This week, both DriveThruRPG and I are celebrating Teach Your Kids to Game Week. After all, I helped come up with this idea back when I worked for them, and I remain a huge proponent of bringing newer and younger gamers into our beloved hobby. What follows is a collection of great games and settings designed to appeal to a younger crowd of roleplayers, engaging their imaginations while not overwhelming them with overly-complex game mechanics. Here's hoping you get some great gaming in at home with the family this holiday season!
HERO KIDS
The folks at DriveThruRPG decided to push their annual Teach Your Kids to Game Week to right before Christmas, which I think is a fine idea (and I helped come up with that promotion when I was still working for them). So that’s what we’re doing this week – pointing out great family-friendly games that serve as excellent vehicles for the older generations to bring the young ones to the table.
The perfect opening, of course, is Hero Kids – an entire, brilliant line oriented around making gaming fun and engaging for the young and young-at-heart.
(From the core release, Hero Kids Fantasy RPG) –
Hero Kids is the ENnie award-winning fantasy RPG for kids aged from 4 to 10. This game offers a fast and fun introduction to RPGs, perfect for younger kids who are just getting interested in role-playing games.
EXTRA NOTE: The Hero Kids – Complete Fantasy PDF Bundle includes 50% discount coupons for the softcover print versions of Hero Kids – Fantasy RPG and the Hero Kids – Fantasy Expansion – Monster Compendium (the coupons are emailed to you when you buy the bundle). So if you want the whole lot (PDFs and print version of the rules), buy the bundle then use the coupon to buy the softcover print version of Hero Kids – Fantasy RPG for half price!
LITTLE WIZARDS
We continue Teach Your Kids to Game Week with this favorite Pick by Internet sensation and gaming-with-kids guru, GeekDad. I’ll let him tell the take from here –
“When my kids were younger, I couldn’t wait to introduce them to role-playing games, but the “Age: 12+” on D&D‘s Red Box taunted me like a shadow dragon guarding a tremendous hoard of gold. We ended up getting started with Dungeons & Dragons well before the twelfth birthday rolled around, but we weren’t idle until then. Over the years, I tried a number of RPGs aimed at younger kids. I wrote about some of them here, at GeekDad. While many of them were fun and a very good time, they were nowhere near as good as the recently released Little Wizards from Crafty Games.”
Kids Are Magic
The kids in our lives all dream of visiting other worlds, of being heroes in their own special Tales. Here’s their chance! Little Wizards is a storytelling roleplaying game for inventive and inquisitive kids ages 6-10, developed to introduce them to the magic of creating their own characters and stepping into a whole new world. It’s simple enough to learn in just a few minutes and engaging enough for older kids and adults to play with their little ones. Packed with advice for gaming with youngsters, this is a perfect introduction for everyone.
Originally designed for the French market as Contes Ensorcelés by Antoine Bauza (7 Wonders, Ghost Stories) and published by Le Septième Cercle (Qin, Z-Corps), this English-language edition features updated rules and game content developed by Amanda Valentine (Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, The Dresden Files RPG).
The basic and form-fillable versions of the character sheet are available at the Little Wizards Downloads page.
This file is fully hyperlinked, bookmarked, and cross-referenced, and features layers you can turn off for easy printing. This file is 100% DRM-free.
CARTOON ACTION HOUR
We rocket through Teach Your Kids to Game Week with this callback to when Saturday morning and after-school hours were all about exciting toy commercials disguised as cartoons! Cynical snark aside, we really did love our action cartoons – and still do! Genre-specialists Spectrum Games did their best work with this homage to shouted (if sometimes stilted) dialogue, colorful explosions, and important lessons learned. A great vehicle to get your more action-oriented kids excited about rolling dice and telling stories – Cartoon Action Hour!
Remember those bygone Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons spent in front of our television sets back in the ’80s? Remember how we watched the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil unfold right before our young eyes as our heroes stopped at nothing to out the kibosh on the seemingly endless machinations of the villains? Remember how these wondrously cheesy shows drw us in and spoke to us on a personal level, all the while trying to sell us action figures?
We remember it too!
Cartoon Action Hour: Season 3 is the third edition of the game that was nominated for “Best RPG” at the 2004 Origins Awards. The game faithfully and meticulously emulates the action-adventure cartoons of the 1980s, using “cartoon logic” as the basis for every aspect of the system. This is not just a universal game that just happens to be adorned with genre-appropriate art. Every single design decision was made with the purpose of bringing to life the retro-toons of yesteryear, right at your gaming table.
