TEXT: Top Of The Table – Introducing Kids To RPGs  
  by Matt Miller on Jul 22, 2016 at 10:00 AM 
   
  Ask anyone who has played role-playing games with friends or family over the years; there are 
  few better ways to build relationships, foster laughter, and have a great time than sitting together 
  to create a story. For all of the fantastic worlds RPGs take us to, the opportunity to come together 
  with other people is the best part of the experience. But what if you want to share that laughter 
  and adventure with your daughter or son, niece or nephew, or even the kids you mentor in a club 
  or school?  
  Playing role-playing games is a fantastic way to bring kids out of their shell, and give them 
  power to shape a story as it comes into being, rather than always witnessing it from the outside 
  like they might with a movie or book. It’s also an amazing way to bring adults and kids together, 
  and build trust through a shared experience.  
  If you’re the adult, it’s up to you to understand the game, and most of the time, to be the 
  gamemaster who guides the story. But don’t be intimidated. Follow the suggestions below to 
  help ensure everybody has a great time. And if you’re looking for great role-playing games to try 
  with younger players, flip over to the second page for some RPGS specifically designed with 
  kids in mind. 
  Start With Story 
  
  No matter the game, the starting point should always be characters and story – not rules. The less 
  time spent at the outset talking about guidelines and mechanics, the better. There’s a reason why 
  kids (and adults, for that matter) gravitate to storytelling in picture books and TV shows – we’re 
  predisposed as people to enjoy sharing stories with one another.  
  Think of one or two sentences that describe the story and the game, and ask your young players 
  if they want to join in. Rules can come later, and even then, it’s probably best to keep most of the 
  particulars to yourself. If dice need to be rolled, you can tell them which dice when the time 
  comes. If a player wants to do something, you can describe how to do it. Keep the focus on the 
  story moving forward, and make sure the players in your group feel like they’re helping the story 
  progress through the actions of their characters. 
  Make Character Creation Fun 
  Many RPGs involve making a character first before the story begins. A lot of the games that are 
  targeted to young players, (like the ones on the next page) have advice for how to make character 
  creation engaging. But here are a few tips to help you with the process, no matter the game. 
  First, like with the broader story, keep the rules light. Try to find out what makes each kid 
  excited, and help him or her find their way to the character that matches that description. 
  Especially for the youngest players, it’s okay to guide them along a little bit; you probably know 
  if your niece loves pirates, and if so, offer suggestions that let make an awesome swashbuckling 
  hero. 
  If you’ve got an inquisitive kid on your hand, they may have questions about the numbers or 
  words that go on their character sheet, and feel free to answer. Just don’t get bogged down in the 
  details. 
  One technique I’ve had good luck with is to build characters as part of the story. For instance, if 
  you’ve got a team of wanna-be Harry Potters, maybe your game starts on a train headed to the 
  magical school; you ask each kid to introduce themselves, and you can help fill in the blanks on 
  their sheet as they talk.  
  Some children are going to be reticent to make a decision about their character. If so, promise 
  them that they can change things later if they want.  
  Provide Options 
  The essence of a role-playing game is frequently a GM setting a scene, and the players being the 
  chief instigators in how that scene unfolds. 
  Experienced role-players often bristle when given specific multiple choice options about how to 
  proceed – they want absolute freedom, and wise GMs know when to give exactly that. But that 
  same freedom is rarely the right choice with a new group of kids playing RPGs for the first time. 
  
  And who can blame them? It’s hard to wrap your head around the idea of a game where you can 
  do virtually anything you can imagine!  
  To get started, don’t be afraid to provide some clear choices in any given situation. It’s 
  wonderful to visit a secret laboratory filled with friendly robots, but it might be hard to know 
  what to do. If the kids know they can search for clues about the missing robotics builder, talk to 
  one of the robots, or leave through the door at the other end of the room, then each player can 
  decide what happens next.  
  Later on, experiment with more freeform encounters – you’ll know when the kids in your group 
  are ready to figure out their own options. 
   
  Photo: Playtest of Monte Cook Games' No Thank You, Evil! 
  Expect Chaos 
  A single factor unites virtually every experience I’ve had playing RPGs with young players; at 
  some point, things are likely to devolve into chaos. And up to a point, that’s okay.  
  Once a group of kids begins to realize role-playing games let them do whatever they want, that 
  sense of power can be overwhelming. “You mean my knight can go punch the king? I’m doing 
  THAT!”  
  Role-playing games are an ideal place to let kids express their feelings and get excited, and you 
  should encourage that. But some things aren’t alright.  
  
