Games for Kids - What is a Dad to do?
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Post Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:29 pm 
 

Every once and awhile we touch on this subject. What games to you play with your kids? I know several of you guys have introduced D&D, but I don't think I will be doing that any time soon. No time for that.

But I do break out the occassional board game. I play Fantasy Forest with my six year old (girl) and she loves it. My 8 (boy) and 10 (girl) year olds will join in, too.

They (the older two) love Dungeon and I recently broke out Wizard's Quest and my oldest loves it.

I am looking for other suggestions. Generally, easy set up is important. We only break out Dungeon when we have lots of time.


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Post Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:45 pm 
 

I don't have any children but I always enjoyed playing Dark Tower as a kid.  The combination of the colorful gameboard, the detailed game pieces, and the not-so-impregnable black tower made the game a favorite of mine for several years.

I lost most of the pieces years ago, the box was destroyed, and the tower itself stopped working.  Good thing I have no desire to replace it....I just bought a lawnmower that cost less than a nice condition Dark Tower would set me back if I picked it up on Ebay.  8O

  


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 2:18 am 
 

My dad & older siblings had a lot of board games which were great as a slow introduction to RPGs - off the top of my head these are the ones I remember playing
Fantasy Forest
Talisman (time permitting)
Legend of Heroes (great game)
Hero Quest
Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs
Kingmaker*
Brittania*
Civilization*


*I wasn't so fond of these games as being the youngest, they seemed more complicated.

My nephew (11) & niece (9) enjoyed playing the D&D Clue (Cluedo) when I last saw them.


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:49 am 
 

BB: mystic wood.

my kids think its a great game and we all play it, its cool and very easy to play.

Al


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:17 am 
 

bbarsh wrote:Every once and awhile we touch on this subject. What games to you play with your kids? I know several of you guys have introduced D&D, but I don't think I will be doing that any time soon. No time for that.

But I do break out the occassional board game. I play Fantasy Forest with my six year old (girl) and she loves it. My 8 (boy) and 10 (girl) year olds will join in, too.

They (the older two) love Dungeon and I recently broke out Wizard's Quest and my oldest loves it.

I am looking for other suggestions. Generally, easy set up is important. We only break out Dungeon when we have lots of time.


Dungeon.  But we've also been known to pull out Trivial Pursuit (I have about 10 different versions of the game), Scene It, or Apples to Apples.  AtoA is a great family game, btw...and the kids learn lots of good vocabulary words.

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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:48 am 
 

It depends on the age. mine is 5, and he is absolutely nuts over Heroquest, to the point that when I tell him a bedtime story it has to be about John the Wizard, Daddy the Barbarian and Mommy the Elf. I haven't tried any of the other games yet, except T&T, another one he loved and an easy one since the choices are laid out for you.


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:02 am 
 

How about Dragonmaster?  I have a one hear, waiting on the shelf for possible use when my daughter is older.  I haven't read the rules, yet, but it looks promising.


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:32 am 
 

Similarly, what's a good age to introduce kids to D&D?

The age would obviously vary from one household to the next, but what would be a ballpark age?  I'm guessing maybe 10.

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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:03 pm 
 

As for what age to introduce kids to D&D/AD&D/RPG's in general, I would say ten years old seems to be OK, unless the younger kids show interest earlier (they start reading The Hobbit or seen the LoTR movies, for example).  When I played the 30th-anniversary game there were three kids there--one son 11 , another 10, and the daughter was 8 (and all  knew their way around the game too--the dad taught them all well).
Heck, the kids knew their way around 3.5e better than I did! :D

I would probably start with one of the 1e mono's like T1, then go to some of the B-series, or also go to some of the low-level adventures (even in the DCC series).

  


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 2:13 pm 
 

Hi folks!  My boys (8 and 6) play AD&D.  We just finished B1 and are going to go to B2 next.  I admit, I coddle them a bit, especially since my younger son reacted not too well when the NPC MU in the party was impaled on an orcish blade during an ambush.

8O

I also have to remind him sometimes that searching for secret doors while a couple of kobolds are looking to impose their personality on you might not be the best tactical move....


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:20 pm 
 

I had my kid rolling dice for games at 10 months. He loved it.
I would have loved to upload some D&D material to him in utero, but my electronic collection is very small. I would have loved to U/L some solo T&T stuff, give him something to do besides float around and wait to be calved. A shame, he'd have gotten a great headstart on life if he was a womb gamer.


