Games Suited For Younger Gamers - Give Me Your Recommendations

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
I think I played one kid in my entire time as a teenager gamer and that was mostly a comedy relief character.
Even as an adult gamer, kid characters are usually comedy relief.
 
Kids playing characters their own age wouldn't be comedy relief.
 
So any suggestions or any experiences you want to share?
When I was twelve, I was running blue-box D&D and Metamorphosis Alpha. When I was fourteen, I was running Traveller.

Don't overthink this. If they're really interested, they'll figure it out.
 
When I was twelve, I was running blue-box D&D and Metamorphosis Alpha. When I was fourteen, I was running Traveller.

Don't overthink this. If they're really interested, they'll figure it out.
Most of my contemporaries had been running D&D or Traveller by that age, and in some cases had been running D&D from considerably younger. I think it might matter with kids of 5 or 6 but most kids would be able to grok D&D before they hit 10.
 
I think using one's younger self as some kind of guide to all other kids is not a good approach.

We're the tiny minority for whom D&D and other rpgs stuck, in my experience most kids bounced off D&D hard or quickly lost interest. That is why this was a niche hobby for so long.

Some kids won't mind more complex rules, others will. The range will also depend on the age of the kids, under 12 (especially 10 and under) I think will be more challenging to keep them engaged and interested.

Best to start with something simplier (B/X or even CoC level) as that it more likely to engage a wider range of kids. Hell that is the crunch level I'd suggest for newbie adults.

In terms of OSR I think World of Dungeons or Maze Rats would be a good starting point, Dungeonsquad 2 for younger kids. Risus or even Ghostbusters if they're familiar with the film (not sure if kids know it these days) would also be good choices for non-genre-fantasy play.

And now that I think of it WEG Star Wars would also be a great first game for kids.

Dumarest Dumarest is the one on here with the most RL experience playing rpgs with younger kids.
 
Last edited:
I think using one's younger self as some kind of guide to all other kids is not a good approach.

Things are definitely different from when I was a kid. When I started playing, I consumed everything I could get my hands on. There was only one set of B/X rules and everyone in the group took turns having it for a night until folks could afford their own copies. However, I didn't have a x-box to get lost in, or a farce book or twatter account to constantly update. Today kids can download a copy of an RPG and have Cortana or Seri narrate it to them while they do something else.
 
Tunnels & Trolls is the original easier-to-grok alternative to D&D. Newer versions, (and now older versions) have done away with the racist spell names, and religion is largely left out altogether, removing a barrier to entry for those offended by (or whose parents are, at least) talk of gods and demons. No thieves, either. I'm in the "kids can understand complexity" camp, but T&T is also fast-moving, and I've had better luck using it with kids than I have with D&D. I've not played anything past 3.5, so I can't comment on the ease of use of newer editions of D&D, however.
 
Kids playing characters their own age wouldn't be comedy relief.
It depends. The time I played Tray-Cee, a female teenage dwarf who was loud and annoying that was deliberate comedy relief and she was the dwarf equivalent of my age then. Weirdly, my fellow player Tracy never seemed to find the character funny.
 
It depends. The time I played Tray-Cee, a female teenage dwarf who was loud and annoying that was deliberate comedy relief and she was the dwarf equivalent of my age then. Weirdly, my fellow player Tracy never seemed to find the character funny.
Well, more specifically, a group of kids playing characters their own age aren't going to be comedy relief. If the scenario is serious the kids will play it like that, in my experience anyway. Most preteens and young teens are pretty keen on being taken seriously.

Anyway, my posts above are assuming someone wants to instruct a group that age, rather than just give them resources and let them go. There's nothing wrong with the latter option, at all.
 
You know, it is always funny to me that people suggest going with something light with kids. I'm not saying that you go with something super heavy but... to be honest when I was a kid I had a lot more tolerance for heavier games than I do now. Hell I ENJOYED heavy intricate games back then. Probably has something to do with the amount of free time I had in comparison...
This is a valid statement and needs to be repeated: Kids are NOT stupid, especially at that age.
 
Of course they aren't stupid, but that doesn't mean that teaching them the game isn't different than just letting them have at it. Both are fine btw, but they aren't the same thing.
 
