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Post by moonday on Aug 20, 2013 16:58:03 GMT -8
Hey all.
My niece has been eyeing my rapidly growing collection of gaming books each time she comes over. She loves books, and the illustrations on the covers of some of them fascinate her. This has made me wonder if she might be ready to introduce her to the hobby. I've heard of a few people running games with their kids when they were 12 or 13, but have any of you run a game with an 8 year old? If so, what kind of system would you use?
I've looked around a bit on Drive Thru RPG, and they have tons of things for kids. I was just hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction of what to look for or what to avoid.
Thanks!
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Post by Forresst on Aug 20, 2013 18:35:41 GMT -8
Chicken Heroics, obviously!! Ok, all kidding aside, savagedaddy made some pretty sweet conversions of savage worlds into stuff like my little pony and such. I think Dungeon World might be a good idea for little kids too. It's simple enough and participatory enough that you wouldn't have any problem keeping her engaged. A lot of the more classic systems aren't really a bad choice except they're really bookkeepy and complex. I can't see an 8 year old being thrilled at the idea of spending an hour just rolling up a guy before the game even starts. It probably hinges a lot on what she likes. At 8 years old I was ALL ABOUT sci fi, so if I was to find a little 8-year-old me, I probably wouldn't think twice about offering up Traveller except I think I'd just let a kid pick 3 or 4 career paths and not do the whole roll to advance, roll to succeed thing. Otherwise, I bought the Mouse Guard book a while back and it seems pretty good for a kid. It's simple stats and things, and you get to be a mouse. Who doesn't like mice? Otherwise, I can transcribe the "naked math" homebrewed super simple game skeleton I used to play with my Brinks crew when we were stuck on extremely long runs. It had to be really simple, and couldn't involve too much in terms of props or tools because we were in a truck. And if you can get a burly French Canadian bodybuilder excited to be a "medieval rockstar" (yeah, he eventually went for the bard type), you can probably use it to entertain a little kid for an hour and give her a taste of how tabletop rpgs work.
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maxinstuff
Supporter
Posts: 1,939
Preferred Game Systems: DCC RPG, Shadowrun 5e, Savage Worlds, GURPS 4e, HERO 6e, Mongoose Traveller
Favorite Species of Monkey: Proboscis
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Post by maxinstuff on Aug 20, 2013 18:42:55 GMT -8
There was a kickstarter for Adventure Maximus.
The preview vid was pretty good - and I came very close to backing it.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2013 20:11:34 GMT -8
I started playing with my two sons when they were 6 and 8, although the 6 year old was a prodigy and plays very challenging euro-games like Agricola and Puerto Rico and Power Grid. They really had a blast, but I played a very rules-light system. At family reunions, I included the boys cousins, and we had plenty of games when the five kids were ages 7, 8, 8, 8, and 9. Now the boys are 8 and 10 and we just made characters for Numenera tonight, though I still like our rules-light homebrew system. I'll try to sell you on looking at my homebrew system: There are only 3 stats, though they are "conflicted" stats. There are no extra skills, every action is a combination of 2 stats. The game is designed to be very light, very fast combat, and it doesn't focus on weapons, armor, or collecting loot. Instead it tries to focus on character motivations and values. I mostly played pre-published D&D adventures because I prefer running NPCs made by other authors. I posted my system on another thread, but it can be found at dichotomy.pdf I use the random-generation method when playing with the kids, so character generation goes very fast. If I didn't have my game, I would probably start kids with something extremely rules light, such as Barbarians of Lemuria, or perhaps with more time I might try an OSR game like Labyrinth Lord or Swords and Wizardry. I taught myself how to roleplay and GM at the age of 9 in about 1978, without ever seeing an example of anyone else playing. I haven't played Dungeon World yet, so I don't know about that, but it is certainly on my radar. Kids are absolutely amazed that they can do ANYTHING, and that is also kind of a problem. I like to have at least one adult playing or sitting in the room with the kids to help steer them toward reasonable actions. The first few times I played with kids they had characters named "Arthur", "Nobody", "King Spider", and "Hulk". I started playing a conversion of the D&D adventure "Treasure Hunt" which starts with the characters shipwrecked. The 6-year old immediately started digging in the sand on the beach, because they expected pirate treasure to be buried there. (As I said, it helps to have an adult along to keep the game on track). In another game, the kids were on a mission to bring the most bitter tasting root to the king of the faeries. There was a root cellar, but the kids didn't bother with it, instead they wandered out into the forest to try to dig up some roots in the hopes that they'd find a very bitter one. Eventually, one of the parents helped the kids figure out that a root cellar would probably have roots in it, and that they could probably taste-test the roots to find the bitterest one.
