RPGs for kiddos...

[Prelate Diogenes Shandor]

For preschoolers I have no idea what to recommend.

(For elementary schoolers though, I would recommend Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game by SJ Games)

[BabylonHoruv]

Well, my kiddos are still preschool...
when you do a google for 'children RPG' the first site that comes up has a good sized list of candidates, and some of them mention very simple systems that use tokens or a few six sided dice.

i was just thinking about it, because my kiddos found my dice sack yesterday and were enjoying separating them out and playing with them.  then i was thinking about how simple it could be boiled down to, and figured there's got to be something out there suitable for really young kids.

Do you have any experiences with young children LARPS, Cram?

LARPing is what young children tend to do all the time, they call it "playing"  we just need the complex rules as adults to let us feel comfortable letting go and playing freely.

[Elder Iptuous]

heh...
i remember one of the first rpgs i played had an intro chapter that described what the genre was about.  i think it may have been Buck Rogers in the XXV century.  it described how we would, as children, play roles such as cowboys and indians.  at some point, one kid would say, 'i got you!', to which the other would reply, 'no.  your the bad guy, and you have horrible aim.'  and argument might ensue, and the play stops unless agreement is achieved about when one player 'gets' the other one.  RPGs, then, can be seen simply as a refinement of this.
so, yes.  obviously, as mentioned several times in this thread, children naturally, 'play roles'.
this thread, then, is about how to introduce children, in an age appropriate but expanding way, to adding structure to their imaginative collaborations so that they can take it further if they would enjoy to.

also, i envision you with a monocle when you explain the reasoning why mature adults such as ourselves use rule sets when we play make believe.

[kingyak]

I'm a little biased, but I'd recommend Laser Ponies http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=65022



Note: The actual QAGS Rulebook is written for adults (we say "fuck" a lot), but the Laser Ponies PDF includes the Qik Start rules, which are sanitized (and a bit simplified) for your protection. We're hoping to do a PG-rated QAGS For Kids rules set one of these days.

[Cramulus]

D&D for kids!




http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/04/wizards-of-the-coast-publishes-dd-for-kids/

here's the author's website, with lots of goodies: http://jamesstowe.blogspot.com/

[Triple Zero]

Looks very nice! What ages is this for?

[Cramulus]

I think it's meant for age six and up

[Elder Iptuous]

Sweet!
and it's free...