A few years ago I heard a gamer talk about how the miniatures hobby is "greying." That is to say, aging. The gamer wondered where all the young gamers were? I was still in my twenties at the time so I was a little dubious. I'm not certain that I'm still not dubious of the concern but it does raise a good question. How can we recruit new gamers to HMGS?

I recently moved back to Bloomington Indiana. On my return I had to find a new group to game with. For years I played games at a club on Indiana University campus. I always had a good time there, but there was a problem. All the gamers were college students. And try as I might, we were never able to recruit any younger gamers, or older local people. This would not matter if it were not for the fact that college students turn over so fast. Four years tops, and they're gone. I am tired of doing that kind of recruitment so I came to town with the idea of finding a new place to game.

Opportunely knocked when the Game Preserve (an Indy based game store) opened up a branch store in down town B'ton. They have a table in the back of the store! Hummmm, space, a steady stream of interested people walking through, looks like just the kind of forum I am looking for. So I talked to the store manager and found out their requirements. They want miniatures games, that use standard rules sets, where the store patrons are encouraged to play. So it is not a place for a formal game club to meet, but it is a wonderful place to recruit new gamers. So far I've put on three "Warfare in the Age of Reason" games, and one DBA game. If I had the rules I might try Johnny Reb, Napoleon's Battles, and Armati. Any set of rules that can be done fast.

I lay out a pretty terrain field, complete with scratch build trees and buildings. And of course 25mm figures aplenty. I put posters up around the store recommending playing the free game. And the people come. In many ways running a good demo game is much like running a good convention game. Having a pretty lay out helps, being able to set up and tear down quickly is a essential knowing the rules well enough to not have to read from them too much, and being able to throw the rules out and improvise for the sake of fun, when required.

The things though that stand out to me about these games, that I enjoyed the most was how many children (eight year olds and younger!) are playing. It seems worth while to pass on how I get these kids in the game and what I do to make it fun for them and me.

KID GAMER

The first step in getting anyone to play a game is to ask them. I make a point of asking people if they want to play, when they show any interest. Frequently young kids are interested in the pretty figures and dice. They are usually timid about joining in, so it takes a warm friendly person to get them playing. I like kids so this is easy for me. I tell them that it is real easy, and that all they have to do is move some toy soldiers around and roll some dice. Most kids can do this. Many of us gamers tend to be too rigid and abrupt to get kids to play. We don't tend to talk directly to them and they are perceptive enough to know that this means that we do not want them around. We tell them to not touch our figures and to please get out of the way. So they do, and we ignore them, so their interest wanes and they move on to the interactive puzzle that they can play with.

Kids, especially young kids, are grabby. They like to pick up little men and look at them closely. They frequently drop them and roll dice onto the floor. They also get scared when an adult man freaks out because his Pavlov Grenadier leader has been dropped on the floor. They may be careful about other figures or they might just be so shook up that they drop any other figure that comes into their hands. So I say to my toys before I bring them out "Remember, thou art but little men!" I can touch up a paint job. I can't touch up youthful enthusiasm.

Most games say "For ages twelve and up." This is because twelve year olds are functioning cognitively as adults (which is probably why their are so many problems in the world). Eight year olds are not. I single out eight year olds because their cognitive development is at the point where they like games with rules. In fact they tend to be very rigid about following the rules. This is very important for two reasons: 1. they tend to want to play, even though they do not tend to understand the game rules themselves, and 2. they will follow the rules of politeness if told what they are.

Eight year olds are capable of making decisions about what they want to do. But they do not tend to make good decisions. They will disperse their troops all over the board. They will leave flanks unguarded. They don't attack when other leave their flanks open. It is best to allow them to make these mistakes without being chastised. I find it best to present them with a list of choices of what they can do and to let them choose their own mistakes. Interesting battles occur. In fact, true fog of war comes into play. They do what real battle field generals do - bizzare things.

Politeness is vital if kids are to play games. But remember politeness starts with the adult. When I ask kid to play, I am being polite. By showing him my figures I am giving him permission to pick them up and look at them. That means accepting the possibility that they will get dropped. When I explain the scenario, I am including the child in the adult world, maybe for the first time in their life. By speaking in a calm interested voice, directly to them, I am agreeing to listen to what they have to say. When I do all of this they will tend to model my behavior and be polite themselves. Politeness also means that I can set limits on what the little bastions of joy can do. I give permission to pick up and play with my toys, but not to put them in their pockets. "You need to put that back now." I bring my little men and terrain out to be used and enjoyed but not destroyed. "If you try you can break this, so don't." And I may speak directly to a child and listen to him but that does not mean that I have to do so forever. "That's interesting. Lets get back to the game."

