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Hiya. Niece got interested in painting miniatures(not surprising). Was thinking I might try to teach her to play as well. 40k however is too complicated I think. Was(shudder) considering even age of sigmar but then thought maybe blood bowl would be better one. Smaller model count, easy to explain reason(it's fantasy football. She understands sports all right) and I can make things sound less nasty(push rather than hitting, paddings rather than armour etc. Harder with wargame where goal generally is...well to kill!).

However how easy blood bowl rules are generally to teach to about 7 year old kids? And are there parts that could/should be dropped at least from beginning? I guess kick-off table is easy to drop without big effect and less things for her to get around with in the beginning. Other suggestions? (oh and foul I think I won't mention for a while. Less rules to worry and see above for softening things up a bit).

For painting I was thinking of assembling and undercoating both forces and then asking her which she prefers. Then...Well she's 100% free to do whatever she wants. I just will show around(with the other team) basics(how to thin paint etc) but as far as colour schemes she can pick up her colours as she wants. Wouldn't surprise if I would end up playing against pink fleshed orcs!

I like the idea of us having more things to do together. Just worrying game is still too hard for her to understand.

As you mentioned, drop kick-off, fouls. Also drop weather table, assists, inducements and as much as possible really. Don't introduce more teams, don't do league with star player points and new skills. No star players.

The new box game is very good at simplifying and dumbing things down for new players. Age 7 is really young though. As a kid, playing miniature games is an excellent way of learning English also.

Maybe drop injuries too, just put players in KO box (not fun to have half the team out in 2nd half. Maybe ignore modifiers to dodge, tackle zones, throw ball and so forth.

Edit: Maybe ignore skills all together in the start? Or maybe I'm underestimating how smart kids are.

I've been doing demo games for a better part of the decade and the kids have been able to get the basic rules all right. It has been fun to see the same kids grow up and come challenge me after a few years. Until you got the basics down just drop kickoffs, weather and things like that. Start with a couple of one-off games. If it sticks, consider introducing extra skills. Dropping fouls and reducing injuries to KO's seems very good too, if your niece is more into the sports side and less about KILL ALL THE MENS (which seems like an entirely sensible way of upbringing).

As has been said. Start it out as simple as possible and gradually introduce new concepts as she progresses. Assisting blocks is a good one to leave out at first.

My daughter about the same age as your niece, I got her started on a simplified version of X-wing, she loves it.

The new box set has the basic rules, and then a section of optional rules, so you could stick with the basic rules at first.

Even with that, it's not a hugely simple or intuitive game. In some ways it is one of the more tactical GW games, in fact. It's not the bashy free-for-all you might think it is from the box art and fluff. It can be quite chess like. A lot of the game is about working round the restrictions on the field caused by things like tackle zones, and sequencing moves to minimise the risk of a turnover. I know with a kid you wouldn't be playing high-level tactics, but the situation of, "if you move him you'll have to dodge" and "whoops your guy fell over so now it's my turn" will arise even if you play the basic rules. Obviously you'd give them plenty of do-overs, but just be prepared the Blood Bowl can be quite a frustrating game sometimes.

Having said that, from the point of view of the fluff and lore, it's absolutely fantastic as a gateway game, because it has a sense of humour, something lacking from a lot of GW games. Also, the fact that you get everything you need in the box is a bonus. No need to improvise scenery or find a huge gaming table. The pitch comes in the box and can be played on an ordinary dining table.

As an alternative, Age of Sigmar might be a good shout. I'm not sure why you shudder at the mention of it - it's a great game! It's easy to grasp, all the information is right there on the warscroll, but there are layers of complexity, which again are right there on the warscrolls. Also, the overriding feeling while playing the game is a feeling of freedom to do things rather than restrictions. The answer to most of the "can I do this?" questions is "yes." All you'd need is a Start Collecting box each and a download of the rules and warscrolls.

Good luck, whatever route you take!

I love Blood Bowl, but it's not a simple game and it requires a level of sportsmanship that is beyond most children (and many adults). The game is almost designed to put players on tilt constantly.

If you want to teach her a game to go with the minis she's painting, I'd actually recommend A Song of Blades and Heroes by Andrea Sfiligoi. It's a simple system, you can use pretty much any miniatures with it, and you can avoid some of the violence by using scenarios (Red Riding Hood has to make it to the Woodcutter's Cottage before the Big Bad Wolf catches her, or Gandalf and the Hobbits have to capture the treasure and run it off the board before they get captured by Goblins, etc.).

I'd say the very basic trimmings of Blood Bowl might be, but I wouldn't hype it as an excellent choice. Definitely not with the deeper rules as teams advance, develop, etc.

For the GW games right now (pre 8th), I'd say that Blood Bowl is slightly harder than AoS. But then again, my son (currently 9) has played the basic X-Wing for 2 years, and we've done a couple of very basic games of 40k.
So yeah, a relatively bright 7 year old can handle any of the above with some patience, guidance, and reasonable simplifications.

Honestly the new RuneWars from FF is awesome for 7. My son loves it, hes 6 almost 7, I leave off moral and panic but plan on introducing them slowly over the next few games.

My son likes playing BB on the PC which I stream to TV and use a controller, he really loves it. He did not like the board game as much as I constantly had to figure out block modifiers and tell him what to do and not to do, it really removed his ability to critical think on his own so he got bored. I plan on trying again though.

RuneWars is fun and even if he makes a tactical mistake, it doesn't matter because its easy to do even when you don't intend due to how activation works. Its based off the X-wing system in regards to activation.

My 8 year old daughter caught on no problem. It is rather intuitive with the basic box teams.

Kids are far smarter than most adults give them credit for; after all, when was the last time you learned a complex language in a couple of years with no basis for comparison?

The only restriction is going to be the kids enthusiasm for the game; if they don't want anything to do with it, they will never learn, or appreciate it.
That said, kiddie enthusiasm decreases with the square of the time spent explaining rather than doing, so start small and build up. GW published a bunch of training scenarios that are good for exactly this.