gaming for a 3 year old

[spitzig]

I've been tabletop RPing for about 15 years. I'd like to get my three year old son interested in it. I've never DMed, so have doubts about trying to homebrew a simpler version of D&D or something. One person suggested I give specific options like a choose your own adventure book.

So far, the best option seems to be "Amazing Tales". 4 is the starting suggested age. 99% of parents seem to think their children are smarter than average, and I'm no exception. He's halfway to four. He's started making up stories. Seems like he might be old enough. "No Thank You, Evil" has a suggested age of 5, and parents seem to think that's an appropriate age.

 

[Schmoe]

When my kids were three they had only been talking for a year and were fresh out of diapers, so I don't really have any advice for you. Good luck though.

 

[Umbran]

The basic issue is that a child of three is not going to give much of a hoot for rules or methods or processes for anything.

Consider that "Chutes and Ladders" has a suggested age of 3+. While I know your kid might be smarter than the average, I still would not expect a child of that age to have any patience for a system more complicated than that. I think the products you note with higher ages have those for a reason.

 

[Celebrim]

Yeah, at three you are good to get them into a game as complex as 'Monkey Madness' or 'Go Away Monster'. Make believe is possible, but structured RP is going to be right out. Give it another two years or so, and you'll be able to get them into some lightweight kid systems.

 

[Sadras]

I've been tabletop RPing for about 15 years. I'd like to get my three year old son interested in it. I've never DMed, so have doubts about trying to homebrew a simpler version of D&D or something. One person suggested I give specific options like a choose your own adventure book.

So far, the best option seems to be "Amazing Tales". 4 is the starting suggested age. 99% of parents seem to think their children are smarter than average, and I'm no exception. He's halfway to four. He's started making up stories. Seems like he might be old enough. "No Thank You, Evil" has a suggested age of 5, and parents seem to think that's an appropriate age.

Well I would imagine you could get a kid that age to engage in a physical game of "D&D", where you do not necessarily use die but other methods to resolve conflicts.

So for instance you could set up the small plastic soldiers/monsters/tokens as the bad creatures on one side of the room and use marbles to knock them down (via rolling) from the other side of the room. You obviously narrate the basic story and then scene frame the combat. You could pretend the bad guys also have ammo and 'fire back' marbles at a representation of the hero PC/s (obviously miss a lot) and show much frustration of the bad guys.
Every round the evil guy tokens advance closer to the PC/s - essentially rising the tension but also making it easier to hit. Some bad guys might require multiple hits to bring down.

Other challenges might be opening up a treasure chest but it has a lock which is opened up by solving a simple puzzle or putting in the correct sized blocks into the correct sized openings.

Just use your imagination with the toys the kids play with at that age, incorporate them in interesting ways and throw in the narration in between. The duration of these roleplaying sessions will depend on the attention span of the toddler. Most importantly have fun.

 

[pogre]

We roleplayed Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues with a set script I went off of it. Huge hit at Birthday parties.

I always played Swiper.

 

[Mercurius]

I personally would just try to inspire a love of games in general, and not really consider RPGs for a few years at least.

 

[Nytmare]

I don't think my son was three when we started testing the RPG waters, but when we did start it was mostly just back and forth storytelling about his favorite TV shows and video game characters accompanied by dice so that he'd get in numbers and colors practice.

 

[Eltab]

Let the child roll the dice - especially for damage, because more is always better - and use it as an opportunity to learn to count pips or recognize numerals.
A child that does not yet know his numbers should not roll to-hit, because he won't know why sometimes everybody is excited and sometimes everybody is disappointed.
If you have one of those fist-sized dice that flashes when you roll the max, it adds a chance at extra fun and surprises (especially if your room lighting is not bright).

A child can move minis and (probably) count squares. With guidance, they can learn the map symbols and work out "I go out the door and turn left down the hall."

Let the child do the monster RAWRs or call out "Boo! Surprise, you didn't see me hiding here!" when the Assassin gets to do his shtick.

But don't get the child caught in the middle of a myPersuade-vs-yourInsight negotiation Skill Challenge because he won't understand what is going on.

 

[Calithorne]

My son started playing D&D with us when he was five. The thing he loved best was kicking down doors. Once, he kicked a pillar and he found a secret door that way.