Launched in 2017, Fortnite: Battle Royale is a free online survival game. It is a ‘shooter style’ game, meaning players battle it out against opponents with multiple weapon styles, but it is also a construction style game (like Minecraft) that allows players to create and personalise their own game components. Upon its release, Fortnite quickly became a huge success among children and young people. It now has three different game options – Fortnite: Save the World, Fortnite Battle Royale, and Fortnite Creative.
Fortnite can be played on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and iOS devices. It is a popular subject of gaming livestreams on Twitch and many ‘tips and tricks’ videos showing gameplay can be found on YouTube.
Age Restrictions
Terms and conditions state that players must be at least 13 years old to play Fortnite. The game’s PEGI rating is 12+. However, this game is popular with younger children as they are able to play with their friends and participate in events.
Core Functions
- Fortnite: Battle Royale features up to 100 players, who can be playing alone or can join the game in small squads.
- Players must loot, shoot, and build their way around the map while avoiding enemies.
- The aim of the game is to be the last player/squad alive and earn a ‘Victory Royale’. In-game items are also awarded.
- XP (experience points) are given out to all players (at varying levels) which can be used to level up within the game.
- Players can earn and purchase weapons, skins (aesthetic character features), and other items to help enhance their experience.
Risks
- Fortnite can be very addictive for those who play, especially children and young people.
- Persuasive design aspects make it very difficult for players to moderate things like screen time and in-app purchases.
- Voicechat can be used through a headset, and many players also use platforms like Discord for in-game communication.
- Players can purchase V-Bucks, which allow them to buy items from the shop. This in-game currency disassociates the connection to real world currency and encourages players to spend more.
Privacy Settings
- Public - Anyone can join your game.
- Friends Only - Only friends can join (make sure to deselect the option to ‘allow friends of friends’).
- Private - Only your party leader can send out invites.
Top Tips
- Don't be afraid to make your own account and play Fortnite to find out for yourself how it works. Make yourself a party master and add the children in your care to a private group. This means any friend requests will need to be approved by you.
- Show children in your care how to mute voice chat so they aren't contacted by players they don't know.
- Advise children to never give out any personal information (e.g. their phone number, real name, address, school and or any club names they are members of).
Fortnite Jargon Buster
Children can join other friends and play together against the rest of the players.
Schematics are plans found hidden throughout the world of Fortnite Battle Royale. They are recipes allowing other players to craft their own weapons and traps from materials.
Fortnite’s internal currency. V-Bucks can be used to purchase things such as weapons, weapon skins,, and new clothing. V-Bucks can also be built up within the game without having to add a credit card, contributing to the addictive nature of the game.
‘Looting’ can be collecting anything from ammunition, weapons, traps or resources in the game. These are also referred to as ‘Loot Boxes’.
Otherwise known as ‘The Wall’, the Storm is a large, blue, transparent wall that covers the entire map. Anyone caught in the storm can lose health and may encounter monsters.
The Battle Pass is a method Battle Royale players can use to gain access to exclusive in-game rewards. You can pay for a Battle Pass with V-Bucks.
All players in Battle Royale will receive a maximum of three daily challenges.
The Item Shop is Fortnite’s online shop. This is where you can purchase outfits, weapons, and emotes.
Your locker lets you store the stuff you have bought from the Item Shop via your battle pass.
An emote is a way to animate your character to show your emotion. E.g you can make your character ‘dab’ or blow kisses.
These are outfits that change the cosmetic appearance of your character/avatar. There are rarer skins that only appear at specific times of the year such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter.
Gliders are parachutes that help you land when you are jumping off the bus at the start of the game. Throughout the game, players can use them to jump between buildings.
Harvesting tools, such as the default pickaxe, are tools that players can use to mine and damage materials in the world of Fortnite. You can also use the tool as a weapon to destroy other players in the game.
Each new season brings new skins, new weapons, and many more items you can purchase. This is a way to bring new challenges to players so they stay interested and keep coming back.