Hey has anybody tried to hack the blade into something a little bit more kid friendly.
I didn’t see anything so I had a try this week end. My audience is a 4 year old girl. So when I say a bit more kid friendly I mean A LOT.
I tried a slightly dark faeric settings. Bilbo and Orphan Tales as touchstones.
Rule wise I dropped a lot. I simplified the attributes and skills. I kept the dice system without the position and effect. I kept the clocks (which she could color herself)
The flashback mechanic work wonderfully well.
I didn’t introduce the stress mechanic but mainly by lack of a proper name for it.
For her first character she created a Bernard the Pirate who’ is very good at fighting (3 dices in kickass) and not so bad with a wand (2 dices in magic).
Also Bernard is a girl with white/blue hairs.
What do you think?
Sounds cool. You pdf it?
No, for now it’s just a couple of scribbles in a notebook.
I started putting together some notes for a mod based on Prep and Landing, the disney tv special about Elves that prepare homes for Santa. I have no idea where they are now. I’ll try to find them.
As a positive renamed Stress, might I suggest Cool?
Cool idea! I’m no child development expert but:
1. Is there really a “kickass” skill in a “kid-friendly” hack?
2. I don’t know when kids become capable of making decisions like this but I think the conversation around setting position and effect could be a valuable lesson in critical thinking, commitment, and consequences for younger kids.
1. Depends on the kid. 🙂
2. I’m inclined to agree. Although you could maybe simplify it to one or the other?
I like the idea of a blades game so simple a 4yr old could play it
Thanks for your feedback.
About “Kickass” my intention might have been lost in translation. Playing in french I used “bagarre” which is the kid word for “brawl”. It might not have a direct translation. I wanted lighter than fight or brawl. (Maybe : “Slaps and bruises”)
I also dropped some of the rules to her concentrate on the story. She already had a hard time accepting her failed roll 🙂
I guess it depend of the lesson you tried to achieve. Mine was more “Take control of the narrative” .
But you underline something I hadn’t thought about. The kids are so different even at the same age that any attempt of a simplified kid hack would have to be too tailored to the audience to be generalisable.
Maybe you could combine the position and effect into quick “Easy/Normal/Tough” so as to keep the concept, but not get bogged down in the technicalities of the original.
Cedric, if you’re targeting the preschool set, might I suggest “fuzzy heros”? Whilst it’s main goal was an intro to Miniature combat, one could certainly great a few more stats in.. Of course, in a game like Blades that might mean Poohbear & Ms Fluffybunny become a little darker….
😎
Dale Miller Thanks for the tip. I’ll have a look for sure.
Cédric Feyaerts this is great! I’m looking for games my 2 year old can play. Right now we are focusing on games that teach German and English, but the thought of him playing BitD (for kids) in 2 years is wonderful for me! (And hopefully him)