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There was a rightly closed thread that was titled 'Is GW going trying to become a kids game?' - pretty much a troll post.

But thinking it over... how about the same question, slightly reworded - Should GW create a kids game?'

And the only answer that I can come with is 'Hell, yes!'

An introductory level game with wide exposure, from a company that has as big a base as GW?

I think it would be a great idea.

And I know a lot of people, including my wife, that were introduced to fantasy gaming by the Milton Bradlee/GW HeroQuest.

Others?

The Auld Grump - I am running a Kings of War game for ten year old players every other Thursday, so I know that there are at least some kids with interest.

Wasn't that the reasoning behind the Battle for Vedros release?

...or Age of sigmar?

*grabs popcorn*

I think it would be great. I’d be all on board for a kid friendly board game by GW.
I know it was a joke, but lore in AoS makes it decidedly not kid friendly (Bloodreavers are cannibals, etc). A true kid friendly game would be great for those with little ones, or those of us who intend to have little ones and want to get them involved.

To justify a "kids" game, we'd need to assess what about a current game line is pushing kids away. Let's start with cost. You're looking for something that you can make money at, as a one-off game. Pretty much all of GWs specialist range fall into this category. Bloodbowl as an example, fits this mold.

"Reasonable" cost. Not obscenely violent, but comedic violence. Basic game play that can expand to more complex. Using the base stats without any skills / modifiers is a fun, fast pickup game. Limit passes to 8 squares and you've got a working game.

To me, the life of a kids game needs to start simple, with expansion to more complex play as the child grows, to keep their interest.

They are kids games in the first place. There's just a lot of big kids around too.

Just reprint Hero Quest. Enter ALL the money.

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
And I know a lot of people, including my wife, that were introduced to fantasy gaming by the Milton Bradlee/GW HeroQuest.

That was me as well. Hero Quest and Battle Masters were my first forays into miniature gaming and those games planted some deep, deep seeds.

Something similar would be wonderful for a new generation, especially with the embrace of geekdom by popular culture in the last 15 years.

Grots are cute and zany enough to be appealing to kids. I wonder if a grot-focused game might work? Something like stealing food from an Ork camp, or stealing squigs or something.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
And I know a lot of people, including my wife, that were introduced to fantasy gaming by the Milton Bradlee/GW HeroQuest.

That was me as well. Hero Quest and Battle Masters were my first forays into miniature gaming and those games planted some deep, deep seeds.

Something similar would be wonderful for a new generation, especially with the embrace of geekdom by popular culture in the last 15 years.

Grots are cute and zany enough to be appealing to kids. I wonder if a grot-focused game might work? Something like stealing food from an Ork camp, or stealing squigs or something.

I have simialr memories though for me it was Battlemasters and Key to the Kingdom.

There is no reason GW shouldn't have "family" level fantasy and sci-fi board games in regular retail stores. I don't know if they can work out a deal with Milton Bradley to do Heroquest again, but that would be a cash cow. The generation that grew up on that is having their own kids and would buy a ton.

However a different quest, mass battle or sci-fi game using their IP would do well too. If Eurogames seem to be selling well in Target, there's room for GW to get something in there.

 TheAuldGrump wrote:

Grots are cute and zany enough to be appealing to kids. I wonder if a grot-focused game might work? Something like stealing food from an Ork camp, or stealing squigs or something.

Yeah, my son sure loves his gretchins, and a kid friendly version of something like Gorkamorka would be awesome!!!

They used to!



Just don't look up the tape on YouTube

 zedmeister wrote:
They used to!



Just don't look up the tape on YouTube

Spoiler:

Damn, you beat me to it!

topaxygouroun i wrote:
Just reprint Hero Quest. Enter ALL the money.

Both HeroQuest and Battle Masters were made by Milton Bradley in conjuction with Games Workshop. This would undoubtedly complicate any reprints.

I played Battle Masters a few times. I got my ass kicked because the guy who owned it has a copy when he was a kid and still remembered absolutely everything about the game.

It seemed fun enough though for a board game.

I would argue that Age of Sigmar is definitely a game that kids can pick up and go with, so AOS would fit that bill already.

topaxygouroun i wrote:
...or Age of sigmar?

*grabs popcorn*

This was my slightly-less-snarky-but-let's-admit-it-it-was-in-there answer too.

At one point I thought that was the point of AOS, to lead new GW gamers into a more robust rules set like WHFB 9E (which never manifested) or AOS 2E (which may not be overly different from the entry level game), or I guess 40k 8E. I actually still think AOS's simplicity is a selling point as a stepping stone to other, more complex mini games. AOS teaches a lot of mini game basics - movement, rolling dice, modifying dice, unit stats and how to interpret them for the tabletop, rudimentary list building - and hobby cornerstones - how to buy models on a budget (because GW MSRP prices are not sustainable for most hobbyists, and I've been doing this since I was 11), how to build them, paint them (that Citadel paint system), doing a little bit of conversion (although not that much is driven by AOS the system), base them, etc. Other games provide far more in the rules, listbuilding, conversion and competition departments, that AOS can be a foundational step towards ... except I'm not sure they get that or have intentionally built for it.

