multiple currencies, daily offers on countdown timers and a season pass with a deadline.
Chat is limited to team chat and emojis, and ugly talk happens there, as it does everywhere. The most important setting is switching text chat off for the youngest, and it sits inside the game itself.
What's positive about Brawl Stars for your child?
Matches are short, skill counts for more than purchases once the match starts, and the team feeling is real: kids play in clubs with their classmates, and it looks more like collaborative play than war. As mobile games go, this is one of the better ones.
How can Brawl Stars affect your child negatively?
The shop is the engine of the game: offers that “expire” on a countdown, currencies that obscure what things cost and a Brawl Pass that rewards logging in every day. All of it legal, all of it standard, all of it designed to be hard to resist.
The progression is built for daily use, and for a child “I want to play” slides easily into “I have to check in”. It's the streaks mechanic wearing game currency.
Settings you set together
- A purchase block on the phone (require approval for every purchase), on iOS and Android alike.
- Switch off text chat in the game's settings for the youngest. Supercell's parent guide shows how.
- Agree a number of matches per session, and let your child propose the number first.
Ask your child about the game
- Which brawler is your main at the moment, and what made you pick that one?
- Which brawler has the most trophies on your account, and how did you get it that far?
- Showdown or Gem Grab, which do you prefer, and why that one?
- If you were running Supercell, what would you do about the shop?
Glossary
- brawler
- A character to play as, each with its own attack and super. There are dozens, unlocked by playing or paying, and most kids have a favourite they call their main.
- trophies
- Points won and lost with every match, counted per brawler and totalled on the profile. The total is the status symbol, and it gets compared at break time.
- gems
- The main real-money currency, also trickling in slowly from play. Gems buy brawlers, skins and the Brawl Pass, and pricing things in gems blurs what they cost.
- Brawl Pass
- The season pass with a deadline: rewards for playing through the season, with a paid tier that pays out more. It rewards logging in daily, which is the point of it.
- club
- A group of up to 30 players with its own chat and club events. Kids join clubs with classmates, and this is where the social side of the game lives.
- Showdown and Gem Grab
- The two classic modes: Showdown is a last-one-standing fight, alone or in pairs, while Gem Grab has two teams of three fighting to hold ten gems until a countdown runs out.
- star power and gadget
- Upgrades that give a brawler an extra trick, unlocked at higher levels and bought with the in-game coins. The gap between brawlers with and without them is felt in every match.
- hypercharge
- A brawler's super turned up to full for a few seconds. One of the newer and pricier upgrades, and a reason many kids ask for gems.
- Starr Drop
- A box earned by playing that opens into a random reward, from a few coins to a rare skin. A loot box under a friendlier name, with an opening built to feel like a win.
Sources
The whole mindset behind the guide, with the research and the open-door principle: Kids and social media, a parent's guide
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