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My cousin's (ages 8 and 6) have literally seen me painting my miniatures at almost every holiday since they were babies, and this thanksgiving they took a big step into geekery: they told their parents they wanted to play 40k. now like it or not, their parents are getting them a rulebook, some cadians, and some space marines. there's just one problem I worry about: are they ready for 40k? I know they can interpret the rules, because I played a demo game with the six year old with my orks against his skylanders (we treated them as MC) and they can both read fluently. I'm not even concerned about excessive violence, these kids are both better than me at Halo. what I worry about is that I'm throwing them into the meat grinder that is 40k, where a couple of kids will look like easy pickings for any sharks. I just worry that they're not ready, and I don't get me wrong, I want them to play, I just worry that they may not be ready. does anyone have any experience with kids this young picking up 40k? did it turn out all right?

How well off are the parents lol?

The kids will be fine.
The older players who will have to deal with them on the other hand...

I see little problems from the 6 year old, he seems to be the more mild mannered and meek one, the eight year old on the other hand. if his mom is around he's quite pleasant, but the second she leaves he will turn into TFG.

 yeri wrote:
I see little problems from the 6 year old, he seems to be the more mild mannered and meek one, the eight year old on the other hand. if his mom is around he's quite pleasant, but the second she leaves he will turn into TFG.

This is only my opinion, but I think 40K should be for who it says on the box - 12+. As well as the obvious graphical violence undertones, i think that the hobbyist side is too hard for a child of 6, and probably even 8. Sure, the kids can splodge some paint on them, but I think that ruins the hobby side of the game. Also, the game itself is somewhat mature, and takes skill and understanding to play. Also you mentioned one of them will turn into a TFG when he's playing, which just means their not on a maturity level yet to play IMO, plus a kid who plays Skylanders obviously isnt old enough, or on the right level to play something like 40K. Another point i'm making is if the parents sink their money into it, and they just abandon the hobby it will be a total waste - kids lose attention with things easy these days. Lastly, coming back to my violence point, i wouldnt want my 6 year old enjoying a game about people being decapitated and brutally murdered by all sorts of space aliens.

Keep them out of tournaments and even your local hobby shop or GW wherever you play. Sit them down make sure they all have a fluent grasp of the rules and play at least two games a week with them if you can to really get them fluent. The one who is sort of the spoiled kid always has to win sit down have a stern talk to him about sportsmanship and such and if he was a brother well theirs other means of enforcing your will depending on how close you to are.

I started 2nd edition when I was 8. I think if they take it slow and play at the beginner level then they should be okay. The worst part is spending so much money on an army to have an 8 year paint it.

M son is 8 and I've just recently started playing 40k with him. Only small squad based games so far but he enjoys it. He can base models but I do the painting for him, and I'm not to worried about violence, it is no different then playing army men when I was a kid, just more rules.

On the other hand would I send him off to the local store to find a game? No.

I dont think so. Mainly because kids at that age dont really have a grasp on things they like. the week after they get 40k they culd get a glimpse of yu-gi-oh and want to play that.

I'm pretty sure they're committed to this, they've been begging me to show them how to play for two years now. it was only this thanksgiving that I finally gave in. and the six year old understood the rules perfectly once I translated skylander stats into 40k stats. also they're not bad painters, so I'm not worried about that. what worried me is some of the fluff, but now that I think about it I've seen them playing CoD: black ops with their friends. so I guess I shouldn't be worried about ultra violence if their parents aren't. also, they'll be playing Yu-Gi-Oh over both mine and their father's dead bodies, we're both old MtG players.

I have three sons that play, they were 8, 10 and 14 when they got into the hobby, and I picked it up about 6 months later (once it seemed like they'd stick with it) to spend time with them. It's been almost three years now, and they're still playing.

We go to our local GW Bunker every month to play in tournaments and my younger boys enjoy themselves, they take their losses well and usually beat one of their opponents each time (usually an adult). My oldest (almost 17) has won best overall once.

I'm always there at the store when they're playing, and keeping an eye on them while playing my own games, so I don't know if they'd be TFG if I wasn't there, but they're having a lot of fun, and so am I.

