Question for the group;
What is the youngest age that GM’s have started players with in DW, and what was your experience(s)? Also did you find it easier or better to start younglings off with DW versus a more codified system like Basic Fantasy, D&D, or even something like Hero Kids or a different system all together if you are famaliar?
In a sense do you find it easier and more fun for all with a more free form or codified system? Trying to decide what is the best for teaching and for a fun first experience for new younger entrants to the hobby.
Thanks for your replies.
5 years for boardgames like Catan etc. 7 years for pathfinder. 9 for Dungeon World. Never underestimate your kids. Never dumb it down. They are probably smarter than you are.
Haha thanks Wynand. Why the two year age split between Pathfinder and DW? I have a 5 year old who has mastered Catan Junior, gets most of Heroquest and D&D adventure system so I don’t disagree with you. It is more so for when to bring three of his friends into RPG’s and the whole “focus” at the table factor. I was planning on age 7 for this but I’m curious to know why you feel 9 vs 7 for DW ect.. thanks
We discovered Pathfinder 2 years before Dungeon World. I now refuse to play Pathfinder because.
Hmm ok sounds like they and “you” had and continue to have a better experience with DW more free form then codfied Pathfinder is what you are saying?
Nephew at 8yr. Started with Risus and quickly moved to DW because it provides more structure for him.
Thanks Robert how did it go, was it solo or with a group of 8year Olds? Any learning lessons? Thanks
It was a solo game. It went well and he took to it well, taking story initiative (a little much actually, still learning how to share story control).
We also try to play with my wife on occasion when shifts allow. With more people, i have found he learns to share narrative control better.
P.S
If you have a child who is shy or quiet, solo games are a great way to start. And with all young kids, their imagination will run wild. You will have no trouble driving the story forward.
What you may run into, like i have, is teaching them to share. I can remember when i was a child with my two younger brothers, we joke about this all the time, where i would control the narrative stories in our make believe scenarios. Even when playing with army men and Lego’s, i would always have to have the best and the strongest, regardless of whether it was logical. TableTop RPG’s, i find as a grown adult watching the next generation, help a great deal in teaching how to share narrative control.
Thanks for the insights Robert
My sons and their friends were 7 or 8 when we played regularly. Groups from 3 (manageable) to 6-8 (chaos). Never was necessary to dumb it down at all. Kids are sharp and, heck, they’re sponges for rules and the like right now. In large groups D&D is a little better if only that young ones are reluctant to share the spotlight and a codified initiative system helps them to share better.
My daughter expressed an interest in gaming when she was seven, mainly because she saw my students playing. (I have been the faculty sponsor of several RPG clubs at local high schools.) I started her with DW, as it was easy to explain the dice rules. She used to play a free-form game with my wife and I, but has insinuated herself into the high school game club, where my GMing offsets most of her hijinks and shenanigans. She’s ten, now.
She’s actually all I could ask for in a player: asks a lot of questions that further the plot or expand the fiction of the world, tries a lot of things, fails a lot, provides comic relief, and is learning not to take herself too seriously.
Full disclosure: she has a college reading level, and sub-par math skills. YMMV.
Very interesting thanks Owen. As you mentioned she is 10 now has she ever expressed interest in her friends playing or have her friends played?
Friend’s daughter at age 7. We started with Epyllion, and then transitioned to Dungeon World in the same setting, but after the dragons were “gone” after the Epyllion campaign ended.
Adding comments here to original post – 🙂
My daughter started at about 4yo with just minis and terraclip terrain – building a freestyle story and then we moved into Adv Maximus, HeroKids & her favorite of Say No Evil. I thought she’d like the story telling aspect a bit, but she LOVES it, and looking for more. Cataan Jr and other boardgames she likes as well, but making the stories interesting to her and not weighing her down in rules, seems to be the key. She has played with other friends & adults, and seems as willing to interact with them and generously share the spotlight which is great. She is 5 1/2 yrs old now, and I assume we will move to DW soon – based on comments – thanks. The bonus for the younger kid RPGs is that it is very easy to create a quick adventure and a world small enough and not overly complex, which makes it quite accessible. Beyond that, we introduce characters from movies/shows or books that she likes. I didnt expect to do real RPGing with her until 7-8yo, but happy we started out simple and slowly moving up to more interesting stories/games. Very nice comments btw from all.