How to Design a Child-Friendly Gaming Website Without Manipulative Features

Children use game sites without reading terms, spotting fake buttons or understanding why a timer is counting down. That makes the site owner's choices matter more than for any adult audience: what you collect, how you show ads, which buttons exist and how much you push people to keep playing.

This guide sets out design and safety principles for a child-friendly game site, names the manipulative patterns to remove, summarises the main legal frameworks without pretending to be legal advice, and ends with a 20-point checklist. If you are unsure whether a rule applies to you, ask a qualified lawyer.

"Is this site for children?" decides which rules apply. A site that is directed at children, or that knows it is collecting information from children, faces stricter obligations than a general-audience site. If most of your games appeal to young players (colourful puzzles, dress-up, simple arcade), regulators may treat the site as child-directed whatever your terms say. Design for the audience you actually have.

Framework	Where	Key points for a game site
COPPA Rule (16 CFR Part 312)	United States	Applies to operators of websites and online services directed to children under 13, and to operators with actual knowledge they collect personal information from a child under 13. It requires notice and verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information, and treats identifiers such as persistent cookie IDs as personal information in many cases.
Age Appropriate Design Code (children's code)	United Kingdom, from the ICO	Fifteen standards for online services likely to be accessed by children. They include the best interests of the child as a primary consideration, high privacy settings by default, collecting only the minimum personal data, not sharing children's data without a compelling reason, geolocation off by default, and not using nudge techniques that push children to give unnecessary data or weaken privacy settings.
GDPR child provisions	European Union	Sets a digital age of consent for information society services between 13 and 16, depending on the country, and requires clear language for children.

Read the primary texts: the COPPA Rule at the eCFR and the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code. Requirements change, and obligations depend on where your visitors live, not only where you are.

• Do not require registration to play. The simplest way to protect children's data is not to collect it. Let games run without an account.
• Collect the minimum. No full names, photos, locations or contact details for a game session.
• Be careful with analytics and advertising scripts. Third-party trackers and behavioural ad profiling are the main way children's data ends up with third parties. Check what each script does, and choose contextual advertising that does not build profiles where the law or your audience calls for it.
• Cookie and consent choices must be clear. Optional analytics and ad scripts should stay off until a valid choice is made. Make declining as easy as accepting.
• No chat or user-generated content without moderation. If you offer chat, comments or uploads, you take on moderation and safeguarding duties. Most child-friendly sites are better off without them.
• Write a privacy policy people can read, with a short summary for parents and plain language for older children.
• Review embedded games. A game from another provider may use its own storage and ad technology. Your site cookie choice does not control what runs inside an independently operated game, so say so in your policy and check the providers you embed.

Pattern	Why it is a problem for children	What to do instead
Fake "Download" or "Play" buttons that are ads	Children cannot tell which button is real; they leave the game or reach unsafe pages	Never style ads as site buttons; put ads in labelled, separate areas
Fake close icons and hidden "X" buttons	Tricks a tap into an ad click	Use real, clearly sized close controls; no ad overlays on the play area
Forced redirects and pop-ups	Takes the child out of the site	Remove them; block pop-up behaviour from ad partners
Forced sign-up screens	Pushes children to give personal data	Allow play without an account
Countdown timers and "only today" offers	Creates urgency children cannot assess	Remove artificial scarcity
Guilt buttons ("No, I don't want to be a winner")	Shame-based wording	Neutral wording for every choice
Daily streaks and loss-based rewards	Pressure to return daily or lose progress	Offer rewards without penalties for missing a day
Rewarded ads that look like gifts	Children may not understand they are choosing to watch advertising	Label "watch an ad" clearly and never require it to progress
Real-money gambling mechanics, loot boxes	Inappropriate for minors	Do not include them
Links to social media or outside sites inside games	Leads to uncontrolled contact	Limit external links to a clearly marked, parent-facing area

The ICO code addresses this directly: nudge techniques must not encourage children to give unnecessary personal data or to weaken or turn off their privacy settings.

• Label ad areas ("Advertisement") and keep them visually distinct from game controls and content.
• Keep ads outside the play area, and never let them overlap buttons or menus.
• Do not show ads for gambling, alcohol, dating, weight-loss products or adult content. Configure category blocks with your ad network.
• Check what your ad partners actually serve by testing on real devices, not only in settings.
• Avoid autoplay video with sound and full-screen interstitials in the middle of play.
• Reserve ad space so the layout does not jump when an ad loads. A jumping page causes mis-taps.

Other sites set good examples: PlayKovo's public submission rules for developers prohibit forced redirects, fake buttons or fake close icons, popups outside the game frame, real-money gambling, adult content and unsafe financial promotions, and require that ads and external links hold up for a broad, family-safe audience.

• Large buttons and labels with simple words, plus icons.
• Few choices per screen, and consistent placement of the home and back buttons.
• Categories described by what the game is ("Puzzle", "Racing"), not by clever names.
• Clear age and device information on each game page.
• A visible, easy way for a parent to find the privacy policy, contact details and a way to report a problem game.
• No endless auto-playing "next game" chains that push long sessions. See how to encourage healthy gaming habits on your website.

Data and privacy

1. Games can be played without an account.
2. No personal data is collected unless necessary.
3. Optional analytics and ad scripts stay off until a clear choice is made.
4. Declining is as easy as accepting.
5. No behavioural ad profiling of child audiences.
6. The privacy policy is in plain language and mentions third-party games.
7. There is no open chat, comment or upload feature without moderation.

Design and manipulation

1. No fake buttons or fake close icons.
2. No forced redirects or pop-ups.
3. No countdown pressure or artificial scarcity.
4. No guilt-based button wording.
5. No loss-based daily streaks.
6. Rewarded ads are optional and clearly labelled.
7. No gambling-style mechanics.

Ads and content

1. Ads are labelled and separate from game controls.
2. Inappropriate ad categories are blocked and checked.
3. Games are reviewed for age suitability before listing.

Parent access

1. A clear contact and report-a-problem route exists.
2. Navigation is simple and uses plain words.
3. Time on site is not pushed with autoplay chains or pressure.

• eCFR: 16 CFR Part 312, Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule.
• UK Information Commissioner's Office: Age appropriate design: a code of practice for online services.

This article is general information and not legal advice. Looking for games to list? See the PlayKovo catalog and the Partner Terms.