For me, it was arcade games that were appealing. Few words and all action like Altered Beast.

But at home, the Kings Quest games felt like magic locked behind a wall of words. An uncle read some text and let me play his saved games. But I never knew what was happening until probably Quest for Glory had better graphics. Then I just got pissed off at how the player could play for days, only to have a dead end path lol

....early game developers trolling customers!

I didn't get a computer to play King's Quest on until I was in 4th grade, and I don't think I got my first Sierra adventure until 5th grade. My first was Gold Rush. Then King's Quest III was given to me, then KQ2, and I didn't get I or IV until a couple years later when they were on closeout in bargain bins.
I had the Apple IIGS versions of the games, except KQIII, which was a gift and it was the Apple IIe version (which was the worst one to have the IIe version because of lack of a clock. I'd have rather had the IIe version of I or II, but beggars can't be choosers).
By 4th grade I could read on my own just fine, and by 5th I was reading from the adult section (Tom Clancy) or at least the "young adult" section (Star Trek books, which today I would consider fanfics but were published books at the library). I'm trying to recall what grade I read Douglas Adams HHG2TG or Gibson's "Sprawl" series, although the latter was after I got Neuromancer as a present.