What are the best tabletop RPGs for kids? Of course, nowadays there are plenty of options if you want to introduce tabletop RPGs to your children.
I began playing D&D when I was nine and now I want my kids to play tabletop RPGs so we can enjoy hobbies together. I’ve searched for RPGs to play with my kids and I’ve found some great ones.
Here’s my list of the best tabletop RPGs for kids.
Amazing Tales, complete kids’ RPG
The first tabletop role-playing game that is great for young kids is Amazing Tales. Amazing Tales is geared toward children from ages three to about seven years old.
I played this with my kids when there were 6, 4, and 3. They loved it. The rules are simple but introduce concepts of character creation and dice rolling to children.
It is a generic setting RPG so you can play fantasy or science fiction or superheroes or whatever mashup of any number of genres you like. Below is a list of Amazing Tales PDFs and books.
- Amazing Tales, complete kids’ RPG – Amazing Tale Core Rules
- The Big Book of Amazing Tales – A collection of adventures
- Amazing Tales Character Sheets – Free character sheet PDF
- Amazing Tales Coloring Book – A simple coloring book to engage kids
- Rescue City: An Amazing Tales setting – A campaign setting for Amazing Tales
Hero Kids – Fantasy RPG
Hero Kids is a respected and much-lauded fantasy tabletop for kids. I have not played it but it comes highly recommended.
It is geared toward young children and the setting fantasy.
- Hero Kids – Fantasy RPG – Hero Kids Core Rules
- Hero Kids – Fantasy Adventure – Wizard’s Tower – An RPG adventure
- Hero Kids – Complete Fantasy PDF Bundle [BUNDLE] – A collection of the main Hero Kids PDFs. The original price is $80 for all the PDFs but this bundle is only $19.99. It’s the perfect intro bundle for playing Hero Kids.
TTRPGs for Older Kids
Amazing Tales and Hero Kids are made for young children, but what about older kids? As I mentioned in the first paragraph, there are so many RPGs these days that it is easy to find a game for ten-year-olds and young teens.
The RPG elephant in the room is Dungeons and Dragons. D&D can be played by pre-teens as long as they are explained to them and the rules are simplified to some degree. Once the kids are 11 or 12 they should be able to grasp the rules fairly well. So, D&D is a great role-playing game for kids.
Also, if kids are playing D&D they are more likely to meet other kids at school and other activities that play D&D as well. Thus they are able to form their own groups and play with them.
However, if D&D is not your thing or you feel it is too complex there is a huge crop of rule-light RPGs available. Here’s a list of rules-light RPGs you can introduce to kids. some of these RPGs only cost a few dollars.
Rules-Light RPGs for Kids
- Fate Accelerated Edition • A Fate Core Build
- Fate Core Complete [BUNDLE] – This bundle contains all you need to play Fate Core at a discount.
- Maze Rats
- Knave
- Kids on Brooms: Core Rulebook
- Kids on Bikes: Core Rulebook
- Prowlers & Paragons Core Rules
- Folklore: A Rules-Light Roleplaying Game
- Yarr! The Rules Light Pirate RPG
Playing Tabletop RPGs with Kids: Tips, Tricks, and Thoughts
Need help playing RPGs with your kids? I gave a seminar for Gen Con Online where I outlined thoughts, tips, and tricks for playing role-playing games with kids. A recording is on my YouTube channel.