In the movie The Hudsucker Proxy, the main character spends the bulk of the narrative holding up the drawing of his fantastic new invention. What is that invention, you ask? The Hula Hoop. But he doesn’t call it the hula hoop. He doesn’t have a sales pitch or explanation. There is only a drawing on a napkin. Each time he shows the next person what is ostensibly a circle drawn on a napkin, there is a long pause until he says “You know …. For kids!”
The awkward, painful reaction to this passionate pitch is similar to my own when parents ask what games they should get for their small children. I don’t have children myself, so there has never been any reason to get children’s games before. So after receiving this question from numerous parents in churches all over the country, I decided to investigate. What my research discovered were various shades of Chutes and Ladders or Candyland. I felt even more lost. I didn’t even like Candyland when I WAS a kid.
The board gaming community being what it is, I knew there had to be people making quality games that could challenge kids, even educate kids, without being stale or boring. I just hadn’t found them yet. So I had to make it my goal to fix that. I was determined to continue looking until I discovered a developer focused on making games for kids that did not make my eyes roll.
For this mission, while I applaud the efforts of gamer parents like our own Tom Kolar who create alternate versions that their kids can enjoy, I was looking for games designed specifically with kids in mind.
And then I went to Gencon.
In the booth next to us were the folks at Peaceable Kingdom. Since we were going to spend the next four days next to each other, I started making small talk. Peaceable Kingdom makes games almost exclusively for kids, only recently branching out into bigger family style games. I was so intrigued by what they were demonstrating and how thrilled the kids were when they played, I ended up taking two of the games home with me.
Through talking with the folks at the booth, I started to see patterns in the games that drew the attention of passing kids. While every one of them was different, there were certain aspects to these games that were appealing across the spectrum. While I’m sure I could find more companies doing this – the folks at Peaceable Kingdom have given me a framework for what makes a kids game a great experience.
Get Them Moving
The biggest draw to the booth – so much as it is even what brought me there – was a giant fuzzy fellow named the Woozle. The goal of the game was simply to put a certain number of cardboard “snacks” into the Woozles mouth. While small kids just had to work on balancing the pieces on the end of the spoon as they walked up to their new friend, the older kids had to do elaborate challenges like hula dancing or bunny hopping that made getting the disks in the Woozle’s mouth much more complicated.
Several of their games involved taking bits from one place to another, picking up blocks with sticks to see how high they can stack them, and other activities. Generally these fall under the category of ‘dexterity games’ – and I never saw a kid that didn’t enjoy it immensely. Even parents that played the games with their kids had broad smiles.
Grow With the Kids
We’ve all had the experience with a place, a piece of media, or some other preciously preserved piece of our history. After a passage of time, you look back on something you thought was so spectacular in your youth, only to find it boring and tedious. What if your favorite game grew with you?
There were a handful of the Peaceable Kingdom games that had this varying rule set based on the age of the kid. The Woozle, for example, had three different of difficulties to it based on age. I fell in love with this aspect immediately and wondered why people had not been doing this since the beginning. With this simple rule twist, families with a number of children can gather all the kids around one game. Seven year old Billy wouldn’t get bored waiting for four year old Lucy to take her turn. Likewise, Lucy wouldn’t be frustrated that the game was unfair in Billy’s favor.
Cooperation Helps Everybody
I’m all for competition. There are important lessons that can be learned when one player wins and others lose. However, at the very young ages, removing the competition is a great equalizer. Instead of having kids trying to beat the other players, they are focused on working together to help bring the win for everybody. Once again, in multiple age situations, this can also eliminate the advantage of being the older sibling. The kids are trying to work together to beat the game – learning about cooperation. A loss no longer has one kid cheering and the other one crying, but can instead lead to determination. Next time we’ll beat it!
Be a GAME!
It may seem like it goes without saying, but, for me, this is one of the most important. There is a push with children’s toys and games to be educational. Whether it is practical skills, academic learning, or social interaction- many times the selling point is what the kids will learn. I am not opposed to educational gaming in the least – but the difference between a dry experience and a wonderful experience is one of prominence.
I talked with the ladies at the Peaceable Kingdom booth, even interviewed them on mic for our podcast, and the “this is what the kids will learn” bit came at the end. It was built on top of the wonderful experiences the kids would be having if they played the game. Each game helped the kids develop, learn, and grow – but it never felt like they were just repackaging a kindergarten lesson. They were making a great game first and then showing how that game helps the kids. That difference is crucial.
I am certain the Peaceable Kingdom is not the only company making games like this – but they are the first developer specifically creating kids games that has hooked me. Click the link to their site for more information, or click below to find their games on Amazon.
If there is a game company designing children’s games that you especially love – submit a comment with a link. Our kids deserve good games. Let’s help each other find them.