Everything you need to play Cartoon Action Hour is included in this full-color rulebook. Some of the features include:
Sleek and Exciting Game System: You roll a d12 and add one or two ratings to it. That’s the core of the system, making it extremely easy to jump right into the animated fray. Every nuance of the system (transformation, vehicles, playsets, etc.) utilize the same game mechanics as a whole.
Action Scenes: In Cartoon Action Hour, there is no “combat system”. In its place is the “action scene” system, which covers far more than just a slugfest or a laser-filled shootout. Violence is de-emphasized and players are rewarded for making indirect attacks of a less overt nature (“I shoot the tree branch, so that it falls on top of the enemy!”). Characters can be given Setback Tokens, representing anything from physical damage to confusion and everything in between.
Series Creation: The GM and the players work together to construct the series via the series creation system, which includes character creation. Speaking of which, creating characters has never been this easy in previous versions of the game, as the bookkeeping is now very minimal indeed.
Sample Series: The book includes eight series seeds and one more detailed sample series.
26-Page Action Scene Example: This ultra-detailed example of an action scene answers any question you care to ask.
Preface by Flint Dille: The legendary cartoon writer offers up an insightful preface that discusses the way cartoons were created in the 1980s.
MERMAID ADVENTURES
As we close in on the end of Teach Your Kids to Game Week, I want to point out a game that should have won ENnie Award for best Family Game – Mermaid Adventures. Eloy Lasanta is one of the best designers and nicest people in this industry, and he’s got a childlike heart that translates wonderfully into this game where imagination is king and where diversity is celebrated beautifully.
As for its “kids credentials,” it’s the first game my daughter, Samantha, wanted to learn to run as a GM.
Mermaid Adventures Revised
Updated using the new Pip System Corebook rules! Dive into adventure and fun! Mermaid Adventures is a game that lets you and your friends become mermaids, forming friendships, fighting sea monsters and solving strange undersea mysteries. Great for families and players of all ages!
Includes:
Mermaid Adventures Revised requires the Pip System Corebook to play.
PUGMIRE
“Dogs and cats living together…”
Sorry, couldn’t resist. Seriously, Pugmire is sweet, wonderful, full of great storytelling and uplifting ideas, and a genuinely great entry point for any younger gamer to immerse in the joys of fantasy adventure and shared storytelling. Truly a pet project of my friend and colleague, Eddy Webb, not only does this game stand as a beautiful memorial to the beloved Murraypug, but it’s just a great game for all ages.
Be a Good Dog!
“Be a good dog. Protect your home. Be loyal to those who are true. These are the words of the Code of Man.”
— Sister Picassa Collie, Shepherd of the Church of Man
Dogs have inherited the world, building the kingdom of Pugmire untold centuries after the Ages of Man are over. These dogs have been uplifted to use tools and language, and they seek to rediscover the ruins of the Old Ones. Some have learned to use the leftover technology of humanity, but they believe it to be magic handed to them by their lost gods. Others seek to create an ideal civilization, using a Code of Man compiled from ancient, fragmentary lore left behind by humanity. The world is dangerous and mysterious, but good dogs will persevere.
Some highlights of Pugmire include:
Will you be a good dog?
-----
As you read this, me and my family are back in the Southeast US visiting family and friends we left behind when moving to Denver, CO. Strangely enough, my friends actually asked me to not plan on running any games for them. You see, every time I head back, I always arrange to run some big, special game for everyone.
This time, however, they all wanted me to relax and just hang out, enjoy being with them all.
That is actually one hell of a nice Christmas gift, I have to say - not stressing about setting up and running a big game, which I otherwise always do.
Here's hoping your holiday plans are shaping up nicely!
The Adventure Continues!
Note that I use affiliate links in all my posts as a way to generate additional revenue for my efforts; I make my Picks and other article choices, however, based on the desire to share a wide variety of things with you. Thank you for your support.
Sean Patrick Fannon
Writer & Game Designer: Shaintar, Star Wars, Savage Rifts, much more
Please check out my Patreon and get involved directly with my next projects!
