At what age did you start gaming?

[Crothian]

So while the average age has increased, I don't think the influx has changed... we just haven't had people start to die off en masse yet. But if we cut off the "tail" influx by making the hobby focused on "more mature" stuff, we run the risk of stopping the influx - and eventually killing the hobby as time marches us all relentlessly off the stage.

Well, back when I started we had the basic set that was very simplistic and much easier for a child of 6 to understand and follow. Now a days there was introductory 3rd edition box set of sorts, but it has gotten zero support. I think that what is being written is for late teens/ early twenties people. It's not just the mature content, it's the complexity of the rules and the writing styles that makes this hobby older and aiming the hobby at these age catogories.

 

[mistergone]

I said "9-12", but that's kinda subjective. I had always had a hugely overactive imagination, and I was reading The Hobbit and LotR books in early grammar school. (Though not understanding some parts of them.) I had "gamed" with a friend, by making stuff up, drawing rough maps on paper, and rolling regular dice, while sort of telling stories about the character, before I had seen an actual D&D book, but I had heard about them. Finally, I convinced my mom to let me get thet D&D coloring book with the mini-game in the middle of it, and I played that. But it wasn't until I was about 11 or so that I got the red box Basic set (amongst protest from my mother who half-believed the whole "D&D is evil" thing, thanks to one of my aunts). After that there was no stopping me, and I think I had all the 1st ed. AD&D books by the time I was 13.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

While I had started becoming mildly interested in the game at an early age (I remember seeing the 1e rulebooks at the mall, I think my older (16 at the time) cousin was into it, and I recall asking for (and not receiving) the Fiend Folio for my 6th birthday), I started playing with the Red Box of Basic when I was about 14.

 

[The Sigil]

Well, back when I started we had the basic set that was very simplistic and much easier for a child of 6 to understand and follow. Now a days there was introductory 3rd edition box set of sorts, but it has gotten zero support. I think that what is being written is for late teens/ early twenties people. It's not just the mature content, it's the complexity of the rules and the writing styles that makes this hobby older and aiming the hobby at these age catogories.

Good points, all.

I'm just curious - what if the D&D community at large hadn't been the "target audience" back in the day? Would we have a D&D community?

So far, the poll is running at 60% of us were introduced to gaming at 12 or under and 85% (rounded numbers there) introduced at 15 or younger.

If that's the "prime time" in life to discover D&D, why aren't we serving that group with material - both in what is covered (staying away from mature subject matter) and how it is covered (easy rules)? After all, we older, more experienced folks can "make up" the "mature" stuff fairly easily, right?

 

[Harlock]

I started at age 8 with a game of AD&D and quickly aquired the Basic Rules (Red Book, pink box) after that and played OD&D and AD&D back and forth. I played 2e very little, but 3e is nice enough for me. I didn't think the game was too complex for someone under their teens at all. I learned a lot playing D&D actually and think I'm a better person for it.

 

[Dragongirl]

If that's the "prime time" in life to discover D&D, why aren't we serving that group with material - both in what is covered (staying away from mature subject matter) and how it is covered (easy rules)? After all, we older, more experienced folks can "make up" the "mature" stuff fairly easily, right?

I think there are plenty of D20 publishers out there. I don't see why we can't have both varieties.

 

[Olive]

After all, we older, more experienced folks can "make up" the "mature" stuff fairly easily, right?

sure if i wasn't working two jobs, trying to do my masters and trying to have a life outside of all that and gaming.

I started at 8, or so, but please don't use that as an arguement to stop interesting things coming out of WotC. If i'd had rules for torture at that age, i don't think it would have made me a bad person.

 

[Thresher]

I grew up out in the sticks so I didnt start playing RPG's a lot until I was 19 and at uni with some flatmates.
Before then a friend had some 1E D&D stuff and Shadowrun we used to stuff around with that a bit and quickly switched to 2E D&D and 2E Shadowrun after we moved towns when we found out what the rest of the world was playing.

They where fun players and I had an excellent GM so I'd like to think I started off on the right footing as a role player. Unfortunatly I havent been able to keep in contact with them over the last 3-4years.

 

[Crothian]

I think there are plenty of D20 publishers out there. I don't see why we can't have both varieties.

Well, you're just getting into the publishing business and Sigil has a couple of pdf's on the market. It's will take a publisher to make this happen. So maybe someone needs to start a thread over there asking them what their target audience is and why there are no products aimed at the younger crowd.

 

[DaveMage]

I'm just curious - what if the D&D community at large hadn't been the "target audience" back in the day? Would we have a D&D community?

If that's the "prime time" in life to discover D&D, why aren't we serving that group with material - both in what is covered (staying away from mature subject matter) and how it is covered (easy rules)? After all, we older, more experienced folks can "make up" the "mature" stuff fairly easily, right?

I got the Basic Set from my parents in 1980 (I was 10). I've been hooked ever since.

As we see from the (granted, unscientific) poll, the majority of us started playing at an early age, but would we still be interested in the latest edition of the game if it (only) targeted a youthful audience?

As for "mature" subject matter, I don't think there's too much in the core rulebooks, so there's no problem there. I think the 3E player's handbook has the potential to inspire today's 10-12 year-olds just like that Basic Set did for me.