Simple TTRPGs Designed Specifically for Younger Players (Part 1)
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Getting Started and Beyond
Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) offer incredible opportunities for children to develop creativity, problem-solving skills, social collaboration, and storytelling abilities—all while having tremendous fun. But finding the right game can be challenging, especially if you are looking to introduce very young players to TTRPGs.
This topic, a biggie, will be covered in two parts. In this first part, I’ll talk about for how to start and keep your young adventurers rolling dice and telling stories. In the second part, I’ll suggest some game titles for various age groups.
Rules, Rules, Rules
Many popular systems, like rules heavy Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Gurps, Starfinder and Call of Cthulhu are both too frightening or too complex for most young players before their teen years. Additionally, not all families are comfortable with games that have melee as an option. They want something a bit more exploration or roleplay based.
Complex rule sets might overwhelm or confuse younger players who are trying to learn them, and frustrate or intimidate parents trying to teach them. Unless the Game Master (GM), often a parent, is willing to do a great deal of work, it means spending time and thought on adapting or scaling the rules to suit their kid player. And this doesn’t even begin to address the side quests, which may involve befriending the ravening orcs or adopting a bloodthirsty wyvern.
Fortunately, there's a growing category of TTRPGs specifically designed with young players and their needs in mind. These games maintain the imaginative core of TTRPGs, using simplified mechanics that children can easily grasp, yet still allowing them to exercise their storytelling chops.
Why TTRPGs Are Great for Kids
Before diving into specifics for young kids, let's consider what makes tabletop role-playing games so valuable for children of any age:
Creativity Development: Players imagine characters, visualize settings and invent plot twists to bring the world you are co-creating to life.
Problem-Solving Skills: Players face challenges that often require creative thinking, and must choose whether to melee (fight), parlay (talk) or do something else to overcome adversity.
Social Skills: Players practice taking turns, listening, providing accountability and advocating for themselves and for others.
Collaboration Skills: Players contribute, as much or as little as they wish, to creating a shared narrative that the GM and all players agree upon.
Math Skills: Players practice simple calculations or basic math facts from adding numbers on dice rolls. Players are laying groundwork for the higher math concepts of statistics and probability through dice outcomes.
Language Arts Skills: Players practice reading and interpreting texts as well as listening comprehension and visualization skills. The oral storytelling components of many games grow vocabulary.
Agency: Players have the opportunity to make meaningful choices by weighing potential consequences, hearing the advice of other players or NPCs, and listening to their own conscience. Players also begin to make choices that serve the group rather than just themselves.
Resilience: Within the game consequences arise in a safe-to-fail space. Players test what works for both themselves and the group, as well as what does not, and have the opportunity to learn from it.
Teachable Moments: GMs are offered myriad opportunities to unpack what worked well with their players, and what didn’t. Within the context of the game, GMs can help players work on a particular skill without it seeming obvious or out of context.
Tips for Running TTRPGs with Younger Players
Setting Expectations
A Session Zero, the first session is a great time to sit down to go over rules, voice expectations, ask/answer questions and cover anything else that may need saying. This is a good gaming practice for GMs leading groups of every age.
Session Length: Keep sessions short: 30-45 minutes for very young children, 1-2 hours for older kids, but your mileage may vary.
Rules: Start introducing your players to core mechanics only, then bring in other game rules one or two at a time. Add house rules (rules specific to your game only) as needed.
Breaks: Be prepared to take breaks when attention wanders. GMs should stay alert to their players, erring on the side of too little rather than too much play.
Flexibility: Decide which hills to die on. Remember, young children are learning resilience. Helping them navigate failure can be a teachable moment, but keep in mind the game you're playing with your kid is supposed to be fun for both of you.
Creating a Safe, Supportive and Inclusive Space
Using Safety Tools: Use simplified safety tools like "green light/red light" or frequent check-ins to gauge how things are landing with your players. A Session Zero question or two might identify what your players don’t want in their game or what frightens them.
Collaborating on House Rules: Establish house rules together about taking turns and respecting others' ideas and needs. Ask the players themselves as often as you are able what is fair within your game. This is a great way to foster compassion and understanding.
Saying “Yes” : Remember, these are fantasy role playing games. Fun trumps reality every time. Don’t shoot down any ideas, no matter how outrageous, and incorporate them as often as you are able into the world you and your players are collaboratively building.
Framing Failure: Present failures as interesting plot twists rather than fiascos or punishments. Minimizing your disappointed player’s big feelings should be avoided, and humor may not always be welcome. If it’s upsetting to your player in the moment, put a pin in it and circle back to it later to help your player process what happened in the game and what they might do different next time.
Bending the Rules: It’s going to happen: that critical failure when Hogwrath the Barbarian can’t charm the unicorn or the Warlock Shakira fumbles a Fireball against the ravening hordes. If there are tears or frustration, stop the game. Weigh the benefits of the teachable moment over turning a child off to gaming. A “do-over,” replaying a situation to learn through making different choices in a given situation, is a good move as a GM, provided it is ok with all your players.
Adapting Your Game Master Style
Lush Language: Use vivid, sensory-rich descriptions to engage imagination. Bonus points for building vocabulary!
Various Voices: Even simple voice changes for different characters can greatly enhance immersion. They also help your players keep track of who’s who. Also, refer to players by their in-game name, to help your kids role play in their roleplaying game.
Great Gear: Dice, props, minis, maps, or illustrations can help players maintain focus and clarify situations. The use of fidget items or art supplies can also help keep players from drifting or prevent boredom while waiting for their next turn.
First, Fun: Be ready to bend or simplify rules when they get in the way of the fun. Include your players in rules interpretation or discovering what feels fair to them, and take their advice when you can. For example, ask them what comes next or what the name of the NPC or the town might be.
Complete Commitment: Children, especially young children expect a beginning, a middle and an ending in any game they’re playing. You may want to make sure that each game session is a discrete, self-contained and complete story arc, and not necessarily related to anything that came before or after.
Memorable Model: Your willingness to try, even imperfectly, will encourage your players to take chances with something they may not succeed at the first time. Genuine statements like “Nice try!” or “Bad luck!” or “Way to go!” show your players how to lose and win graciously. Maintaining patience and a sense of humor are likely to result in memorable adventures and valuable learning opportunities for your young players.
In Conclusion, For This Week
The easiest way to introduce your younger child to TTRPGs is to meet them where they are developmentally. Choosing one of the simpler systems provides an excellent entry point. Ideally, the game you select has minimal preparation required, so you can guide your child through the magical world you create together and remember that the goal is fun and engagement. Perfect rules mastery is far less important than creating an enjoyable experience where everyone feels heard, included, supported and creative.
Next time, I’ll be back to recommend a few TTRPG some titles for various age groups. Until then, happy gaming!
Have you tried any TTRPGs with children? What was your experience like? Share your stories in the comments below!