Often kids have parents who are a few feet away watching their child play. They will jump in to defend their kids if you are rude to them. But I've found them to be very supportive of my polite limit setting. In return, when they say it is time to go. I tell the kids "You need to listen to your mother. Thanks for playing!" The parents walk away happy, since the game gave them a little break. And they will be more likely to buy their child a toy soldier for the experience. After all it can't be too weird when an adult man with standing in his community does it publicly.

Coming and going of commanders is a universal in these types of games. I tend to run two hour games (Tod Kershner told men that a Age of Reason game with four units per side would last this long and he was right. Of course he added "But why would you want to do such a game?"). Two hour, from start to finish, games can be played to the conclusion by some players, but not generally young kids. A half hour to an hour is all that their parents will allow. So the referee has to be flexible about this. Pulling in new players adds to the fog of war element to the game. A good general might leave and be replaced by a novice. Or a great general might come along and salvage a bad situation.

Frequently kids ask how much the toys cost. I tell them the cost per figure and how one can build up armies slowly (Lord knows I have - I bought a good half of my SYW figures when Carter was president). And since I'm in a store, I suggest they could buy it there. I don't sell games directly, but if I can interest a kid into buying their first lead men, then I'm doing boon work for recruiting the next generation of miniatures games. (Yea, I bought my first miniatures when Clinton was president!)

SIX YEAR OLDS AND YOUNGER

Really little kids are also interested in games, but require more supervision. They are the most likely to walk off with figures. They also need even simpler options on what to do. Frequently they are not so much playing the game as playing with dolls. They enjoy picking up and putting down the little men. And they quickly lose interest.

I generally encourage really young kids to pick up the dice and roll them. I invite them to move some figures in a pantomime of the game. I don't generally have them play the game itself. This is really a side show from the main event. But it is worth doing. Since these players will grow up with the notion of HMGS already planted deep within. Also such kids frequently have older siblings, that the parents might introduce to gaming if they like your explanation.

GIRLS AND BOYS

As we all know historical miniatures gaming is nearly all done by middle aged white men. But I've noticed an interesting thing in the make up of interested kids. The split is 50/50 boy, girl! Clearly most women drop out somewhere along the way. Eight year old girls are just as interested in toy soldiers and pretty terrain as little boys are. And they are just as good at playing games (if not a little bit better). So they will play if they are encouraged. I invite girls to play as well as boys. I treat them the same as I do boys, which is to say, I talk directly to them and I point out their competencies and overlook their weaknesses. I think this will pay off. Just as many girls have asked about where they can get games as boys. In fact, one little girl wanted to buy a copy of DBA after playing it.

SILLY CUTE GAMES

I don't run silly, or cute stuffed toy games to recruit kids into the hobby. It might be the thing to do for five year olds, but not for eight year olds. Kids enjoy a real miniatures game just as much as an adult, and for the same reasons. It only makes sense to tap into these interests right off the bat. Kids can handle a DBA game as long as older players do not  get rude.

TEENAGERS

The one problem area about running games for kids is the presence of teenagers. A surlier, more cliquish age does not exist. One or two teenagers can play with young kids but more than that and it doesn't work. They freeze out the kids. Adult gamers generally do not freeze the kids out. They instead tend to help the whole process along. Teenage boys are probably why teenage girls do not play wargames.

BOUNDARIES NOT TO CROSS

There are some obvious boundaries to respect when doing any thing with kids.

(1) I never touch kids. Period. One never knows where the kids comfort zones are at, but you can be certain it is not his skin. And the parents comfort zones are also not that close.

(2) I don't yell at kids. It causes one to lose face, and brings down trouble on one quicker than anything.

(3) I don't allow kids to hit or push while they are playing my game. It has no place in gaming. Good sportsmanship is essential and learned by such examples.

AFTERWARD

My experience with gaming with kids has been a highly rewarding one. It has been an opportunely to spread the name of HMGS (gee I just I should have asked them before doing this). And allowed me to start organizing the gamers of this community for future projects. Hummm, many a convention?