Is TSTO appropriate for a 9 year old?
I wouldn't let anyone under the age of 11 or 12 play it...some of the content and jokes are a bit too mature for a 9 year old but not so much for an 11 or 12 year old.
Forum Discussion
The main reason I would be concerned about a child playing this game is not to do with 'adult' content but rather with the insidious promotion of gambling. In TSTO, you win EVERY TIME you buy a scratch ticket, be it ordinary or premium.
This unrealistic portrayal of the odds of winning subtly implants the notion in a child's head that gambling is a good way to get easy money. Problem gambling ruins lives, and this belief is at the core of it.
The game consistently promotes gambling as being a desirable activity that always generates income and never causes problems. In the early stages of the game when you need money, you are a fool not to avail yourself of every opportunity to buy a scratch ticket because you will always win. You can win at least 4 times a day, every day, if you buy a scratch ticket at every opportunity. It is hard to counteract this kind of positive reinforcement with a 'little talk' about gambling in the real world and a discussion of the mathematics of odds. It is true that you can lose at Springfield Downs, but if you bet on the dog with the lowest odds, you will win a lot of the time.
On the other hand, the game doesn't promote stripping or other 'adult' concepts as being especially desirable, and it's not that hard to discuss these things at a level appropriate to the child's age (although defining an 'erotic masquerade' might be a bit of a challenge when talking to anyone, child or adult). The visuals that accompany these tasks tend to portray the characters involved as unattractive and a bit sad (For example, Mr Burns' 'Host an erotic masquerade' and Mrs Muntz's outdoor task - can't remember its name - Dance of the Bee, perhaps? It involves her in a bathrobe). I can't imagine anyone, even for a second, feeling that they'd like to become a stripper because of Mrs Muntz's portrayal in this game.
This unrealistic portrayal of the odds of winning subtly implants the notion in a child's head that gambling is a good way to get easy money. Problem gambling ruins lives, and this belief is at the core of it.
The game consistently promotes gambling as being a desirable activity that always generates income and never causes problems. In the early stages of the game when you need money, you are a fool not to avail yourself of every opportunity to buy a scratch ticket because you will always win. You can win at least 4 times a day, every day, if you buy a scratch ticket at every opportunity. It is hard to counteract this kind of positive reinforcement with a 'little talk' about gambling in the real world and a discussion of the mathematics of odds. It is true that you can lose at Springfield Downs, but if you bet on the dog with the lowest odds, you will win a lot of the time.
On the other hand, the game doesn't promote stripping or other 'adult' concepts as being especially desirable, and it's not that hard to discuss these things at a level appropriate to the child's age (although defining an 'erotic masquerade' might be a bit of a challenge when talking to anyone, child or adult). The visuals that accompany these tasks tend to portray the characters involved as unattractive and a bit sad (For example, Mr Burns' 'Host an erotic masquerade' and Mrs Muntz's outdoor task - can't remember its name - Dance of the Bee, perhaps? It involves her in a bathrobe). I can't imagine anyone, even for a second, feeling that they'd like to become a stripper because of Mrs Muntz's portrayal in this game.