Of course they aren't stupid, but that doesn't mean that teaching them the game isn't different than just letting them have at it. Both are fine btw, but they aren't the same thing.
My point is, don't be afraid to try to give them your favourite game. I'm almost positive the kids would be able handle it.
 
My point is, don't be afraid to try to give them your favourite game. I'm almost positive the kids would be able handle it.
Yup, for sure, but I'd still recommend chunking it down and instructing it in discrete parts if you want the kids to pick it up quickly and start off on a level playing field. The more complex the system, the more important that is if you want the whole group to move to independent gaming at the same time.

So for 5E D&D, just off the top of my head, I'd start with some basic no-magic low moving parts characters to get them working skill tests in a variety of ways, along with ideas about advantage and the basics of combat. Essentially an intro to playing with d20's. Then I'd add some complexity, maybe adding cover and some other moving parts to combat, and saves and conditions. In both cases I'd use a mix of single creatures and mixed groups to teach combat basics. The I'd maybe intro some basic spell casting and whatever bit and bobs I hadn't covered. Call that a three session intro to the basics. Then I'd do basic character gen and run some actual multi session games. Obviously that could be more granular with some planning, but the bare bones are there as-is.
 
My point is, don't be afraid to try to give them your favourite game. I'm almost positive the kids would be able handle it.
I'm not going to crack Aftermath out with new RPGers of any age, anymore than I'd use Advanced Squad Leader to introduce people to wargames. At least not unless they specifically ask for it, knowing what they're getting into
 
My point originally was more that a light game isn't necessarily what I'd always go for. It really depends on what kids.

I'd actually probably go with something like 5e D&D as boring of an answer as that is.
 
Can you expand on why you think a more dense game isn't more difficult to use as a first run game? Especially if the goal is to have a group of kids all kinda graduate to independent gaming at the same time. I think you can use most games, but a lighter game has less moving parts, and that seems to directly index ease of acquisition.
 
Can you expand on why you think a more dense game isn't more difficult to use as a first run game? Especially if the goal is to have a group of kids all kinda graduate to independent gaming at the same time. I think you can use most games, but a lighter game has less moving parts, and that seems to directly index ease of acquisition.

As I said, it really depends on WHAT kids.

I know that if the first game I played wasn't middle weight I probably never would have gotten into the hobby like I did. Light systems were something I developed a taste for later. As a kid I wanted all those fun widgets to play with.
 
I haven't read any of the thread so this may all be covered.

My six and four year old like playing No Thank You Evil!
This is an RPG targeted at young kids. They like that. My eight year old won't play it. He knows it is targeted at kids. He wants to be a big kid. He'll play D&D 5e or 3E. Why? Those are adult games. I tried to get him to play BX and he wouldn't do it because he could see it was less complex and that must mean it's easier and therefore aimed at kids.

An 11-14 year old wants an adult game.
 
Like the funny thing is I think "oh man, Pugmire" but then realized that as a younger teen I wouldn't have been nearly as interested in playing it as I am now.

Seriously I just want to play Pugmire to make a just genuinely good, friendly, himbo character.
 
I haven't read any of the thread so this may all be covered.

My six and four year old like playing No Thank You Evil!
This is an RPG targeted at young kids. They like that. My eight year old won't play it. He knows it is targeted at kids. He wants to be a big kid. He'll play D&D 5e or 3E. Why? Those are adult games. I tried to get him to play BX and he wouldn't do it because he could see it was less complex and that must mean it's easier and therefore aimed at kids.

An 11-14 year old wants an adult game.
I'm just going to add the eight year old girl down the street is enthralled with 5e. She is hard to shut up about her 16th level paladin. Now I know what it's like to be my wife.
 
Last edited:
The thing you have to remember is the whole concept of the C.S. Lewis quote:

"Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

Kids and teens want to be grown up. It wasn't until I was grown up that I actually found that I could enjoyed games about childish things quite a lot.
 
I think using one's younger self as some kind of guide to all other kids is not a good approach.
I swear to heaven, Voros Voros, if I say the sky's blue, you'll come along and say it's more of a medium violet.

We're the tiny minority for whom D&D and other rpgs stuck, in my experience most kids bounced off D&D hard or quickly lost interest.
Yeah, who woulda guessed kids who are interested in something would be more likely to remain interested in it? Anyway, one can enjoy something without becoming a lifer - it's a silly statement, honestly.

