My daughter (6) is one of the brightest and most articulate children I’ve known. She reads better than some adults I’ve met, and she is able to grasp (with guidance) Talisman 4th Edition. She often games on her own, playing titles like the Gen 1 Pokémon remakes on Gameboy Advance, Spyro Reignited, Wobbly Life, Untitled Goose Game, and Little Kitty Big City.
With the long Canadian winter approaching, I’d really like to kindle that flame she has for Talisman 4E and introduce her to some other fantasy tabletop or deck-building games. Pokémon TCG might be a fun one to learn with her (and can help her understand MTG when she’s older).
What other games would you recommend for us to pass the time this winter? Even better if my wife can jump in with us (she is also an experienced Talisman 4E, Valheim and WoW Classic player).
I don’t know D&D/Pathfinder rules enough to DM, but I do run my daughter through little verbal role-playing adventure sessions sometimes that she has a great time doing.
Thanks in advance!
My kids and I loved Ziggurat. It’s a legacy adventure game about climbing a magical ziggurat. Each time you win the game you unlock significant changes to how the next game is played and progress the story of the game a bit more. There is a genuine feeling of exploration and adventure.
Some reviewers panned the game for being too simple. Yes, there is not a ton of strategic depth to be had here. But my kids play Dominion and Forbidden Desert and Innovation, and they had a blast with this game. It doesn’t need to be a brain burner for them to have fun working together and climbing a cool cardboard pyramid. Also, the game packs in lots of thoughtful extras that it could have done without but make the experience even better.
I have no idea how available the game currently is. It might be hard to get.
We also play a lot of No Thank You, Evil! Like you, I do a lot of story-telling with their input and sometimes dice. I steal a lot of ideas from No Thank You, Evil! and sometimes use their character sheets and modules when we’ve got extra time.
Finally, I’ve had a good experience playing The Quiet Year with them. It’s a collaborative map-drawing and story telling game. I curate the cards a bit, since some of my kids are young and some of the cards cover more mature topics. And I guide the early collaboration a lot to help them get past the world-building step and into the game with a setting that will spark their imagination. After we play a session, we have a cool map that I then drop into a frame and hang on the wall until the next session.
Oh, and just a quick recommendation for video games (sorry). Please check out Cassette Beasts. It’s like old school Pokemon, but with a ton of fun and convenient additions to the genre. The game has way more content than it needed to have, the creatures are cute and funny and cool, and the story is all about building community and making life just a bit better for the people around you.
Settlers of Catan (now branded “Catan” I think). Fairly simple rules, great variation in gameplay.
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Check out the FATE system, or even the light version (of an already light system), FATE Accelerated. Very intuitive gameplay that seems it would be a fun and accessible system for you guys
When I read the title, I thought TTRPGs could work. So I was glad to read you have considered them.
If your obstacle is the rules, you can check out simpler games:
- Nimble
- Cypher
- Knave 2e
- Maze Rats
And if you want to polish your GMing:
- So you want to be a game master by Justin Alexander
