How to Interpret Video Game ESRB Ratings

I play a lot of video games and have played games with all kinds of ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) ratings. If you were to go to the ESRB website, it will give details of each of the ratings. Most of the information involves the content of the game not being suitable for a certain age.

For the most part, the information is pretty accurate, but ultimately, it is up to you to decide whether or not the game will be suitable for the person that will be playing it. Here is my take on each of the ratings from my experiences with the many games I have played that have had each of those ratings. The ratings will be sorted from ones that are appropriate for even the youngest kids, to those only for adults and the details are aimed for those that are going to be buying a video game for younger kids.

RP (Rating Pending) ESRB age: N/A
Games that have not yet been released are often given this rating. This just means that the final rating for the game has not been determined.

EC (Early Childhood) ESRB age: 3+
Personally, I have never played any video games rated EC. Games rated EC are likely aimed for kids of very young age. Chances are, it probably won't appeal to older kids or adults. Games rated EC are going to be mainly for very young children and should be appropriate in content for all ages.

E (Everyone) ESRB age: 6+
Generally, games rated E are going to be appropriate for all ages. However, some rated E games do have very minor cartoon violence. Usually this would be a sword or a gun used to fight enemies in the game. There may be some content which might not be suitable for some very young kids, but generally, the content of the video game should be appropriate for everyone.

E 10+ (Everyone 10 and older) ESRB age: 10+
I have not seen many games with this rating. This is just a rating in between the E and T. It is usually appropriate for kids not yet in their teens. Games rated E 10+ will likely have more cartoon violence and themes than the games rated E but not as much as games rated T.