Again, lead the ponies to water - they'll decide how thirsty they are.

Dumarest Dumarest is the one on here with the most RL experience playing rpgs with younger kids.
Winterblight Winterblight inquired about kids ages 11-14; I ran 5e for four twelve year-olds and two fourteen year-olds, and I ran Mothership for the Cabin Kids, ages 12-13 and 14-15 at the time. I do have some idea of what interests 'kids these days' in roleplaying games, and - to no one's surprise, I'll imagine - they didn't 'bounce off' D&D; in fact, they enjoyed it, which must shovel sand in the haters' vajayjays for days.
 
Winterblight Winterblight inquired about kids ages 11-14; I ran 5e for four twelve year-olds and two fourteen year-olds, and I ran Mothership for the Cabin Kids, ages 12-13 and 14-15 at the time. I do have some idea of what interests 'kids these days' in roleplaying games, and - to no one's surprise, I'll imagine - they didn't 'bounce off' D&D; in fact, they enjoyed it, which must shovel sand in the haters' vajayjays for days.
I've also run 5e for preteens/younger teens. Didn't bounce off them.
 
I think that is more true of kids in the past, some kids these days are less self-conscious about being into overtly kid things.
Can only go with my nephew here, who's 13, but he and his mates would definitely shy away from anything that seemed immature to them. it's mot the case that's what's considering suspect has mutated; stuff like video gaming is now mainstream.
 
I mean, to be fair, there is still some resistance to certain premises based on concerns I don't consider that important nowadays even with adults. (It really is hard to find players for a magical girl tabletop game...)
 
To a certain extent, its not the kids I'm worried about, its the GM :grin:

Maybe I should have asked what game do you recommend for a adult GM of limited experience running a game for 11-14 year olds that have never played before. I'm not sure the answers would be any different.
 
If the GM has limited experience, then I would suggest the game that they have the most experience with, even if it is limited. Familiarity is your best friend if you haven't GMed a lot.
 
To a certain extent, its not the kids I'm worried about, its the GM :grin:

Maybe I should have asked what game do you recommend for a adult GM of limited experience running a game for 11-14 year olds that have never played before. I'm not sure the answers would be any different.
I'd still suggest Kids on Bikes. The cognitive load is even more important for the GM here. You need to be focused as much as possible on running the game and facilitating the mechanics. That will be easier if you don't have a huge load of setting and mechanics to juggle. Some of the OSR suggestions above would also work. In that case I'd recommend shrinking the setting to a home village and adventuring surroundings. Keep it simple, and as EmperorNorton EmperorNorton suggests, if there is a game that you're already comfortable with, that would be a good choice.
 
OK, more seriously*, I'm going to suggest Camp Cretaceous.




*My previous suggestion being Maid sets a low bar, though:grin:!
 
I’m trying to get my head around the notion that D&D isn’t aimed at kids.
Doesn't that depend on the edition:devil:?

And regardless, I'd rather not expose the innocent kids to the travesty that D&D rules are:shade:!
 
Basic D&D or one of the OSR clones thereof could work, as would Big Eyes Small Mouth
 
For new players, especially young ones, I'd avoid systems where character creation involves list-type selections of character traits like BESM,
unless the GM is using the character modelling approach.
 
For new players, especially young ones, I'd avoid systems where character creation involves list-type selections of character traits like BESM,
unless the GM is using the character modelling approach.
I'd amend that to "unless the GM is willing to help".
 
I'd amend that to "unless the GM is willing to help".

I wouldn't, I assume the GM is helping anyways, but you can't "help" with a list of 100+ choices (this is assuming it's not a system written by a dick who inserted "trap options" as well). The player either needs to already know what character they want to create and to a certain extent how the system works, or the GM's "help" is essentially directing them on what character to create, removing all the fun from character creation.
 
For new players, especially young ones, I'd avoid systems where character creation involves list-type selections of character traits like BESM,
unless the GM is using the character modelling approach.

It's really one of the things I liked about the Numenera character creation. [Adjective] [Noun] who [Verbs] with lists of stuff to go in each one is a really easy to understand character creation system that creates a lot of variety without a lot of fiddly decisions.
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top