Kids Cast #2 – Playing Dungeons and Dragons with Kids

It’s a Christmas Miracle!

This is the long-awaited Kids Cast #2. In this episode we discuss playing Dungeons and Dragons with our children. We “recently” purchased the 5th Edition starter box set, the Lost Mine of Phandelver.

This episode was recorded over a year ago, but it was recorded using software that we’ve never used in the past. I’ve only recently learned how to use this software. There is unfortunately a handful of situations where the audio clipped out and we lost a few moments. We apologize for the lack of technical brilliance….hence “bonus” material. Think of it as a studio outtake….

Below are our top six tips for playing Dungeons and Dragons with Children:

Know your group – How old are your players, how long is their attention span, are they sensitive to violent or scary images? Customize the content of your game to accommodate for your audience.
Plan for the unplannable – You’re dealing with kids. Anything can happen…in game…and out of game. There maybe spills, or punches. Don’t get frustrated. The goal is to have a fun game with your kids…not necessarily to complete your adventure.
Have a greater goal – As was hinted at above, don’t let the details of the game itself get in the way of your greater goal. Your greater goal is likely just to have fun with your kids, but we’ve also found the game to be a great teaching tool, especially for teaching social skills.
Pare down the rules – Don’t be afraid to modify, simplify, get rid of, or even ignore rules. The complexity of spell casting, initiative rules, etc. can get in the way of kids, especially younger kids enjoyment of the game. So, change them. Just be careful that you’re doing it in a way that is consistent.
Don’t be afraid to cheat – Similar to number four, but the emphasis here is that you may, for the greater goal, want to just flat out cheat. For this reason, I find that it is best to do as much as possible behind a DM screen, and to be opaque about what you’re rolling, and why. This give you more flexibility to say that the Vampire falls down a fiery pit trap, when in fact he rolled a critical hit.
The “Imagination” factor – With adults it can sometimes be challenging getting them to use their imagination, and to get over the fear of being “silly.” With kids there is a very different challenge; teaching them that there is a limit to what their imagination can do within the context of the game. Our younger kids struggled with understanding that their character could not possess any items that they wanted, at anytime without preamble. You don’t want to stifle their imaginations, but you have to get them to understand that there is a greater context. It can be a challenging balance.
Bonus Tip – If possible, have an adult as a player, in addition to an adult who is the Dungeon Master.

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