My nephew just turned 7...

[loki44]

My nephew just turned 7 and I am wondering when I should spring this glorious game upon him? He's a smart kid, and into wizards and knights and such, but I don't want to be premature with an introduction to D&D that might be overwhelming to the point of turning him off to the game. What's a good age to introduce the game to kids? The groundwork has been laid via The Hobbit, Harry Potter, et. al. By way of note, I live in Atlanta and he lives in the D.C. area so direct exposure to the game from me is not possible on a regular basis. My brother, his father, used to play sporadically in years gone by but no longer does. He's supportive of the game but not likely to put much effort into it himself. I know I shouldn't project my personal preferences on a 7 year old, but I'd just hate for his first exposure to RPG's to arrive via computer versions of the game. It just ain't the same thing. Any suggestions or experiences?

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

My friend, neighbor and landlord (all the same guy) introduced D&D to his (I think) 4-year old son last year. Basically, he told his kid a story in which the kid was the main character, and could interact with other elements of the story.

My friend made a character sheet, with not much on it but drawings. He makes his son roll the dice, and tells him what he needs to get so that his action succeeds.

From what he's told me, they both had a blast.

I hope you have fun with your nephew!

AR

 

[Mythmere1]

My son is 8, and we tried D&D 3e with success. He's a smart kid, and picked up - most of it. We've done even better with Castles & Crusades, because the initial learning curve is less. He's got a pretty good grasp of C&C, better than he picked up of 3e. If you want to do 3e, I'd suggest preparing a much shorter list of options - for feats and such, and a shorter equipment table. Kids have fun even with a couple of options to pick from. I would let him make his own character sheet, because making those choices is fun - just don't let the number of options overwhelm him.

Finally, my experience was that the adult GM has to walk the process through considerably for a kid who's younger than, say, 11 - the age would completely depend on the child. The kids have an absolute blast (mine liked both 3e and C&C). Just be willing to toss the rules when necessary and go with the flow - the object at that age isn't to teach rules of a lifelong hobby, it's to have fun right then. You'll see - it's a unique experience to play with young kids. Loud, but lots of fun. Take an aspirin first. You'll thank me.

 

[Wycen]

If you have the extra cash to spend, the DnD Basic Game could be an answer. It features only the most basic stuff for 3E, uses miniatures and dungeon tiles.

A somewhat similar and cheaper (at least to begin with) idea would be the DnD Miniatures game. It could act as a spring board for the table top RPG version so long as you don't catch the "gotta catch'em all fever".

 

[Turanil]

I would suggest to begin with C&C; then later "upgrade" to D&D 3.5 if you prefer D&D 3e. C&C classes, for one thing are much simpler to handle, and the game mechanics are just extremely simple to use. On the other hand, I am not sure a 7 years old would be thrilled in having to count squares, understand all this stuff of AoO, choose skills and feats, etc.

 

[arwink]

I first played DnD when I was six, from the older brother of a friend I only saw every couple of months at most. While I didn't really understand the rules from the beginning, I was engrossed by the imagery and concept of the game and the desire to play stuck with me for years.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

If you have the extra cash to spend, the DnD Basic Game could be an answer. It features only the most basic stuff for 3E, uses miniatures and dungeon tiles.

Agree wholeheartedly. The D&D Basic Game has the visual appeal of a board game with simpler rules, repeat playability, and an ability to expand directly to the full game at some point.

Hard to beat the package for introducing youngsters -- even adults -- for under $20.

 

[JoeBlank]

I agree with the D&D Basic Game suggestions.

My sons are now ages 7, 5, 3. I started the two oldest on the miniatures game last year. The oldest, Joseph, if into math and numbers, and he had great time figuring out his to hit modifiers and adding up damage. The middle son, Jacob, was not quite ready for applying rules to "pretend" play. He liked the idea, and is even more into fantasy, dragons and such than is Joseph, but he just wanted to move his miniatures around and pretend they were fighting.

We graduated to the Adventure Game (which was the precurser to the Basic Game, not as well done and did not come with minis). They both enjoyed this, and we still play every once in a while, but the warmer weather, baseball and other activities has left little time. Still, I think I have primed the pump and I'll continue to do enough to maintain their interests until they are ready for a regular game.

 

[megamania]

My son turned 7 last Friday and I was strongly considering getting him the starter kit. He enjoys hanging out with me and my friends as play twice a month and creats monsters (from existing figures, clay and sticks) to use.

I aim to introduce him to it before the summer is out but yes- the game needs to be simplified, FUN is most important, LOTS of goodies and battle. From their, maturity plays a factor into when to create a more complex game for the child to play. I know some 20+ that would prefer a simple gladiator / no plot allowed type of game.

 

[kirinke]

Introduce them to pbp. That way, you can play the game long distances and even get the parents involved if you can. Or heck, even an Instant message game could be fun if distance is a problem.