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HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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Post by HyveMynd on Aug 20, 2013 20:18:47 GMT -8
I'm sure there are other great kid-friendly systems, but I'd use Cosmic Patrol. It's kind of like a Savage Worlds lite. Basically your character has five stats (Brawn, Brains, Charisma, Combat, and Special) rated in dice from D4 to d12. When you take an action, you roll your appropriate stat die plus a d12, total them, then compare that to the GM's d20 roll. Higher total? You succeed. Lower total? You don't. That's pretty much everything you need to know about the system right there.
The full Cosmic Patrol is a bit more complex, but just strip that all out. It's a retro pulp space setting (like Flash Gordon) but you can strip that out real easily, too. It's not billed as a kids game, but I think it's simple enough to be played b an 8 year old.
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Post by ericfromnj on Aug 21, 2013 5:40:03 GMT -8
When my son was 7 we had him playing TOON where he got to play Perry the Platypus and beat the snot out of Eric Cartman. Though the one game since then I cannot recommend enough is Faery's Tales, which is an RPG for ages 6 and up
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Post by Houndin on Aug 21, 2013 5:50:30 GMT -8
I play Justin Halliday's HeroKids with mine. They were 7 and 8 when we started. The pdf comes with a lot of line art that are more like coloring pages which helped them personalize their characters. It has some great adventures that include printable maps and paper minis. Also it recently won the Silver Ennie for Best Family Friendly game.
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Post by malifer on Aug 21, 2013 6:28:53 GMT -8
I backed this kickstarter, it's not finished yet but maybe you could still get it in on it by contacting the creator. www.kickstarter.com/projects/nekoewen/golden-sky-stories-heartwarming-role-playingThere is a free demo available here starlinepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-GSSDemo-StarlinePublishing.pdfAlso I would like to mention "DnD for Dads" creator James Stowe has a webcomic/Rpg in playtest called Sidekick Quests. Playtesting may still be open so you could email him for details. sidekickquests.com/playtest-thursday-1/What I like about these compared to other choices is they tend to have stories that can not be solved by punching the problem in the face. And while I do love a good dungeon slog ever once in a while, I prefer problem that can not be replicated in a video game for me that is where the most memorable moments happen. Golden Sky is a riff off of kid friendly Anime. "Players will then attempt to solve problems around a small enchanted town with ingenuity, co-operation and friendship. This is not a game that will replace all of your other games, but it’s a game you can turn to as a change of pace, to go somewhere warm and safe. It is a diceless, resource-based game, and it’s meant for game sessions to last between 45 minutes and two hours." Sidekick Quests is a silly kidtastic D&D. If you never saw the "DnD for Dads" stuff google that the art is great. But whereas "DnD for Dads" was simplified 4e, Sidekick Quests is definitely aim to be sillier with quests like Feeding the Owlbear, Gathering Flowers of the Enchanted Grove or Armwrestling the Viking. The art is still great. Honorable Mention: "Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple" seems to get a lot of positive reviews and would be very kid friendly. From the great Evil Hat Guys of FATE fame.
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juberberry
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 132
Preferred Game Systems: Traveller, VANGUARD, Shadowrun 4, CP2020
Currently Playing: Traveller - rarely
Currently Running: Traveller, Shadowrun 4, VANGUARD
Favorite Species of Monkey: Ressus
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Post by juberberry on Aug 23, 2013 13:08:49 GMT -8
I am waiting anxiously for my Golden Sky Stories fulfillment. I've recently started playing some games with my 7 year old son and he is *not* a prodigy lol. It morphed into some strange combination of Pen & Paper with LARP elements from him. All said he had a great time. I used a very loose interpretation of the Microlite 20 system.
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Post by uselesstriviaman on Aug 24, 2013 20:46:49 GMT -8
I had some pretty good success with Fuzzy Heroes. Tabletop wargame with stuffed animals. Simple and very fun, for kids as little as five.
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dnddad
Journeyman Douchebag
They're bullywugs aren't they Pat...
