Gaming across the generation gap

[Psion]

I went harvesting potential new players at the FLGS, and got a few numbers in the hope to round out our group a little.

One lead turned out great, a promising new player with some good experience.

The second one, worries me. I called him and it turns out he's a senior in high school.

We talked for a bit and decided to get together and make some characters. When he asked if it was going to be a problem about his age, I said "it really depends on your playstyle."

But I am worried that he might be playing, well, at the level I was when I was in high school. But at the same time, the last thing I want to do is discourage young players.

So, anyone grapple with issues like this? Have any war stories, good or bad?

 

[reveal]

I went harvesting potential new players at the FLGS, and got a few numbers in the hope to round out our group a little.

One lead turned out great, a promising new player with some good experience.

The second one, worries me. I called him and it turns out he's a senior in high school.

We talked for a bit and decided to get together and make some characters. When he asked if it was going to be a problem about his age, I said "it really depends on your playstyle."

But I am worried that he might be playing, well, at the level I was when I was in high school. But at the same time, the last thing I want to do is discourage young players.

So, anyone grapple with issues like this? Have any war stories, good or bad?

We have a guy in our group who's 19. He just graduated last year. He's a good roleplayer and we enjoy having him in our group. We've found that we're more amused/annoyed by his outlook on life that most teenagers have (we're all at least 25 and I'm the oldest at 30) than by his playing style.

 

[ElvishBard]

I went harvesting potential new players at the FLGS, and got a few numbers in the hope to round out our group a little.

One lead turned out great, a promising new player with some good experience.

The second one, worries me. I called him and it turns out he's a senior in high school.

We talked for a bit and decided to get together and make some characters. When he asked if it was going to be a problem about his age, I said "it really depends on your playstyle."

But I am worried that he might be playing, well, at the level I was when I was in high school. But at the same time, the last thing I want to do is discourage young players.

So, anyone grapple with issues like this? Have any war stories, good or bad?

Yeah, I can totally relate. All my players are either high school seniors or just graduated this year, but I graduated this year too so I guess I can't relate when I think about it...

On a more helpful note, my father and my uncle have both ran some games for my friends and I on occasion, and we all enjoyed them (my uncle is 30 something and dad is 50), so it can work. The most important factor would be the personality of the person and what they enjoy compared to the others in the group. Hope I helped .

 

[Vascant]

We have one young player.. *Someone shoot me* who is 17 years younger then myself and I am not even the oldest of our players. We were all a bit gun shy when he first started playing but we found it was not his playing that annoyed any of us.. It was his view of the world in general and just how limited it is. Granted we were all like that at one time and I know from personal experience, teenagers always think they are right.

So we adopted a simple rule, during games we do not talk about real life and the issues around it.. This has had many good effects, for one less heads shaking from us older adults but mostly the players/party as a whole seem more focused on the game. Lets just face the facts, we are getting old and we probably have very little common with these kids except the game.

On the good side of things, he has turned out a good player and even has some good laughs.

 

[smootrk]

You should be as flexible as possible. In my experience, age has seldom been a very good indicator for maturity... especially with the so called smart people. I have met people way older than myself who are still irresponsible and childish about a great many things. Thankfully the opposite is also true, some young people have really surprised me with their maturity and responsible behavior.

Give him a chance at least. Maybe one of those young'uns will host a game for you later when you are in the ole' folk's home.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

The "no outside topics" during the game rule sounds like a good one. As far as play styles go, I would just talk it out with him before hand and make sure that you're both on the same page, and that he understands exactly what you guys are into. You could summarize a couple recent sessions for him, maybe run a solo game or two at the shop and see how things work out.

 

[aco175]

I play in a group with people in their early 20's, early and mid 30's, and my dad in his mid 50's. There are several different styles of likes and dislikes, but I found that by having a bit of each type of playing has allowed each player to not only enjoy their style more, but also help to get into the other styles of the other players.

 

[Ycore Rixle]

I'm a teacher, and I've had great experiences DMing both for kids at summer camp and for some kids who were interested during the schoolyear during club/break time. They've all been in the 7th-11th grade range, roughly 12-17 years old.

What I've concluded is that if you're a gamer, you're a gamer. It's all about the game, and if you like games, not much else is especially relevant. One of the girls (it's an all-girls school) in the current game taught me all about ARGing, which I really hadn't the faintest inkling of until she told me about it.

Now, the only experience I have with mixed-generation player groups is at cons. But there, again, it's gone great. In fact, I played at an awesome table at Gen Con last year with a father and son. The son's half-orc talked like a rapper, because he was straight outta Waterdeep. That was genius.

Bottom line: yes, it can work. Like most groups, it just depends on the personalities involved.

 

[IronWolf]

It probably depends greatly on the maturity level of the person involved. I have met some very mature 18 and 19 year olds who have the maturity level of someone in their late 20's. I've also met some that haven't quite made that step yet. It will probably take meeting the person and running a few sessions to know for sure.

 

[derbacher]

Well, as someone who has always played with younger gamers, I have never seen much of a problem. I've been playing D&D since 1977, and I've always had to start new players as old groups moved away. (I live in a very small town, rural area, and EVRYONE moves away!)

Just keep your table rules consistent, don't let them go off on tangents, and things go fine. My oldest is 17, and I would put her in any game with any age group. My youngest turns thirteen in a week, and has a good Roleplaying start.