by Dawn
I was pretty happy when a memory popped up on my “You have memories!” on Facebook recently. Attached to the post, were the rules and an article about role-playing with preschoolers. I had printed out the rules at one point, but of course lost them. I also couldn’t remember where I had seen them originally! One of the hazards of so much information being available, and accessing that information from so many different devices!
I know what you’re picturing. You’ve prepared for the
session all week. Minis are on the battle mat, you’ve got the tiles for the
cave system carefully stacked so that you can lay out the caves as they
explore. Everyone at the table has a bowl of chips and soda next to them. The
session begins and within 2 minutes, Gamer Junior has double dipped in
everyone’s bowls, 2 sodas have washed away the road leading to the caves, and
there are tears as Gamer Junior wants to use the blue dice, not the green dice,
and that is HER mini!!! I must be out of my mind to say, “Role playing with
your preschooler is a great idea!”
Like anything we do with our kids, we need to remember
things need to be at their level. The rules, well guidelines, in this article
give a good starting place. No, it’s not quite as amazing to rescue Thomas the
Tank from the sneaky Barbie and Friends as it is to explore the depths of
Castle Ravenloft, wondering and hoping Strahd will make an appearance, but
which one is going to make your preschooler want to play? Yes, it’s a lot of
fun to cast bull strength, have the cleric toss out a bless, the bard start a
bardic chant, and use your Strength Bow of Flame with multi-shot to take out
the Naga, despite the partial concealment and having to make a will save. That
kind of math and strategy may be just a bit out of reach of your child.
So these rules give you a reasonable option. You’re still
going to be making decisions as to the best way to approach someone holed up in
a fortification, try and convince someone to sneak you in the back way, and
resolve the mission. They might not be your idea of a great mission, but if you
stop worrying about it not being your setting, and get in to theirs, you’ll
find yourself cackling in glee as Fairytale Dress up Barbie sneaks around to
hold Percy at sword point, forcing Thomas to choose between leaving James
behind in Malibu Barbies clutches or letting Fairy Tale Dress Up Barbie get a
free attack on Percy! The horror felt when Soft Bunny crushes Optimus Prime!
The retelling of tales of action and adventure that your preschooler
participated in will leave you with a smile.
That smile is the point of the whole thing. You just spent
an hour or two teaching your child how to play a game you love, on terms that
child understood. Keep playing with them, keep talking with them, keep spending
that time with them.
Here’s the link to the article:
Wait! What about dice? Those small dice can be difficult to
grab with small fingers! Never fear, we have you covered! You can pick up a set
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