  Raucous laughter and occasional shouting is to be expected, but you need to set the limits. If 
  things are getting too insane, explain that the story can’t continue until everybody listens. You 
  know what works with the kids you are playing with, so use that knowledge to guide the session.  
  Also, in an RPG with kids, it’s never okay for one player’s character to hurt another player’s 
  character. You are the GM – if one player is about to do something that is likely to lead to tears 
  from someone else, you have any number of ways to stop that within the narrative of the game.  
  Say Yes 
  This goes along with the last suggestion a little bit, but it’s one of the most important things to 
  learn as a GM. Frankly, it’s a trick that is equally important with more grown-up players.  
  If a player asks to do something, or wants to attempt a crazy feat, or would like to say something 
  wild, then most of the time it’s okay to just say yes.  
  Role-playing games frequently focus on situations and characters that probably won’t arise in 
  real life. So why fixate on what is possible or impossible? Let the player try whatever it is that is 
  getting them so excited. 
  The trick here is to understand that trying isn’t the same thing as succeeding. If your son wants to 
  have his character jump over the building, it’s probably not going to work (unless he’s playing as 
  a superhero). But give him the chance to try, and celebrate the fun of both success and failure. 
  When he fails the roll to make that jump, he’ll laugh as you describe what happens, and so will 
  his friends, his sister, or whoever else is at the table. 
  Pay Attention To Your Players 
  The best GMs know a secret that is true for any gaming group, no matter their age. Pay attention 
  to what your players like. Ultimately, your job is to facilitate a fun time for everyone, and a little 
  bit of observation goes a long way. Watch what makes the kids in your group excited, and focus 
  on that.  
  This is easier said than done, especially if you have several players in the group. Each of them 
  might have different desires for the way the game should go. Some of them want to have their 
  characters talk all the time. Some want to just be goofy all the time. Try to give everyone a 
  moment to shine, and use your attention as the GM as a tool to draw individual players in. It 
  might take some coaxing, but a shy player often really appreciates the chance to share their 
  thoughts and plans, even if other players at the table are louder or seemingly more engaged.  
   
  Watch The Time 
  
  Adult gaming groups will sometimes play for many hours at a stretch, but that’s probably not 
  going to fly with a group of very young players. Keep sessions short, with simple goals that can 
  be accomplished in a single session. Even if the kids in your group are eager to keep going, 
  consider a brief break when the kids are getting restless.  
  On this final point, be willing to recognize that any amount of time might be too long. Some 
  seven-year old kids are going to be rapt with attention for a role-playing game and its story, and 
  another child the same age won’t be able to sit still for more than five minutes. There’s a simple 
  answer here – wait and try again a few hours, days, weeks, or months later, and see if they want 
  to try again. Just like with grown-ups, not every kid is going to love the hobby. But when they 
  do, it’s an amazing activity you can share with them. 
  Next Page: Check out some of the best role-playing games to try with kids 
   
  No Thank You, Evil! 
  One of the best new role-playing systems of the last decade is Monte Cook Games’ Cypher 
  System, which has been fleshed out through weird and wonderful games like Numenera and The 
  Strange. No Thank You, Evil! is a brand-new project from the publisher, taking the core conceits 
  of the Cypher System and adapting them for a younger audience.  
  Every character in the game is built around a sentence. The age of your players determines how 
  complicated the sentence is. “I’m a Noun” works for young players, while “I’m an Adjective 
  Noun who Verbs” is used by older, more advanced players. “I’m a Super Smart Princess Who 
  Flies Through The Sky” is one example. In addition, players can have a companion, like a 
  Clumsy Ghost, a Fast Car, or a Tiny T-Rex who helps out along the way. Each creation choice 
  
  adds elements to the way the character plays and what they can do, but without getting bogged 
  down in details.  
  No Thank You, Evil! also distinguishes itself with its wonderful setting. Storia, the Land Next 
  Door, is a place filled with all the imaginative sites of childhood, from knight-filled castles to 
  rocket ships, to dinosaurs.  Players reach Storia through gates in their own bedrooms – leading to 
  areas like Behind the Bookshelf or Under the Bed – each with their own distinct style of 
  adventures, from fairy tale forests to Halloween-esque ghost stories.  
  Adventures use a straightforward approach of actions fueled by character skills. Like all games 
  based on the Cypher system, the focus is squarely on narrative, and the mechanics are mostly in 
  the background. One of my favorite features of the game rules is the option for a player to shout 
  the name of the game – No Thank You, Evil! – when something gets too scary or weird, and the 
  bad situation gets swept away. It’s a welcome option for player groups who may include young 
  ones whose imaginations can get carried away.  
  No Thank You, Evil! comes in a beautiful box set that has everything you need to get started, 
  including colorful character sheets, bright custom dice, and other accessories.  
   
  Mouse Guard 
  If you’re looking for something a little deeper and more complex to play with older kids, might I 
  recommend Mouse Guard? Linked to the comic of the same name, this elegant RPG may star 
  forest rodents, but it’s a deep and rewarding experience based on the award-winning Burning 
  Wheel RPG, and should be an ideal fit for families or other groups looking for a rich and 
  nuanced role-playing experience that is still accessible for new players. 
  
