Kid friendly RetroPie settings

DavidDraper

Hello,

I am finishing up my retropie image. My plan is to have this up and running for my twin 7-year olds as something else to do this winter. I am going over various options to make my RetroPie more 7-year-old proof. I see there is a kiosk option, which I am planning on using. I am also planning on turning off run commands so the emulators can't be adjusted are game launch. Any other suggestions for kid proofing a retropie system? Thanks in advance.

David

System:
RetroPie 4.6.9 (from image at retropie.org)
Raspberry Pi 4B, 4GB ram
Raspian Buster
4 amp power supply from Vilros
8BitDO SN30, generic USB N64 controller, Vilros USB genesis controller.

chicuelo

Instead of kiosk mode, I do prefer to edit the es_inputs, and disabling select and start, so kids only could enter a system and a game. You can also disable favorites key so they did not mess up with your favs.

I can also recommend my first theme chicuelo, that it has a very kids friendly and graphical interface.

lostless

@DavidDraper also disable hot keys for pretty much everything except exiting a game for certain controllers. You can disable in the controller config files by erasing the hot key lines. Just remember that this is by controller type. if you add another brand/type of controller, all hot keys will be enabled there, but it gives you a master controller that has all access.

RedMarsBlueMoon

My son is a bit obsessed with screens at the moment (though so am I to be fair) so I had to add a log-in lock to our arcade build.
I then have a simple web page that I access with my phone with two buttons for 'Opening' and 'Closing' the arcade. It works really well.

When closed he can still choose the 'Spotify' login option that launches Chromium in kiosk mode, already logged in, which is controlled by the stick and buttons.

DavidDraper

Thanks folks. I'm sure you've saved me more than one headache in the coming months.

D