Games Suited For Younger Gamers - Give Me Your Recommendations

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Winterblight

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I know some of you folks regularly run games for young gamers and I'm looking to pick your brains. I've been asked for recommendations for RPGs for 11-14 year olds. My friend works in a school and is thinking of running a few sessions and is looking for something that he can run and that the kids can then do their own thing with. My friend is an experienced player, but not so much as a GM. I'm assuming the genre is going to be fantasy.

I was going to suggest what I started on, which is far as I can remember is B/X, but some of the modern stuff might be better explained. So any suggestions or any experiences you want to share?

I searched for younger gamers on the PUB forum, but the hits included OSR Fatigue and Advanced Sex Moves, neither of which is that appropriate to the topic on hand :tongue:
 
Kids on Bikes would be my first pick. If you wanted fantasy then a basic OSR rules set would probably do. Basic Black Hack maybe, or one of the commercial ones. Something with really low rules overhead.
 
Depending on the knowledge of the players, almost any RPG should be playable by 11-14 year olds. When I started my Arcana Unearthed campaign, we ended up having one of the players 10 year old son join us. He did quite well, and D20 of course is not a simple system.

BX would be an excellent choice though.
 
You sometimes read that kids often aren't particularly interested in playing kid characters. I didn't play RPGs at that age, so I don't really know, but I think I would've preferred to just play grown-up adventurers.
 
I'd agree that most games are fine, as long as he doesn't try to run KULT or something.. That age is when a lot of kids discover RPGs.

That said, I'd throw in a recommendation for The Lone Wolf Adventure Game. Lots of support material, the option to choose from various levels of rules complexity (although even the "advanced" version is relatively low crunch) and most importantly a great deal of new GM support. The last one could be useful if any of the kids decide they want to try their hand at GMing.

You sometimes read that kids often aren't particularly interested in playing kid characters. I didn't play RPGs at that age, so I don't really know, but I think I would've preferred to just play grown-up adventurers.

I did play at that age and that was how we saw things. The main reason we didn't like Villains and Vigiliantes is because of the "play yourself as a superhero" motif. We didn't want to be the Boy Wonder, we wanted to be Batman! I think I played one kid in my entire time as a teenager gamer and that was mostly a comedy relief character.
 
Hmmm. That's a tough one. I can't speak for Gen Z but thinking back to when I was that age, I would want to run something that didn't make me feel like I was being pandered to. So I'd steer clear of anything that appears to be marketed specifically "for kids."

That said, we also have to keep the needs of the audience in mind. I would focus on 2 things: accessibility and keeping it PG-13.

Accessibility: We'll definitely want to avoid games with really complex, head-crushing mechanics. We want something with good Ease of Play. The mechanics should be simple and straightforward and keep the action moving to fit into those short Gen Z attention spans.

That means the overwhelming majority of Storygames are right out. Despite what Storygame devs will say, often and loudly, I've found their particular brand of narrativist gameplay supremely inaccessible. They are often stuffed to the brim with nonsensical mechanics like "Invokes" "Advantages" "Momentum" and weird DM vs Players story point economies that have almost no bearing on what's actually happening to the characters in the game.

You'll also probably want to steer clear from systems that are really deadly or sport nasty critical hit charts. We don't want to drive away these would be gamers when their pretty elf princess gets a disfiguring facial scar in the first round of combat.

This is a case where you are going to have to take the temperature of your group as to just how deadly the game should be and this will have to be on a case-by-case basis.

Keeping it PG-13: This part is going to be a tight-rope walk, since you're going to have to keep the content kid friendly without looking like you're deliberately pandering to them.

To that end, you'll want to steer clear of especially gory or brutal critical hit charts. Most kids these days play M rated games. I know I certainly did. However, it's one thing to inflict hideous injuries on someone else, it's quite another to have it done TO a character that you put time and effort into.

It should also go without saying, but if you want to start them on OSR you should probably steer clear of the Raggian wing of the OSR which delights in rubbing the smuttiest and most un-PC elements of their work in the reader's face for shock value.

To that end I have a few suggestions if we're keeping to a Fantasy theme.

First I'd suggest DnD 5th edition. Ducks to avoid a hail of rotten fruit and bricks.

Wait! Wait! DnD does have some real advantages here. WotC's success making DnD 5e a social media branding powerhouse means that it's instantly recognizable even for non-gamers. 5e's rules are also way simpler and more accessible than any other edition. Not to mention the truly titanic levels of support 5e gets. 5e also has the advantage of being quite forgiving which is a plus if we want to turn these curious kids into the next generation of Grognards.

If you want to go in a more OSR direction, might I suggest either Old School Essentials or Advanced Fighting Fantasy.

Old School Essentials is surprisingly accessible for a game based on the Basic/Expert set. It does wonders laying out the rules for old, original DND in a very simple and easy to understand way. It also does wonders to de-mystify THAC0. Of course being very old school, it's extremely deadly. 0 HP equals Dead and plenty of traps and poison are Save or Die so take this on a case-by-case basis.

Of these I think Advanced Fighting Fantasy is one of my newest favorite systems. It's incredibly simple system. Characters have only 4 Attributes: Skill, Stamina, Magic and Luck. The rules are written in a wonderfully narrativist way to. There's lest fiddly bits and charts and numbers to stand between the Game Master and the story. Things like Spell Effects are very open to interpretation to and the system rewards creative use of spells.
 
Of these I think Advanced Fighting Fantasy is one of my newest favorite systems. It's incredibly simple system. Characters have only 4 Attributes: Skill, Stamina, Magic and Luck. The rules are written in a wonderfully narrativist way to. There's lest fiddly bits and charts and numbers to stand between the Game Master and the story. Things like Spell Effects are very open to interpretation to and the system rewards creative use of spells.

This is also an excellent recommendation and Arion Games are very proactive in supporting the system.
 
Accessibility: We'll definitely want to avoid games with really complex, head-crushing mechanics. We want something with good Ease of Play. The mechanics should be simple and straightforward and keep the action moving to fit into those short Gen Z attention spans.

That means the overwhelming majority of Storygames are right out. Despite what Storygame devs will say, often and loudly, I've found their particular brand of narrativist gameplay supremely inaccessible. They are often stuffed to the brim with nonsensical mechanics like "Invokes" "Advantages" "Momentum" and weird DM vs Players story point economies that have almost no bearing on what's actually happening to the characters in the game.

I agree with you, but coming at it from a different angle; a lot of rules-light systems assume that you already know how to do a roleplaying, so they tend to lack context for why things are done how they are in that given game and structure for what do actually do with the game (Unless they're heavily based around running a particular scenario). As long as you have a GM who can provide that context, great, but otherwise it's like throwing them in a pool and yelling "swimming's easy! just stop drowning!".

Wait! Wait! DnD does have some real advantages here. WotC's success making DnD 5e a social media branding powerhouse means that it's instantly recognizable even for non-gamers. 5e's rules are also way simpler and more accessible than any other edition. Not to mention the truly titanic levels of support 5e gets. 5e also has the advantage of being quite forgiving which is a plus if we want to turn these curious kids into the next generation of Grognards.
Solid choice.

Of these I think Advanced Fighting Fantasy is one of my newest favorite systems. It's incredibly simple system. Characters have only 4 Attributes: Skill, Stamina, Magic and Luck. The rules are written in a wonderfully narrativist way to. There's lest fiddly bits and charts and numbers to stand between the Game Master and the story. Things like Spell Effects are very open to interpretation to and the system rewards creative use of spells.
Best choice. Personally I think the structure of the 1st edition books were better for this - they assume that you're literally starting from scratch, so the book opens with an introductory scenario that gradually introduces the needed rules and teaches players how to play and GM's how to GM, then gives the main block of rules, then has another adventure that gradually removes the GM support as you go - but the current edition is great and more mechanically sound, and has a lot of useful support material.
 
Yeah regardless of game I would recommend these things based on my own experiences:

- a system that you, the DM, is fully comfortable with; a system that you know in and out. That way you never have to grind the momentum to a halt as you look up a rule.

- a system with a universal “do thing” roll; some games, OSR or story game, have very specific rules to cover very specific genre conventions. Those can be problematic when a player wants to do something not covered by those rules. So use a system with simple “do stuff” rolls, not too abstract.

- when reduced to 0 hp or defeated, don’t kill anyone. Instead have them captured or restrained and given a cool opportunity to escape!

- as others have already stated, don’t assume that kids want to be kids. Monte Cook’s “No thank you evil!” Seems awfully condescending to me as a parent.

- be ready to improvise and roll with what the kids come up with!
 
I'd agree that most games are fine, as long as he doesn't try to run KULT or something.. That age is when a lot of kids discover RPGs.

That said, I'd throw in a recommendation for The Lone Wolf Adventure Game. Lots of support material, the option to choose from various levels of rules complexity (although even the "advanced" version is relatively low crunch) and most importantly a great deal of new GM support. The last one could be useful if any of the kids decide they want to try their hand at GMing.



I did play at that age and that was how we saw things. The main reason we didn't like Villains and Vigiliantes is because of the "play yourself as a superhero" motif. We didn't want to be the Boy Wonder, we wanted to be Batman! I think I played one kid in my entire time as a teenager gamer and that was mostly a comedy relief character.
This might be different for younger players. There´s a couple of games aimed at very young children, even ones aimed at children GMing them for their peers.
 
At 11-14 most RPGs are available to choose from provided that they aren’t too complex or deal with sensitive issues. I have run an event inside a local convention for the last 10 years that caters to 5-12 year olds, and have seen the older children ably play (and run) the likes of D&D5e (the new Essentials Kit is great for this), Liminal, Epyllion, Golden Sky Stories, The One Ring, and Far Away Land.

My main advice is don’t assume that you should run an RPG where the kids play kids. Most kids want to play adults or young adults. So RPGs like Tales from the Loop tend to be better wit adults.

A good “all in one book, jump in right away” RPG is the Labyrinth RPG. It would also be great for a new GM and any of the younger RPGers who are looking to GM.
 
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Best choice. Personally I think the structure of the 1st edition books were better for this - they assume that you're literally starting from scratch, so the book opens with an introductory scenario that gradually introduces the needed rules and teaches players how to play and GM's how to GM, then gives the main block of rules, then has another adventure that gradually removes the GM support as you go - but the current edition is great and more mechanically sound, and has a lot of useful support material.

Incidentally, that's also why I suggested Lone Wolf. It does something very similar; starts with the core rules and gradually branches out as it gives you more adventures.
 
That said, I'd throw in a recommendation for The Lone Wolf Adventure Game. Lots of support material, the option to choose from various levels of rules complexity (although even the "advanced" version is relatively low crunch) and most importantly a great deal of new GM support. The last one could be useful if any of the kids decide they want to try their hand at GMing.

Since this is for kids at school (and assuming they are in the US) I have the core boxed set and some of the supplements I'd be willing to send them. No charge.
 
The benefit of a game like Kids on Bikes is that it has really low cognitive overhead. The kids are kids, they ride bikes, they know the present day, and they've consumed lots of media that indexes the sorts of things you can do with the game. That allows you to focus on the actual nuts and bolts of action resolution and the rest of the game-y bits. I'd probably sell it as a goosebumps kinda thing, that always gets good buy in form the kids I teach that are the same age.
 
I've been running games for some young relatives for about 4 years now. Maybe longer. The oldest of them starts High School next year. The best advice I can offer is:

-Ask what types of games they'd like to play (supers, fantasy, Star Wars, etc.), then work your way to a suitable system.

-Keep the sessions to two hours or less. They're kids, and may not have the attention span of your adult friends. Also, consider planning a fifteen-minute "halftime break".

-Kids REALLY like levelling up, and hate perma-death. I view both of these as an outgrowth of video game culture. If it sounds like I'm grousing, I'm not. What I'm saying is that if you tailor your games to the kids' expectations, experience and interests, it will be more enjoyable for everyone.

-Look at the entertainment they consume, and learn from it. Don't be afraid to use campy, over-the-top villains, or cinematic action and plot points. They'll eat it up.

-They are going to give their characters painfully silly names, just roll with it.

-Don't bother with too much extraneous detail. Use broad strokes.

-Be prepared to offer gentle correction of disruptive behavior.

-Most importantly, don't underestimate their ability to comprehend rules. They're smarter than they get credit for.

If you plan your sessions accordingly, there's no reason this can't be fun for you, and for them. For the record, this group of youngsters has played Golden Heroes, 2e Paranoia, Labyrinth Lord, MSH, 5e T&T, and Masks (not the Magpie Games one, Blacky the Blackballs MSH/Icons mash-up). Hope this helps!
 
I didn't read the OP closely, not that I recommended anything I wouldn't still recommend...

I was going to say don't worry about critical hit charts, kids that age will eat them up, BUT if it's in a school setting, run by a teacher, that changes things...

Really, don't worry about complexity of rules, other than maybe from the inexperienced GM angle. Actually he should just run the game he has played the most...

Kids who are starting to geek out on RPGs are going to want more complexity rather than less.

And despite Gringr's suggestion of avoiding permanent death, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The 11 year of who played in my Arcana Unearthed game had one of the few PC deaths and he immediately started working on a new character, no grousing. I think actually for him it was an opportunity to try something different.
 
The Pub playing to its stereotype as the nicest RPGers on the Internet again I see. ;)

Absolutely

Since this is for kids at school (and assuming they are in the US) I have the core boxed set and some of the supplements I'd be willing to send them. No charge.

A very kind offer. Unfortunately for the kids, they are in the UK or Northern Ireland to be precise.
 
I didn't read the OP closely, not that I recommended anything I wouldn't still recommend...

I was going to say don't worry about critical hit charts, kids that age will eat them up, BUT if it's in a school setting, run by a teacher, that changes things...

Really, don't worry about complexity of rules, other than maybe from the inexperienced GM angle. Actually he should just run the game he has played the most...

Kids who are starting to geek out on RPGs are going to want more complexity rather than less.

Personally I loved complexity and crunch as a kid, but then my face wasn't welded to a smartphone as it appears to be the case today. My friend is a lab technician in the school, which could make for an interesting roleplaying session.
 
I agree with you, but coming at it from a different angle; a lot of rules-light systems assume that you already know how to do a roleplaying, so they tend to lack context for why things are done how they are in that given game and structure for what do actually do with the game (Unless they're heavily based around running a particular scenario). As long as you have a GM who can provide that context, great, but otherwise it's like throwing them in a pool and yelling "swimming's easy! just stop drowning!".
This. A lot of the rules-lite systems can be surprisingly difficult for newcomers to grok which is why I recommended games with just enough crunch to give intuitive structure. I have taught newcomers to the hobby in all three game systems I mentioned (B/X just a few weeks ago!) and it was fast and easy in all cases.

Honorable mention goes to 5e but it took all 3 of my newcomers a few sessions to fully get a handle on things. Compared to say, B/X there's a lot of stuff going on in 5e, a lot of abilities and spells to track even on 1st level characters. EDIT: I got around this by making 3x5 player flash cards for spells and abilities.
 
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...
 
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...
I am sure a lot of that is because you were super engaged and invested in RPGs so I don't think that is a fair comparison. When I work with newcomers I assume every one of them is a casual player and not invested or engaged enough to make it into a lifetime hobby.
 
