Hey has anybody tried to hack the blade into something a little bit more kid friendly.

Hey has anybody tried to hack the blade into something a little bit more kid friendly.

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?

12 thoughts on “Hey has anybody tried to hack the blade into something a little bit more kid friendly.”

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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….

    😎

  6. 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)

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