  My favorite aspect of Mouse Guard is its session structure, which has distinct sections to guide 
  you through play, including a prologue, a designated mission, and goal setting. After the GM 
  establishes the direction of story and its obstacles, the players gain tremendous control over how 
  the narrative progresses. At the end of the session, time is set aside for everyone to discuss what 
  happened, and determine whether goals were met, and rewards are even handed out for fulfilling 
  particular roles – those rewards are points that can be used to aid your character in future 
  sessions. 
  Mouse Guard has a wonderfully realized setting of specific locales, and a rich cast of characters, 
  many of whom are drawn directly from the beautiful comic books. An enterprising family could 
  have a lot of fun playing games set in the world while simultaneously reading the graphic novels 
  together.  
   
  Happy Birthday Robot! 
  I love this simple and giggle-inducing game for lots of reasons, but I’m mentioning it here 
  because of its ease of play and flexibility to players of any age group, even very young children.  
  This isn’t an RPG in the traditional sense, but rather a communal storytelling project with a clear 
  structure. Every story starts with the game’s name: Happy Birthday, Robot!. The current 
  storyteller rolls several dice that have one of three results – Blank, And, or But. Blank results 
  indicate how many words that player gets to add to the story after opening. Your neighbors at the 
  table on either side also get to add words – one person adds words from your And results (and 
  can use the word “and” for free), and another player adds as many words as your But results (and 
  can use the word “but” for free). Then play passes to a new storyteller. By the end of your play 
  time, you’ve created a brand new and completely original story about Robot’s adventures on his 
  birthday. 
  
  Clear and simple rules are easy to teach as you go, and I’ve yet to encounter a game that so 
  quickly gets a group into the action of story creation. A single game takes around half an hour, 
  and has a clear end point indicated within the game’s structure.  
  Happy Birthday, Robot! is very difficult to find in print, but publisher Evil Hat still sells a pdf 
  version. For dice, you can either adapt your own normal six-sided dice with stickers, or purchase 
  “Fate” dice made by the same publisher, which are used in its other more adult-oriented RPGs, 
  but function perfectly well for telling a new story about Robot.  
   
  Little Wizards 
  Antoine Bauza is a familiar name to tabletop enthusiasts, thanks to wonderful board and card 
  games like 7 Wonders, Takenoko, and Hanabi. His charming role-playing game for children, 
  Little Wizards, may be lesser known, but it’s a stellar game with a charming and magical 
  setting.  
  Little Wizards unfolds in a whimsical land called Coinworld, a flat world with two sides – Heads 
  and Tails. Each is filled with opportunities for adventure, weird places to visit, and friends to 
  meet. The game has a simple class system – everyone plays either a Lil’ Sorcerer (born with 
  
  magic) or a Lil’ Mage (someone who learns magic). Each character has different types of magic 
  they’re good at casting, and a vivid sense of their appearance and personality.  
  An easy-to-understand dice-rolling mechanic governs success and failure, characters level up, 
  and all the basic systems of a role-playing game are present, albeit in a simplified form. 
  Little Wizards is ideal if you have kids that are especially excited about magic as a concept, but 
  also kids who really like weird and surprising characters. The game spends a good bit of time 
  setting up each player’s unique wizard, which won’t be ideal for every player group, but for 
  those that don’t mind the extra minutes of investment, the system is engaging and fun. In 
  addition, the game book includes a couple of “Tales” to get you started – adventures that flesh 
  out the tone and humor of the game world.  
   
  Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons 
  I don’t want to end this conversation without addressing the RPGs that are most familiar. The 
  D&D game in recent years has branched into two distinct systems that are both born from the 
  same source. Whether you embrace the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, or you love the 
  Pathfinder game, which is an advancement and evolution of the popular 3rd edition D&D rules, 
  both have potential for play with kids.  
  Unlike the other games I’m recommending, both of these games are chock full of adult concepts, 
  a frequent focus on fighting, and have complex rules systems. So, why recommend them here? 
  Quite simply, it’s because you may already be familiar with the source material, and that can go 
  a long way toward ease of play. Consider purchasing the Pathfinder: Beginner Box set or the 
  
  Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set, depending on your preference. Both offer simplified rules for 
  low-level play, and are an ideal way to get started if you've got some young players along for the 
  ride.  
  When using either system, you may wish to scale back some of the rules to suit the age of the 
  children in the group, and use your own judgment about what your players are ready to deal with 
  in terms of violence and monsters. As a GM, expect that adapting D&D-based games for 
  younger players may take some effort, but if you’ve played one of these systems for years, it 
  might still be easier than teaching yourself something new.  
    
  What role-playing games have you tried playing with younger players? What tips do you have 
  for those trying to do so for the first time? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 
  If you’re looking for more tabletop coverage, check out our new Top of the Table hub. And as 
  always, email or tweet me and let me know what other board, card, miniature, and role-playing 
  games you’d like to see covered next. 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Kid Friendly/1. Parent & GM Advice & Helpful Hints/GMing Games for Kids/Top Of The Table.pdf