Playing Call of Cthulhu With Kids

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

I want to introduce two of my young cousins (ages 5 and 10) to Call of Cthulhu, but I'm not sure if I should wait until they get older. I would (of course) tone down the horror, but I still think they might be to young.

[Strawberries]

I started reading Lovecraft at 10 (my grandfather was AWESOME :smallbiggrin:), so I could see a 10-years-old playing it.
Of course, I've been accused of not being the most stable of people before, so ....:smalltongue:

5, honestly, sounds a bit too young for me. Both for the horror aspect and because the game seems too complex to grasp for a child that young. I'd say wait another bit.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

I started reading Lovecraft at 10 (my grandfather was AWESOME :smallbiggrin:), so I could see a 10-years-old playing it.
Of course, I've been accused of not being the most stable of people before, so ....:smalltongue:

5, honestly, sounds a bit too young for me. Both for the horror aspect and because the game seems too complex to grasp for a child that young. I'd say wait another bit.

How long do you think?

[WarKitty]

How long do you think?

Depends on the kid. It's not the horror that I'd be concerned about as much as the complexity. CoC rewards advance planning and strategy more than straight combat.

[Strawberries]

I can't give a straight answer to this. It largely depends from the child. You know your cousins best, and you should be able to gauge both their ability to play a complex game and their emotional maturity in dealing with "scary" themes.
If I had to give an answer anyway, I'd say till he is 8-9, but it really should be judged based on the individual case.

EDIT: Ninja'd by WarKitty. With pretty much the same answer. Great minds thik alike. :smalltongue:

[true_shinken]

I say don't do it. The problem with CoC for kids is not the horror, it's the pessimism. It's a game where you can't succeed at anything. When you do somewhat succeed, you get increasingly mad.
So, I wouldn't do it.

[Grelna the Blue]

I say don't do it. The problem with CoC for kids is not the horror, it's the pessimism. It's a game where you can't succeed at anything. When you do somewhat succeed, you get increasingly mad.
So, I wouldn't do it.

Yeah. Very few kids that age are going to understand a game in which the world is ultimately doomed. Winning isn't the point in those games; losing slowly (or at least with style) is. I have grown friends who cannot appreciate Warhammer or WoD Werewolf for that very reason.

[Xegek]

What pretty much everyone else has been saying. If you want to get them introduced to Tabletop games, maybe start with DnD (Possibly 4e since that's generally considered better for beginners), or, if they're five, then maybe just go with Risus. The rules are only six pages long, and it introduces the concept fairly well, though you may want to wait a year or two

[Hawk7915]

I'd say that 7, as a bare minimum, is the age I'd consider starting tabletop gaming with kids. And I'd certainly by starting with a system less complicated than CoC (or D&D 3.5, for that matter).

I'll also echo that I wouldn't have any youngin's (younger than 13 at a minimum) play Call of Cthulu. Call of Cthulu is a game where death is almost certain, but that's a good thing, because if you didn't die that means you ended up with some sort of hideous "Fate Worse than Death" like permanent insanity or possession or lord only knows what else. I think teenagers might be able to embrace that, to enjoy roleplaying it and laugh at the absurdity of it...I think anyone under the age of 13 will be so attached to their characters that a system like CoC will not only make them hate that game, but hate tabletop gaming in general. And you don't want that.

If you really want to have a 5 year old in your game, I'd try to keep a few things in mind...

1) Kids of this age will do better with a small, simple list of options. Contrary to popular belief, I actually think a Cleric or some sort of Gish (someone who can do everything) is most appropriate. But you can't just hand him his cleric spell list, it'll have to be "Do you want to hit the orc with your sword, or use your magic? Okay, roll this dice...good job! You hit him! Slash! Slash!"

2) You'll want to keep sessions short...expecting a five year old to be able to tough it out through even an hour long session is pretty optimistic. A 2, 3, 4 hour session is just impossible.

3) Related to one, be ready to adapt and fudge some things for the sake of fun. It depends on the kid. That's why a character who can theoretically do everything is your best bet, so that you can minimize how often you have to say "But Jack the Fighter can't use magic/sneak around/heal people/fire a bow at a unladen swallow a mile away". It'll be a better experience to give them a character with the short list of options, but if they say "Wait, I want to use a sword now" after using spells all game, for them to be able to do that without sucking/dying.

That's my gut instincts at least, and of course different kids have different maturity levels and attention spans, but as you can see it'll be hard to do any of those things in Call of Cthulu.

[Grelna the Blue]

I've never had friends who were interested, so I've never played it, but a game like Toon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toon_(role-playing_game)) might be perfect for bringing kids that young into.

[Ravens_cry]

I've never had friends who were interested, so I've never played it, but a game like Toon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toon_(role-playing_game)) might be perfect for bringing kids that young into.
I've always wanted to play that too, from what I've heard of it. Unfortunatly, they may not be familiar with the kind of should-be-lethal, brain twisting, reality bending, hijinks that made Golden Age cartoons so wonderful.

[Grelna the Blue]

I've always wanted to play that too, from what I've heard of it. Unfortunatly, they may not be familiar with the kind of should-be-lethal, brain twisting, reality bending, hijinks that made Golden Age cartoons so wonderful.

Any kids whose parents could have afforded, but didn't acquire, boxed sets of Looney Tunes and of Animaniacs (a brief and halcyon return to that Golden Age)...well, I feel bad for those kids.

[Ravens_cry]

Any kids whose parents could have afforded, but didn't acquire, boxed sets of Looney Tunes and Animaniacs...well, I feel bad for those kids.
As do I. I am just saying they are not, to my eternal sadness, as much a part of the public conciousness any more. I mean, who remembers, that Tweety is a GUY. Not anyone who makes the Merch', that's who.
Sweet Transvestite indeed.

[Chilingsworth]

I've never had friends who were interested, so I've never played it, but a game like Toon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toon_(role-playing_game)) might be perfect for bringing kids that young into.

where could I get a set of the required books? Or, if they're all out of print, are pdf's available?

[Amiria]

You should watch this. :smallbiggrin:

The Adventures of Lil Cthulhu (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOHJUrcVdJk)

[Grelna the Blue]

where could I get a set of the required books? Or, if they're all out of print, are pdf's available?

Steve Jackson Games is happily still in business, so here's the Toon page (http://www.sjgames.com/toon/) of their website. And they do have pdfs available for purchase online.

[Chilingsworth]

Steve Jackson Games is happily still in business, so here's the Toon page (http://www.sjgames.com/toon/) of their website. And they do have pdfs available for purchase online.

Thanks You!:smallbiggrin:

[Grelna the Blue]

Thanks You!:smallbiggrin:

YVW! :smallsmile: