Last night I ran Dungeon World for my wife and 10 yr old son.

Last night I ran Dungeon World for my wife and 10 yr old son. It was the first time playing DW for both of them. I chose the Dungeon Starter The Escape by Marshall Miller to kick things off.

My favorite part was when the PCs were trying to escape the city and my son’s Wizard took over the horse and cart’s reins to try and run the cart under the closing portcullis to escape out of the west gate.

He failed the Defy Danger roll.

So, I described him running the horse and cart faster and faster, but they weren’t going to make it, so the horse jumped up onto his hind legs to try and stop, but the cart kept going and swept the horse up.

There was a moment where the horse was sitting on the driver’s seat between my son’s Wizard and his NPC cousin and then it all crashed into the portcullis.

Then the horse fell on his cousin, who owned the cart and wanted out of the city, too. It swung from Disney silly to this tragic accident, but my son whipped out a healing potion and saved her.

My wife’s Fighter berated the guards for trapping them in the city as an undead army was breaking in the eastern walls and made her Parley, so they opened the gate up so everyone could escape. That was how we ended the two hour game.

My son loved it, even though he failed four rolls (and made only one), the consequences were exciting AND he got XP. He made 2nd level in a two-hour game. My wife expressed dismay at “getting XP when you screw up”, but I explained that yes, it was different from the games she’s normally played, but it was like learning from your mistakes (I think she was mostly annoyed that she had to save the Wizard’s butt and he made a level while her Fighter didn’t).

Much fun, they definitely want to play again.