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 6:06 pm 
 

My kids love HeroQuest. I have not intorduced them to D&D yet, but may give it a try this year. I picked up a game called Bionicle: Quest for the Makuta, which gets soundly panned on BoardGameGeek, but my eldest loves that one too. Unfortunately, my wife recently bought the two eldest Tamagotchis (is that how you spell it) and they are completely focussed on these at the moment.

  


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 6:19 pm 
 

I just started my 7 year old son off with HeroScape.  It is a great introduction to figure based strategy gaming and it has many expansion miniatures that are surprising well made.  The game is supported well by several online discussion groups that provide new maps and scenarios.  The best thing about the game is that there is a basic game (appeals to my 7 and 9 year old kids) and an advanced game (appeals to older kids and adults).

Andy

  


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:32 pm 
 

bbarsh wrote:Every once and awhile we touch on this subject. What games to you play with your kids? I know several of you guys have introduced D&D, but I don't think I will be doing that any time soon. No time for that.


Ethan's 3, so he and I are now "playing" the Dungeon of Dread:  I narrate the story (with selective editing---monsters are captured or knocked out, for the most part), he makes the choices, and we are mapping the dungeon.  Our progress is interspersed with imaginative play, chasing each other around, him telling me "no, you be giant" and such.  Quite fun :D

bbarsh wrote:But I do break out the occassional board game. I play Fantasy Forest with my six year old (girl) and she loves it. My 8 (boy) and 10 (girl) year olds will join in, too.


I haven't been able to find an affordable copy yet.  Is it good?

bbarsh wrote:I am looking for other suggestions. Generally, easy set up is important. We only break out Dungeon when we have lots of time.


Ethan and I have played the old Mattel non-handheld D&D maze game quite a bit.  We also watch the cartoons (when the frickin' DVDs actually work---I need to return the current one, which is my 3rd set in row with issues where at least one of the 2-4th DVDs won't play properly :evil: ), which inspire a lot of pretending play.

Painting minis is also a fun artistic pursuit, as are drawing maps/treasure maps/monsters/PCs, and such.


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Last edited by grodog on Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:33 pm 
 

Kingofpain89 wrote:I don't have any children but I always enjoyed playing Dark Tower as a kid.  The combination of the colorful gameboard, the detailed game pieces, and the not-so-impregnable black tower made the game a favorite of mine for several years.

I lost most of the pieces years ago, the box was destroyed, and the tower itself stopped working.  Good thing I have no desire to replace it....I just bought a lawnmower that cost less than a nice condition Dark Tower would set me back if I picked it up on Ebay.  8O


Even your beat-up, non-working, incomplete DT should fetch $20-40 for parts, I would guess, KoP.

DT's fun, too, but takes awhile.  I bought a few last year, with the idea of getting them refurbished/repaired but haven't gotten them boxed up to do that yet....


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:35 pm 
 

Beyondthebreach wrote:How about Dragonmaster?  I have a one hear, waiting on the shelf for possible use when my daughter is older.  I haven't read the rules, yet, but it looks promising.


Fun, though moreso for cards players:  it's basically a trick-taking game with fantasy art IIRC (though I haven't read the rules or played in quite a few years).


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:36 pm 
 

Keith the Thief wrote:Similarly, what's a good age to introduce kids to D&D?


I started when I was 7, I imagine Ethan will be playing by the time he's 5, quite likely sooner is his interest continues.


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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:44 pm 
 

Deadlord39 wrote:I had my kid rolling dice for games at 10 months. He loved it.


Dice are a great intro, as long as they're not swallowable :D  

Deadlord39 wrote:I would have loved to upload some D&D material to him in utero, but my electronic collection is very small. I would have loved to U/L some solo T&T stuff, give him something to do besides float around and wait to be calved. A shame, he'd have gotten a great headstart on life if he was a womb gamer.


9 additional months is a pretty significant headstart for newborns, too, Frank---just think of the possibilities:

[in Bruce Willis Look Who's Talking style]
Kid1:  What's this 3.5 stuff?  Back in the day, when I was a sperm, bards couldn't wear medium armor!
Kid2:  Sheesh, what a noob.  Listen, take your paladin-death knight-ninja-bard to back to D&D Experience.  In my Mom's day, at Winter Fantasy and Autumn Revel, for "To Hit" rolls she tossed d6s with her d20s, kid.  
Kid 3:  Can't we all just get along?  I just want to play some Moldvay Basic!
Kid 4:  Moldvay---heretic.  RC only!
Kid 2:  No just hold on a minute, I've been playing this game since pre-utero, and just because you think there's no ultravision anymore doesn't make it so....
Kid 6:  I see a new edition, looming in your futures.
Kid 1:  Shuddup!

=)


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