D&D 4E Quick 4e Essentials Question...

[shamsael]

Keep in mind that the 12+ is a suggestion. Is he reading books like Harry Potter yet? He would probably enjoy the red box. He might not get every rules nuance, but he can still have fun with it. (This is the experience I had when I got my first red box).

To reword this, "Ages 12+" is essentially a guarantee. It's stating that if you give this to a 12 year old, he will be smart enough to understand it. That doesn't mean an 11 year old will be baffled by it. Children younger than 12 might still understand it on their own or with an adults help.

My first introduction D&D was at around 7 with a RC Era D&D starter set (the big black box with the red dragon on the cover), but I failed to understand it at the time, despite already playing and understanding HeroQuest. I wasn't able to comprehend the rules until my second introduction at around 11 with an AD&D 2e introduction box (the big yellow box with the same red dragon on the front).

I'm pretty sure that if I'd dug out the black box again at 9 or 10, I would have been able to figure it out on my own.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

The age range also indicates what sort of safety testing has been done.

If you have smallish pieces & don't feel like testing to see what kind of cancers ingesting the product can give you it ups your age range.

This matters less on book aisles but more in toys.

 

[jaerdaph]

Thanks for all the input, everyone!

I'm reconsidering picking it up anyway. He's very bright and we have played a lot of "D&D" together before (via Microlite20), and he's also played a few sessions of the new Icons supers RPG.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

The age range also indicates what sort of safety testing has been done.

Even if there aren't smallish pieces, US legislation since 2008 now requires anything marketed to kids younger than 12 to be certified that it and all components as being lead and phthalate free. Even products that are simply books, or bikes, or pens, etc.

So, slap an age limit as 12+ and your product testing liability is seriously reduced. It has little to do with whether the designers believe kids need the mental faculty of a 12+-year-old.

 

[jaerdaph]

Even if there aren't smallish pieces, US legislation since 2008 now requires anything marketed to kids younger than 12 to be certified that it and all components as being lead and phthalate free. Even products that are simply books, or bikes, or pens, etc.

So, slap an age limit as 12+ and your product testing liability is seriously reduced. It has little to do with whether the designers believe kids need the mental faculty of a 12+-year-old.

Yup. In the United States, safety and exposure levels are determined by lobby and legislation, not science and medicine.