If it's a heavy system, do a lot of the heavy lifting behind the screen (like code in a video game). Don't overwhelm them with too much detail at the start.

I like to mention their abilities and skills and narrate why they help them in their tasks. But in the end, I just tell them what dice to roll and tell them the result based on that. I kept a copy of the kids' character sheets behind the screen so I could add up their bonuses on the fly.
 
I know some of you folks regularly run games for young gamers and I'm looking to pick your brains. I've been asked for recommendations for RPGs for 11-14 year olds. My friend works in a school and is thinking of running a few sessions and is looking for something that he can run and that the kids can then do their own thing with. My friend is an experienced player, but not so much as a GM. I'm assuming the genre is going to be fantasy.

I was going to suggest what I started on, which is far as I can remember is B/X, but some of the modern stuff might be better explained. So any suggestions or any experiences you want to share?

I searched for younger gamers on the PUB forum, but the hits included OSR Fatigue and Advanced Sex Moves, neither of which is that appropriate to the topic on hand :tongue:
As I started GMing at 11 (As I was the only one who wanted to), I'd have to say that any game system that isn't over the top gory (but that's just my Canandian-isms peaking I suppose) in it's art or presentation is fine, in my opinion. When I hear 'younger' I assume you mean like 9-11, where attention span might be an issue.
 
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...

I agree. My first game ever was Champions 2nd Edition, but I know it wouldn't have clicked for everyone. The best luck I have had is with Savage Worlds, mostly because the kids liked all the fiddly bits (Bennies, tokens, cards, etc) and the super simple Warrior, Rogue, Mage. Savage Worlds definitely required heavier lifting on my part but I've had good luck with first-timers catching on quick. WRM took no effort at all.

The other option I'd recommend is D&D 5e just because of the amount of online resources and streamers. Run a couple games for the kids and I bet they'll start looking at actual plays, which could help them get more and more into it.
 
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...
I moved to heavier games quickly, but I started with B/X.

Generally, I think it's better to start off with lighter games with any new gamer, not just kids. If they want something crunchier it's easy enough to scale up, but if you start too heavy there's a much bigger chance of scaring them off.
 
If you want any new gamer to really to be able to pay attention to the rules, and what they need to be doing at the table, you need to lighten the load elsewhere. You dont have to, but the learning curve steepens if you don't, and you're more likely to have players get lost at the table. A lot of people learn a rules set before learn how to play an RPG. I think it's easier to learn it the other way round. YMMV of course, and anyone who likes the game will get there in the end regardless.
 
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I think there are a few options here, I agree the best advice is usually a game you have experience with yourself. It streamlines the running for the players immensely and they are the target of the game.

If you have a choice then there are two camps:

Readily available
Simple

If you get enthusiastic players you want to go on and do their own thing, then a game that's easily available is better than one that the developer has gone and you can only get on the second hand market.

Generally this means D&D of course but if you are happy to get orders first then POD means a lot more games are available now, but of course you won't find them in stores.

Personally I find simple to be a better metric for recommendation for kids. A single core mechanic and not many 'fiddly bits' really helps.

Now I know that I may be biased because I like it so much, but Freeform Universal would be my choice. It doesn't walk you through the learning process but that is something that is better learnt in person. It only uses d6, and gives good narrative pushing results and avoids numbers (other than reading the highest or lowest result).

Other than that AFF is a good choice, again d6 only and simple to play. It helps that it ties in with the FF books, so students can get immersed in those solo books and get ideas for running their own game.
 
Apropos of nothing in particular ive used the based 2d6 PbtA mechanic to teach writing conflict and failure to kids of the same age.
 
FWIW I have also found that complexity is less of an issue for younger players than many seem to think. Younger players are capable of handling complex systems. You only need to look at the computer games that are popular today.