HERO KIDS
The folks at DriveThruRPG decided to push their annual Teach Your Kids to Game Week to right before Christmas, which I think is a fine idea (and I helped come up with that promotion when I was still working for them). So that’s what we’re doing this week – pointing out great family-friendly games that serve as excellent vehicles for the older generations to bring the young ones to the table.
The perfect opening, of course, is Hero Kids – an entire, brilliant line oriented around making gaming fun and engaging for the young and young-at-heart.
(From the core release, Hero Kids Fantasy RPG) –
Hero Kids is the ENnie award-winning fantasy RPG for kids aged from 4 to 10. This game offers a fast and fun introduction to RPGs, perfect for younger kids who are just getting interested in role-playing games.
EXTRA NOTE: The Hero Kids – Complete Fantasy PDF Bundle includes 50% discount coupons for the softcover print versions of Hero Kids – Fantasy RPG and the Hero Kids – Fantasy Expansion – Monster Compendium (the coupons are emailed to you when you buy the bundle). So if you want the whole lot (PDFs and print version of the rules), buy the bundle then use the coupon to buy the softcover print version of Hero Kids – Fantasy RPG for half price!
LITTLE WIZARDS
We continue Teach Your Kids to Game Week with this favorite Pick by Internet sensation and gaming-with-kids guru, GeekDad. I’ll let him tell the take from here –
“When my kids were younger, I couldn’t wait to introduce them to role-playing games, but the “Age: 12+” on D&D‘s Red Box taunted me like a shadow dragon guarding a tremendous hoard of gold. We ended up getting started with Dungeons & Dragons well before the twelfth birthday rolled around, but we weren’t idle until then. Over the years, I tried a number of RPGs aimed at younger kids. I wrote about some of them here, at GeekDad. While many of them were fun and a very good time, they were nowhere near as good as the recently released Little Wizards from Crafty Games.”
Kids Are Magic
The kids in our lives all dream of visiting other worlds, of being heroes in their own special Tales. Here’s their chance! Little Wizards is a storytelling roleplaying game for inventive and inquisitive kids ages 6-10, developed to introduce them to the magic of creating their own characters and stepping into a whole new world. It’s simple enough to learn in just a few minutes and engaging enough for older kids and adults to play with their little ones. Packed with advice for gaming with youngsters, this is a perfect introduction for everyone.
Originally designed for the French market as Contes Ensorcelés by Antoine Bauza (7 Wonders, Ghost Stories) and published by Le Septième Cercle (Qin, Z-Corps), this English-language edition features updated rules and game content developed by Amanda Valentine (Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, The Dresden Files RPG).
The basic and form-fillable versions of the character sheet are available at the Little Wizards Downloads page.
This file is fully hyperlinked, bookmarked, and cross-referenced, and features layers you can turn off for easy printing. This file is 100% DRM-free.
CARTOON ACTION HOUR
We rocket through Teach Your Kids to Game Week with this callback to when Saturday morning and after-school hours were all about exciting toy commercials disguised as cartoons! Cynical snark aside, we really did love our action cartoons – and still do! Genre-specialists Spectrum Games did their best work with this homage to shouted (if sometimes stilted) dialogue, colorful explosions, and important lessons learned. A great vehicle to get your more action-oriented kids excited about rolling dice and telling stories – Cartoon Action Hour!
Remember those bygone Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons spent in front of our television sets back in the ’80s? Remember how we watched the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil unfold right before our young eyes as our heroes stopped at nothing to out the kibosh on the seemingly endless machinations of the villains? Remember how these wondrously cheesy shows drw us in and spoke to us on a personal level, all the while trying to sell us action figures?
We remember it too!
Cartoon Action Hour: Season 3 is the third edition of the game that was nominated for “Best RPG” at the 2004 Origins Awards. The game faithfully and meticulously emulates the action-adventure cartoons of the 1980s, using “cartoon logic” as the basis for every aspect of the system. This is not just a universal game that just happens to be adorned with genre-appropriate art. Every single design decision was made with the purpose of bringing to life the retro-toons of yesteryear, right at your gaming table.
Everything you need to play Cartoon Action Hour is included in this full-color rulebook. Some of the features include:
Sleek and Exciting Game System: You roll a d12 and add one or two ratings to it. That’s the core of the system, making it extremely easy to jump right into the animated fray. Every nuance of the system (transformation, vehicles, playsets, etc.) utilize the same game mechanics as a whole.