EDIT: Sorta ninja'd by Auticus, so consider me thirding the argument.

- Salvage

No they shouldn't make one. They already have it. Two of them actually.

tneva82 wrote:
No they shouldn't make one. They already have it. Two of them actually.

Oh? Which ones?

When I think kid's (children's) games, I don't think of AoS, or 40k (or their board game equivalents of Shadow War, Silver Tower, etc.).

I think of colorful, cartoony games, that are simple and easy to pick up and play.

http://nymag.com/strategist/2017/10/best-board-games-for-kids-on-amazon-according-to-reviews.html

Looking at the list from this article nothing GW puts out comes close to falling within the realm of those types of children's games.

Oi! Dat's My Leg! fits the bill, but when was that last in print?

40K, AoS, old fantasy, pretty much all their games are kids games. I'd take a bet that a good 80-90% of players started in their early teens or around 10-12. They've always been kids games at their core. It's just the adult audience tends to end up treating them like serious business.

I am teaching my kids 40k, AoS, and Blood Bowl. All can be worked to apply appropriately. The problem I find as a parent is the FLGS, most of the time it is filled with the "big kids" unleashing strings of profanities at dice rolls or carry over from the MTG temper tantrums. Makes it difficult to get a good game in with the kids outside of the house. To their credit some of the stores around me try to mitigate this when/if they notice kids around.

Maybe a better example of a kid's wargame would be something like Skull and Crown's Wooden Wars, in which ranged combat is conducted by throwing bouncy balls:

 infinite_array wrote:
Maybe a better example of a kid's wargame would be something like Skull and Crown's Wooden Wars, in which ranged combat is conducted by throwing bouncy balls:

Spoiler:

[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rYhln5JDkxw/U5kxV1SWU3I/AAAAAAAAC8U/9nX9FsfnlIw/s1600/Wooden+Wars+Napoleonic+Kublacon+2014+Cavalry+hit+by+arty+02.jpg[/img

]

That looks like a lot of fun! Good example too.

Forget the kids, I wanna play that.

Depends how one defines a Kids Game.

Joking aside, 40k and AoS are already pretty accessible. Variety of entry points, rules not needlessly complex. Recommended minimum age is of course 12, but some kids are quite capable of running a game at a younger age.

Given GW are model driven games, how young you can go really depends on the models. Anything small. fiddly or sharp raises the minimum accessible age.

Yeah they’re all kids games; says right there on the box that they are suitable for children. People should t pretend their dollies aren’t toys.

Of course that doesn’t preclude adults from paying with them.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Depends how one defines a Kids Game.

Joking aside, 40k and AoS are already pretty accessible. Variety of entry points, rules not needlessly complex. Recommended minimum age is of course 12, but some kids are quite capable of running a game at a younger age.

Given GW are model driven games, how young you can go really depends on the models. Anything small. fiddly or sharp raises the minimum accessible age.

Yeah, that is why I have a hard time accepting any of GW's current offerings as "kids games". I know there are bright kids who could learn to play and model below the recommended age of 12, but for the vast majority of kids, I don't think those games would hold their attention much, and I don't think the modeling aspect would be well received (by the kids or the parents).

Personally, I'd place the age range for a children's game at 3-10 years.

With that age in mind the game should have single piece tokens/models large enough that you can't swallow them, bright colors, some basic mechanics (simple counting, color matching, item throwing etc.) and leave it at that.

I mean, wargaming is essentially playing army men without the pew-pew noises and an inclusion of codified rules. Why not start basic (green army men level basic) and build from there?

I don't think they need to do anything more to appeal to kids. I was 10 when I started 40k and it wouldn't have appealed to me if it had been packaged in a 'family-friendly' way. The appeal was that it looked brutal and hardcore.

Also as a company if you're going to target a game towards a younger demographic who would respond to 'child-centric' marketing, the miniatures themselves present a problem. Unless you're going to make them larger scale, single-piece and/or pre-painted; at which point you may as well be selling action figures.

If you asked me when was ten if I wanted 40k/WHFB or GW's kid's game, I'm sure I'd have said the former.

Every one of the great GW/Milton Bradley games from the 80's were great "kids" games. I still own Battlemasters, Heroquest, and Tyranid Attack, and they were what got me into gaming. I might not even be in this hobby were it not for those games.

I was in my early teens when I got into the hobby and honestly things were the way they were. There was no child appealing game back then. And I don't really think there needs to be, AoS kind of fills the niche. And Shadespire even moreso, it doesn't get much simpler to play than Shadespire or WHQ silver tower if you ask me. GW games as is are basically for children of all ages

I can think of half a dozen wargames that are as engrossing as 40k and Age of Sigmar and easier to teach to young adults, so the snark about those is a bit too smug.