Designing games that appeal to both adults and children is hard! However, Helaina Cappel of both Kids Table Board Gaming and Burnt Island Games has been making games that appeal to both adults and children for years.
Watch the live chat below:
It’s usually easier to take a game that’s intended for adults and modify it down into one that kids can handle. Typically, this means you’ll have to take a lot out; you need to get rid of all the things that the kids can’t handle. Basically, get a game to the point where you really enjoy it, then modify it down to what kids enjoy.
When trying to find people with kids to playtest with, some good places to check are the different tabletop family games groups on Facebook. You can ask about any families that are willing to play over zoom, so that you can watch how the game is played and see what reactions the kids have.
When you can’t test with kids, a good thing to aim for is as few rules as possible. This means that the kids will be able to retain more of the game and it’ll be more accessible to them.
Learn how to speak to kids:
- Have someone that they’re close to around them. That person will know the capacity of their kids and they’ll be able to translate things into language that their kids can understand.
- Really listen to what they’re saying.
- Ask lots of questions like: did you have fun? why did you have fun?
Something that works great in games made for kids and adults is emergent strategy. Emergent strategies are ones that seem normal and like the thing you should do and you can figure out why you’re doing that particular strategy later on. This is also why thematic games work really well, as the players have an idea of what they should do in the game before knowing much about it. Thematic games also let players get more immersed in the game, so that they stick around more and it makes it easier to get to the point where they understand what they’re doing.
You can find out more about Helaina here:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidstablebg , https://twitter.com/burntislandgm
- Kids Table Board Games Website: https://www.kidstablebg.com/
- Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TableTopFamilyGames/members
You are welcome to participate or simply listen in to the Game Design Live Chats whenever the time fits in your schedule. Click here for our calendar of events.
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