I hate when people assume kids shouldn't play because they're kids. The guy has said that they wanted to play fro years now and that he's already played a few games with them and that they understood the rules. I say go for it


Automatically Appended Next Post:
They'res a recent topic exactly like this in the fantasy section and everyone has said yea just simplify the rules

They're probably fine. They understand the rules and they can paint - what's the issue?

 yeri wrote:
I'm pretty sure they're committed to this, they've been begging me to show them how to play for two years now. it was only this thanksgiving that I finally gave in. and the six year old understood the rules perfectly once I translated skylander stats into 40k stats. also they're not bad painters, so I'm not worried about that. what worried me is some of the fluff, but now that I think about it I've seen them playing CoD: black ops with their friends. so I guess I shouldn't be worried about ultra violence if their parents aren't. also, they'll be playing Yu-Gi-Oh over both mine and their father's dead bodies, we're both old MtG players.

Playing Call of Duty at 6 years old? Anyway, the scale of violence is on a whole different level to CoD, you do realize that. If you care so much about it, perhaps encourage them to play casually with you and with each other at home, but not at a LGS or at a GW. Its only my opinion, but I still dont feel they are the maturity level yet, I of course don't know them, i'm just generalizing 6 and 8 year old behavior. As for the fluff thing, it is quite graphic, extensive and rich, so you might want to leave out the background aspect for now.

Drummerboy wrote:
I started 2nd edition when I was 8. I think if they take it slow and play at the beginner level then they should be okay. The worst part is spending so much money on an army to have an 8 year paint it.

Also, i think this make sense. Even if they are "ok" painters, it's still not going to look incredible. However they dont have to paint them anyway.

As others have said keep the points down take weaker lists and work with them on painting and also understand patience is key.

This was how my little brother got into the game.

I would avoid taking them to the FLGS both for their sake and that of the other players but I see no reason why they can't play with friends/family.

It's a case by case basis. If these kids are the kind that are well mannered, then it's no biggy. If not, then suggest other options for the time being.

The last thing you want is a 6 year old who has someone make him the most brokenest list and the gets curb stomped by a player that knows what he's doing. All the sudden 6 year old quits game or breaks models, ect.

40k is a hobby you marry.

You spend hours learning rules. Hundreds of dollars on models. Hours putting together and painting them. AND you play against people who have put the same time/effort/money into the matter, and thus deserve respect in that vein.

In my experience, kids don't understand this. They don't fully grasp the more complex rules, the basics of strategy or listbuilding, et cetera.

Not to mention, they won't be spending their own money on the hobby, let alone dedicating themselves to it the way a more mature gamer would.

Kids are fickle in their hobbies. That's why card games are cheap. You can play 100 different card games in your childhood and still afford the time and money for one more.

It doesn't matter if they're well mannered, "mature for their age", or willing to spend their own allowance on it. Psychologically kids are in the middle of developing and discovering what interests them, as well as their skills and talents.

So no; I don't think that a responsible mentor would support kids getting into a hobby such as this. Maybe Dark Vengeance, if treated as a standalone game (which is totally doable). If anything, play with them once every month or so. It'll be special for them, a cool novel experience, and after a few years they'll know if its still for them.

-Captain

It all depends on how you look at it. I've played at clubs where young kids have turned up with masses of figures, and while the older players have tried to show them how to play, it usually ends up with the kids setting up their models and just having fun making shooting noises and moving about the board! Usually they'll do this for a short period of time and then proceed to run around the club with their friends; they are easiliy distracted after all. I can't see them falling prey to older players, from what I've seen older players (including their fathers!) will ignore them like the plague.

Slipstream wrote:
It all depends on how you look at it. I've played at clubs where young kids have turned up with masses of figures, and while the older players have tried to show them how to play, it usually ends up with the kids setting up their models and just having fun making shooting noises and moving about the board! Usually they'll do this for a short period of time and then proceed to run around the club with their friends; they are easiliy distracted after all. I can't see them falling prey to older players, from what I've seen older players (including their fathers!) will ignore them like the plague.

this is exactly what i did when i was a kid trying to get into 40k, i was 12, had ADD and have aspergers, so my attention span made a fish look good. i turned out ok, in fact, the group that i started with was so generous: 1 guy gave me about 20 black templar, one other guy gave me 10 pots of paint, and a third guy gave me black and white dice to match my black templar.

