Solid design elements in Hero Kids

+Peter Schweighofer has taken a great look at the underlying design, mechanics, and presentation of Hero Kids.   Check it out:

Schweig's Gaming Journal: Solid Design Elements in Hero Kids

Here are a few quotes:

"The very basic system in Hero Kids offers a simple yet intuitive means of resolving conflicts kids can understand without all the complexities of other roleplaying game systems."

"The character sheet summarizes all relevant information for players using easy-to-remember icons and quick summaries of combat actions.   The use of icons for stats, gear, and skills makes room for the concise summaries of what they can do in terms of a general attack, special actions, and bonus abilities."

"The landscape layout makes the rules easy to view on a notebook or tablet device."

"An entire page offers “Hints & Tips” for running the game with kids, useful both from a general gaming perspective and specifically geared toward rule elements in Hero Kids.   Another page covers special considerations for gaming with kids, including pitfalls regarding violence, language, religion, and morality."

"On the preceding page sections entitled “Pint-Sized Heroes” and “Big-Sized Problems” help demonstrate the kinds of adventures kids and their heroes might undertake.   The setting is tailored specifically to kids, including playing heroes who are kids facing reasonable challenges."

"These visually based encounters on a gridded play area help younger gamers make the transition from more traditional board games to the more freeform roleplaying games."

"Although Hero Kids still requires a knowledgeable adult to run the game with young players, it remains completely focused on being a roleplaying game for kids without being diluted by any other agenda of simulating an old-school, retro-clone or promoting a particularly ground-breaking campaign setting.   It’s a well-developed game (as are its several adventure supplements) with appealing layout and practical utility in running games for kids."

Thanks to Peter for taking to time to write up this analysis of Hero Kids!

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Check out Hero Kids and its adventures at DriveThruRPG:

Hero Forge Games at DriveThruRPG