Posts: 200
Preferred Game Systems: WEG D6 Star Wars, Shadowrun 2nd, Battletech 3rd, Mechwarrior 2nd, AD&D 2nd, AFMBE rev, Savage Worlds Deluxe, Usagi Yojimbo, Marvel Super Heroes Advanced
Currently Playing: Frostgrave & Boltaction
Currently Running: from my problems
Favorite Species of Monkey: Spong
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Post by dnddad on Aug 26, 2013 18:19:51 GMT -8
I got my daughter started using Hero Quest and adding role playing in to it. Fuzzy the Dwarf made some friends of Orcs and cut the heads off Fimirs. Love that little nerd!
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Post by Arcona on Aug 28, 2013 23:13:42 GMT -8
Go with Wraith! Dark world and roleplaying each others shadows makes kids realise the grim reality of our own world from an early age!!! Or, if you dont want your kids to grow up and be deranged Goths do Adventure. Adventure is nice not because its rules light (though it isnt rules heavy either) but because the players can CHANGE the world and the narrative. Hence kids being creative would love that! Alternatively I would suggest investing into the card game Once upon a time. It is a card game that mimicks a collaborative storytelling rpg. www.atlas-games.com/ouat3/index.phpfor adults you can add the expansion Dark Tales which gives more twisty cards with dark story material www.atlas-games.com/product_tables/AG1003.php
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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Post by fredrix on Sept 1, 2013 10:50:35 GMT -8
I love Do: Pilgrims if the Flying Temple, but my kids enjoy FAE more. And the reason is that FAE can quickly to adapted to any any game of "lets pretend" that they've started. So last week for instance they were playing out a story with Lego Ninjago characters. I asked them a few questions about their characters and we had aspects ready to go...
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sdbob
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 17
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Post by sdbob on Sept 11, 2013 18:57:35 GMT -8
Hey All
We consistently play using savage worlds with kids age ranges 5-13. We are a little loose with the bennies to encourage actual role playing and very descriptive (you squashed his guts out). We also use a benny box. Every time the kids spend a benny they can try to toss it into a small box. If they make the toss they get their benny back.
The stories are pretty free flowing based off what the kids want to do and if we start to notice a little to much off topic/ Im getting bored we take breaks, especially with the small ones.
I have also played the starter kit of Star Wars edge of empire with my daughter who is 5, just turned 6 (a bit of a star wars nut, that one.) The symbols are easy enough (good symbol and bad symbols) and she seemed to enjoy this way more then the traditional "math" based systems.
That leads me to believe that whoever mentioned Fate Accelerated has probably nailed it. I just picked up a copy at Gateway and plan to try running my 6yo through a little yoda adventure and see how she likes it.
good luck
SDBob
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 13:23:15 GMT -8
I backed this kickstarter, it's not finished yet but maybe you could still get it in on it by contacting the creator. www.kickstarter.com/projects/nekoewen/golden-sky-stories-heartwarming-role-playingThere is a free demo available here starlinepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-GSSDemo-StarlinePublishing.pdfAlso I would like to mention "DnD for Dads" creator James Stowe has a webcomic/Rpg in playtest called Sidekick Quests. Playtesting may still be open so you could email him for details. sidekickquests.com/playtest-thursday-1/What I like about these compared to other choices is they tend to have stories that can not be solved by punching the problem in the face. And while I do love a good dungeon slog ever once in a while, I prefer problem that can not be replicated in a video game for me that is where the most memorable moments happen. Golden Sky is a riff off of kid friendly Anime. "Players will then attempt to solve problems around a small enchanted town with ingenuity, co-operation and friendship. This is not a game that will replace all of your other games, but it’s a game you can turn to as a change of pace, to go somewhere warm and safe. It is a diceless, resource-based game, and it’s meant for game sessions to last between 45 minutes and two hours." Sidekick Quests is a silly kidtastic D&D. If you never saw the "DnD for Dads" stuff google that the art is great. But whereas "DnD for Dads" was simplified 4e, Sidekick Quests is definitely aim to be sillier with quests like Feeding the Owlbear, Gathering Flowers of the Enchanted Grove or Armwrestling the Viking. The art is still great. Honorable Mention: "Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple" seems to get a lot of positive reviews and would be very kid friendly. From the great Evil Hat Guys of FATE fame. If the kids can read, Sidekick quest is pretty awesome. I got the playtest materials because it is in beta, but only one of my Monkeys can read. I often use my old copy of Dragon Strike to RP with the kids, but it also has some reading. I tend to make up my own kid-friendly scenarios because the ones in the book are rather hard. A good Icons-only with little to no reading system needs to get made...in fact, I might just make it! -Shoe
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