Raising Baldi's Basics age rating: what parents of kids 4–7 should know
Baldi's Basics age rating: Apple's App Store rates the mobile version, Baldi's Basics Classic, 9+ for infrequent horror and fear themes, and Google Play rates it Everyone. We found no ESRB or PEGI rating for Baldi's Basics or Baldi's Basics Plus. Common Sense Media has no review of the original game; its 13+ review is of a different game by another developer. Apple lists no in-app purchases, and we found no online play.
Baldi's Basics at a glance
- ✓Official rating above age 7
Apple: 9+; Google Play: Everyone - –Contact with other players or strangers
No online play found - –Purchases with real money
No purchases listed on Apple - –Paid random items
None found - ✓Violence or scary content in rating descriptors
Apple: infrequent horror/fear themes - –Government lawsuits, fines, or safety warnings
None found
Each flag is a yes-or-no fact from the sources on this page. The number is a count of flags, not a safety score. How we count.
| Type | Horror game made to look like a 1990s educational game: collect notebooks, escape Baldi |
|---|---|
| App Store (iOS) | 9+ (Baldi's Basics Classic) — infrequent horror/fear themes; no in-app purchases listed source |
| Google Play | Everyone (Baldi's Basics Classic); 50M+ downloads |
| ESRB, PEGI | No rating found for Baldi's Basics or Baldi's Basics Plus |
| Common Sense Media | No review of the original game |
Checked October 2026. Ratings and settings change; check the official source before you decide. What do these ratings mean?
Facts for parents, not medical or legal advice. If you're worried about your child, talk to your pediatrician.
What is Baldi's Basics?
Short answer: A horror game dressed up as an old-fashioned school learning game.
The player collects seven notebooks in a school and tries to escape a teacher named Baldi. Micah McGonigal released it free for PC in March 2018. It came to phones as Baldi's Basics Classic in 2019, and a longer version, Baldi's Basics Plus, started early access on PC in 2020.
Baldi's Basics age rating: what's in it
Short answer: 9+ on Apple, Everyone on Google Play, and no ESRB or PEGI rating found.
- Apple: 9+, infrequent horror/fear themes; no in-app purchases listed.
- Google Play: Everyone.
- ESRB, PEGI: no rating found for Baldi's Basics or Baldi's Basics Plus.
- Common Sense Media: no review of the original. Its 13+ review is of a copycat game, Baldi's Education in School 3D, by another developer.
Why young kids know Baldi's Basics
According to Wikipedia, the game went viral in May 2018 after YouTubers such as PewDiePie, Markiplier, and Jacksepticeye played it, and videos of it have more than 500 million views. Players have also recreated it in Roblox and Minecraft.
The habit kids may copy: scared of the wrong answer
In Baldi's Basics, school and math are something to escape from.
Try tonight: a wrong answer on purpose
Give each other silly math problems and get one wrong on purpose. Say: "Oops! Not yet. Let's try again." In our program, this is the lesson "Not Yet": the trying matters.
Why you can trust this page: the main facts link to their sources, a separate reviewer checks each page before it goes live, and the date shows when we last checked. How we review · Report an error
FAQ
What age is Baldi's Basics for?
Apple rates Baldi's Basics Classic 9+ for horror and fear themes; Google Play rates it Everyone.
Is Baldi's Basics scary?
Apple lists infrequent horror/fear themes; the game is built around escaping a teacher.
Does Baldi's Basics have an ESRB rating?
We found no ESRB or PEGI rating for Baldi's Basics or Baldi's Basics Plus.
Is Baldi's Basics free?
The original was released free on PC, and Apple lists no in-app purchases for Baldi's Basics Classic.
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