Action Scenes: In Cartoon Action Hour, there is no “combat system”. In its place is the “action scene” system, which covers far more than just a slugfest or a laser-filled shootout. Violence is de-emphasized and players are rewarded for making indirect attacks of a less overt nature (“I shoot the tree branch, so that it falls on top of the enemy!”). Characters can be given Setback Tokens, representing anything from physical damage to confusion and everything in between.
Series Creation: The GM and the players work together to construct the series via the series creation system, which includes character creation. Speaking of which, creating characters has never been this easy in previous versions of the game, as the bookkeeping is now very minimal indeed.
Sample Series: The book includes eight series seeds and one more detailed sample series.
26-Page Action Scene Example: This ultra-detailed example of an action scene answers any question you care to ask.
Preface by Flint Dille: The legendary cartoon writer offers up an insightful preface that discusses the way cartoons were created in the 1980s.
MERMAID ADVENTURES
As we close in on the end of Teach Your Kids to Game Week, I want to point out a game that should have won ENnie Award for best Family Game – Mermaid Adventures. Eloy Lasanta is one of the best designers and nicest people in this industry, and he’s got a childlike heart that translates wonderfully into this game where imagination is king and where diversity is celebrated beautifully.
As for its “kids credentials,” it’s the first game my daughter, Samantha, wanted to learn to run as a GM.
Mermaid Adventures Revised
Updated using the new Pip System Corebook rules! Dive into adventure and fun! Mermaid Adventures is a game that lets you and your friends become mermaids, forming friendships, fighting sea monsters and solving strange undersea mysteries. Great for families and players of all ages!
Includes:
- 10 different kinds of merfolk, including Eelfolk, Lobsterfolk, and Turtlefolk
- Colorful, eye-catching illustrations
- 5 Sample Adventures to get you going
- Even more options compatible with the Pip System Corebook
Mermaid Adventures Revised requires the Pip System Corebook to play.
PUGMIRE
“Dogs and cats living together…”
Sorry, couldn’t resist. Seriously, Pugmire is sweet, wonderful, full of great storytelling and uplifting ideas, and a genuinely great entry point for any younger gamer to immerse in the joys of fantasy adventure and shared storytelling. Truly a pet project of my friend and colleague, Eddy Webb, not only does this game stand as a beautiful memorial to the beloved Murraypug, but it’s just a great game for all ages.
Be a Good Dog!
“Be a good dog. Protect your home. Be loyal to those who are true. These are the words of the Code of Man.”
— Sister Picassa Collie, Shepherd of the Church of Man
Dogs have inherited the world, building the kingdom of Pugmire untold centuries after the Ages of Man are over. These dogs have been uplifted to use tools and language, and they seek to rediscover the ruins of the Old Ones. Some have learned to use the leftover technology of humanity, but they believe it to be magic handed to them by their lost gods. Others seek to create an ideal civilization, using a Code of Man compiled from ancient, fragmentary lore left behind by humanity. The world is dangerous and mysterious, but good dogs will persevere.
Some highlights of Pugmire include:
- An evocative and mysterious setting that’s both family friendly and deep enough to create compelling stories.
- A traditional fantasy rules system redesigned for streamlined play and easy creation of heroic dogs, with an emphasis on cooperation and action over competition and violence.
- A variety of callings and breeds that give access to several fun and interesting tricks.
- Rival species to interact with, like cats and badgers, along with terrifying and dangerous monsters that roam the landscape.
Will you be a good dog?
-----
As you read this, me and my family are back in the Southeast US visiting family and friends we left behind when moving to Denver, CO. Strangely enough, my friends actually asked me to not plan on running any games for them. You see, every time I head back, I always arrange to run some big, special game for everyone.
This time, however, they all wanted me to relax and just hang out, enjoy being with them all.
That is actually one hell of a nice Christmas gift, I have to say - not stressing about setting up and running a big game, which I otherwise always do.
Here's hoping your holiday plans are shaping up nicely!
The Adventure Continues!
Note that I use affiliate links in all my posts as a way to generate additional revenue for my efforts; I make my Picks and other article choices, however, based on the desire to share a wide variety of things with you. Thank you for your support.
Sean Patrick Fannon
Writer & Game Designer: Shaintar, Star Wars, Savage Rifts, much more
Please check out my Patreon and get involved directly with my next projects!