However, a lower complexity can be useful depending on the age, as the skill levels (math, reading, attention span) for younger players can vary more considerably than in adults and until you know where everyone sits, a complex system can present a barrier to certain individuals.
 
The benefit of a game like Kids on Bikes is that it has really low cognitive overhead. The kids are kids, they ride bikes, they know the present day, and they've consumed lots of media that indexes the sorts of things you can do with the game. That allows you to focus on the actual nuts and bolts of action resolution and the rest of the game-y bits. I'd probably sell it as a goosebumps kinda thing, that always gets good buy in form the kids I teach that are the same age.

Low cognitive for system is a good point. However, I don't think its something that is as important for the story. Kids tend to be more attracted by the way an RPG allows them to be something that they aren't, particularly older characters and ones with special abilities.
 
I'd probably draw a line here between teaching and play. Kids can play anything, we've all beem there. But learning how to RPG is a different beast and not one best served by complex rules and a ton of setting to digest.
 
Low cognitive for system is a good point. However, I don't think its something that is as important for the story. Kids tend to be more attracted by the way an RPG allows them to be something that they aren't, particularly older characters and ones with special abilities.
Yeah, I'd probably target the exact choice to the specific kids. Their ability to construct story on the fly and react to game stimuli is really the key. That abity set has a wide range when kids are 11 to 14.
 
I agree that kids that age can handle heavier rules sets ... look, how many stereotypes down the years have been as valid as the junior high school D&D group?

For my part, for anything low-tech, I haven't seen a better system for novices than The Fantasy Trip. Simple, clean mechanics, rules-light, and yay, it's back in print.
 
My experience is with slightly older kids (14-16 when we started playing), so that skewers things a bit. Also, in my case the choice of game was partially pre-decided by the fact that a couple of the teens had access to a copy of the old red box Basic book.

As a broad suggestion, you probably want something that starts simple, but perhaps with the option of adding more complexity as the game progresses. Not every player will want that increase in complexity, but some will probably will want to fiddle with and explore/rules lawyer the system more than others.

Although not an absolute rule, in prose publishing there was an adage that kids want heroes a bit older than them, but not too much older. Pre-teens like reading about teenage characters, teens like reading about college age characters(1). If having the PC's be older teens on the cusp of adulthood is acceptable(2), Beyond The Wall might be a good option. It's basically D&D at its core, but strips away everything not needed for the type of game it's aiming for, and streamlines the mechanics to where pretty much any task roll uses a d20.

If you want something more traditionally D&D, Basic Fantasy (which I use for running games for the teens) is a mostly-clone of B/X, with the advantage of the PDFs being free and the print versions being published at cost. It's not what you would call 'streamlined' in its mechanics, though (d20 for combat, percentile for thieves skills, d6 to determine surprise, etc), which can be a turn-off for some.

If they are open top other genres, then there's a lot more options. Superheroes might be something they would like, but aside from questions of system, more than any other genre IMO everyone really needs to be on the same page to make it work.



(1) Harry Potter may have changed this 'accepted' wisdom.

(2) So, you know, Traveller is a no go.
 
Has anyone suggested Maid yet:tongue:?

I'd probably draw a line here between teaching and play. Kids can play anything, we've all beem there. But learning how to RPG is a different beast and not one best served by complex rules and a ton of setting to digest.
Depends on the specific kids, again.
 
My two recommendations are:
  • Advanced Fighting Fantasy
  • Dungeons & Dragons 5E (Essentials Kit) - The Essentials Kit trims down the number of Character Classes, and just seems less bloated. I would also advise that when leveling up, choose to gain a Characteristic Bonus rather than a new Feat - it keeps it simpler
That should be okay, at least for 12yrs old +




(UPDATE: I actually just replied to the OP question without reading all the previous posters' comment. Now after reading the other comments, it seems I haven't offered anything new, but it does reinforce that both AFF and D&D 5E can be decent options here)
 
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