If they have been begging for 40k for two years then I say go for it.
But keept the games small to 500 kill team games. 2 troops and an HQ. and escalate to 750-950 and more each couple of games
This way they dont get bored during the others during and get distracted

I personally started 40k around that age myself (about 8) yeah my painting skills weren't all that impressive, yes some of the larger scale games were difficult to manage at first and yes rules holes were exploited as much as possible. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't have been part of the hobby. I went along to participation games as and when I could, I took part as much as any 16 year old back then. So I completely disagree with captain back there but I also agree with greenizbest, the FLGS scene may not be for them yet. I got largely ignored for the first month or so as I was 'too young' (which made for a very boring day) and which almost made me give it up as I felt left out and generally not wanted there. Until my first game with a guy about 6 years older than me. Yeah I lost, but I had FUN and a definately gave him a run for his money. Which actually garnered me a bit more of a regular spot on the FLGS which I continued to frequent until my late teens.

I personally would let them play 40k but not exactly let them going full bore into the hobby. ie going to the local game store and playing matches with strangers. id keep it more of a family thing, that way you can bond together, and you can have fun introducing them into the hobby. they will have more fun doing a little now and realizing their is an infinitely bigger universe out there rather than just figures and paints. As far as too young gos, they are young they are innocent let em have their fun. they might be harsh on models so i might recommend some supervision or whatever suites you/the parents. heck maybe you can give em a paint gun so their minis dont turn out as blobs

wolfmerc wrote:
heck maybe you can give em a paint gun so their minis dont turn out as blobs

You would have been my favourite person in the world back then...

That's a bad idea, 12 is the earliest imo but still wouldn't let my kids play that early. Play Chess or Go or some abstract hex strategy with them and leave the extravagant hugely expensive and mind consuming hobby for later when they will really be able to decide if they prefer this over other activities instead of only copying what adults around do.

That I developed into Warhammer 40k player doesn't mean it's good for my kids or for everyone. Also brutality/ grimdarkness is the point too, it is scientificaly proven that extensively watching/ reading horrors develop slight phobias in people and we're taking about kids here. Seriously, no.

I was full into 2nd edition 40k and Titan Legions when I was 8, and the rules were far, far more complicated back then.

They'll be fine.

Around the same age I was when I started, they'll be fine.

 TheCaptain wrote:
40k is a hobby you marry.

You spend hours learning rules. Hundreds of dollars on models. Hours putting together and painting them. AND you play against people who have put the same time/effort/money into the matter, and thus deserve respect in that vein.

In my experience, kids don't understand this. They don't fully grasp the more complex rules, the basics of strategy or listbuilding, et cetera.

Not to mention, they won't be spending their own money on the hobby, let alone dedicating themselves to it the way a more mature gamer would.

Kids are fickle in their hobbies. That's why card games are cheap. You can play 100 different card games in your childhood and still afford the time and money for one more.

It doesn't matter if they're well mannered, "mature for their age", or willing to spend their own allowance on it. Psychologically kids are in the middle of developing and discovering what interests them, as well as their skills and talents.

So no; I don't think that a responsible mentor would support kids getting into a hobby such as this. Maybe Dark Vengeance, if treated as a standalone game (which is totally doable). If anything, play with them once every month or so. It'll be special for them, a cool novel experience, and after a few years they'll know if its still for them.

-Captain

Captain here has hit the nail on the head and I don't understand why more people aren't agreeing. 6 years old? I don't know why people would think that's a suitable age. Yeah you may have got on fine as a budding 7 year old, but every kid is different. I'm still adamant that 6 isn't a good age. The idea of having DV as a stand-alone game seems your best-bet.

I started 40k when I was 6 and most adults at my local hobby shop gladly played against me and were very nice about showing what I could do better, and now Im telling them what to change

The biggest two issues I predict is the Hobby side of things and the maturity side of things.

8 and 6 are far too young to be able to paint their armies. And when they see their models aren't as good as your's they will become discouraged or upset.

As for Maturity, it is not beyond a 6 or 8 year old to throw tantrums when something doesn't go their way. 40k will hardly ever go their way.

My advice, take them by the hand and participate in as much of the hobby as you can with them. Keep them away from other players until they understand the game and know what is expected from them if you were to take them to a store. (No Crying, or throwing Tantrums). If you or their parents can effectively invest time with them in every stage of this thing, then they might hold onto the hobby and be successful.

Its a huge undertaking, OP. 6 and 8 are just too young.