COLUMBUS — Seven-year-old Ryan Mayo walked into Best Buy recently, plunked down $60 and bought “Resident Evil Survivor,” a video game intended for teens more than twice his age.

        Ryan was one of several school-age children of state workers sent out by Attorney General Betty Montgomery to see whether they could buy violent video games despite store policies prohibiting such purchases.

        Children as young as 7 bought the games without being challenged 22 times out of 28 attempts, Ms. Montgomery said Tuesday. The children visited Columbus stores of eight retailers several times between Dec. 2-5.

        Once, a store clerk overrode a sales register prompt asking for the buyer's identification.

        “They didn't ask me anything,” said Sally Mayo, 11, daughter of Helen MacMurray, chief of the state's consumer protection division. “I bought games with guns, fighting games and games with bad words.”

        The games carried a “mature” rating, meaning they have content suitable for persons ages 17 and older. They may include intense violence or language and mature sexual themes, according to the New York-based Entertainment Software Rating Board for video and computer games.

        “We are not trying to bash retailers,” Ms. Montgomery said. “We are trying to bolster awareness for parents or any adult who may be planning on purchasing a video game as a gift for a child this holiday season.”

        Seven of the retailers have policies prohibiting such purchases by children under 17. Best Buy is the only company without a policy, Ms. Montgomery said.

        Best Buy thinks educating consumers about the ratings is the best way to explain what ages the games are appropriate for, said Laurie Bauer, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based company.

        “We think that as games move to the Internet and digital distribution, prohibiting sales in store is not the answer,” Ms. Bauer said.

        One game bought during the spot checks,“Tenchu Stealth Assassins,” said: “Armed with mystical weapons and sheer cunning, you must shed blood with discretion.”

        The other stores checked were Kmart, Target, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Meijer, Media Play and Wal-Mart.

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