GamerDad Unplugged HOME

[GamerDad]

New home board for GD Unplugged. Today Matt talks about tiny Settlers of Catan and little hobbits defying the Dark Lord.

[happycamper]

And today we get some RPG-esque games. (I'll be trying to hit some actual RPGs in a month or so...)

[happycamper]

Whew... anyone actually read all the way through that one? I wanted to cover as many of the "better" halloween games that I could but probably went overboard....

[Brian Minsker]

Whew... anyone actually read all the way through that one? I wanted to cover as many of the "better" halloween games that I could but probably went overboard....

I did, and I was going to say you missed the Friedley's game that works for younger kids a bit better than "Give Me the Brain" (though my 6yo likes that one, too), namely "Lord of the Fries". I think it's even easier than GMtB to learn, especially for younger ones. We played it over a rainy weekend with my parents, and my 6yo got so hooked on it he has us playing a hand or two every night he can.

[GamerDad]

While it is too long... I just wanted to chime in with two things.
1. This is an excellent article, thanks Matt! In fact, you just helped sell a copy of Zombies. It sounds perfect for my little "new to boardgame geekery" crowd.

2. It's doing very well. At least 50 from one boardgame messageboard alone (the one you posted about it at).

[Hayne]

Cool article Matt! I love this column!

[momGamer]

That's a great primer for introducing parents to the pen-and-paper jungle.

I'm in the midst of preparing a ParanoiaXP campaign for the kids. I think it'll just be a one-session deal, but I wanted to at least expose them to it.

I'll be waiting for the next installment with eagerness.

[happycamper]

That's a great primer for introducing parents to the pen-and-paper jungle.

I'm in the midst of preparing a ParanoiaXP campaign for the kids. I think it'll just be a one-session deal, but I wanted to at least expose them to it.

I'll be waiting for the next installment with eagerness.

Cool. ParanoiaXP will be one of the systems mentioned in the 3rd installment - an overview of some common systems.

[KingSkippus]

Characters can often be some type of priest serving a god who, in turn, provides that character with magical abilities like healing or protection. This could be uncomfortable for some families.

When I was growing up, I played RPGs a lot. My mom was a religious woman, and I knew that she was sometimes uncomfortable with me pretending to worship various deities and casting spells. (Yes, I was one of those who went through the occult motions that my character would.) As a kid, of course, I thought she was just being silly, since I was an active Christian member of my church and never got into any trouble.

The important thing for kids and parents to understand about these games is that they are just that--games. The worlds that gamemasters create are realms of fiction and fantasy. Although a quick spell may help a player's wizard get out of a sticky scrape, kids are smart enough to realize no amount of spellcasting will help them with that history test in fifth period tomorrow. If that is not true, then role-playing games are not the primary issue, and I suggest that you need to get psychological help for your child.

When I played role-playing games, it was for entertainment, nothing more. I also watched horror movies, like A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I was well aware of the difference between Freddy Kruger (the supernatural psychopathic killer) and Robert Englund (the actor that played Freddy). If I had met Robert in person, I would not have run away screaming in fear, I would likely have told him that I loved his movies and asked for an autograph. I also was well aware that there was no such thing as Freddy Kruger, and though I occasionally worried about various bumps in the night, I never was never in any real fear of Freddy coming out from under my bed to get me.

Adults engage in this form of escapism as well. In The Passion of the Christ, an actor named Hristo Shopov portrayed Pontius Pilate. The actor, in his role-playing, recited lines to condemn Jesus Christ to death. I surely hope that concerned parents do not seriously have religious issues with Mr. Shopov accepting this role, and I surely hope that parents of children who play role-playing games do not mistake their entertainment as occult rituals.

I suggest that as a parent, it doesn't hurt to remind your child of the distinction between fantasy and reality occasionally, just as you would when explaining that the people on television and in movies are just pretending. But if you prohibit your child from playing role-playing games because of religious reasons, you could very well be creating or contributing to a problem with this distinction because you are assigning real qualities to something that is inherently make-believe.

I agree with Matt, a frank discussion of the issue is probably the best solution. Make sure that it is a real discussion in which the parent keeps a healthy perspective and truly recognizes these games for what they are.

[Jimmifett]

As an avid gamer, RPG Gamer, and just recently a Dad, I found this article to be a fair look at roleplaying for the inexperienced. I agree that the most important thing about RPG games is knowing who your child plays with. I've been to sessions where there have been really creepy ppl that i would not want to come over to my house, and while I really enjoyed the DM and the session, I chose not to return. At the same time, i've been to sessions where it's a bunch of rowdy normal guys and have gamed with them for a long time. It really depends on the ppl gaming.

[GamerDad]

Hey Jimmi, welcome aboard and congrats on the little guy.

[GamerDad]

Hey Matt, you've been slashdotted! Congratulations and thanks for the article and for submitting it to them. Traffic is high!
http://games.slashdot.org/

[Jimmifett]

Hey Jimmi, welcome aboard and congrats on the little guy.

Girl actually
Mommie wants her to grow up and be a pitcher for the Marlins heh.

[GamerDad]

Awesome. I've got one of each, but the girl came first and I'm not letting her anywhere near Baseball players.

[happycamper]

I checked out the responses on the forums over at Slashdot and managed to not reply to any of them...

Its nifty to get the attention.

Most of the posts over there (at least the first ones) seem a bit miffed that I didn't promote the positive aspects of RPGs..... It would have been nice to do so, but would have taken even more time, etc... to go into that. Also, to do a good job I would like to support any claims I make with data, etc... so would have been much, much more work.

As it stands, I just tried to give parents a feel for the types of things they might want to be concerned about, but tried not to affect their decision one way or another. (Promoting RPGs might be a fine them for a column some time later.....)

Yay, slashdot!