TOPIC: Younger players (or, don't play with strangers)

First, let me be clear in saying that TrueDungeon SoCal 2004 was a fantastic experience and I had a great time; it was well worth the cost!

I and two friends (members of my gaming group, all in our 30s, except for one gal who has been 29 the last few years) flew down to LAX and rented a car and visited a friend for part of the weekend. But the real reason we were there was to try out TrueDungeon and we loved it.

However, there was one major problem we had which really impacted our ability to enjoy the game.

There were three of us, and we signed up for a slot that had exactly three open spaces. This seemed ideal--we would meet new people and we would have a great time with them.

Unfortunately, the four "strangers" in our party were significantly younger than us. I would be hard pressed to believe that the youngest of them was 13, although presumably she was.

They were good kids, in the from-a-distance sense. When I was their age, they were exactly the group I'd have been friends with.

However, some of their behavior was ridiculous and unacceptable. The youngest of them, a girl who looked to me to be 10 or 11, although, again, she must have been 13, was very out of control the whole time.

In the Inn, she took the "note" and wouldn't share it with anyone else. Her friends were quite OK with this, and we were being too polite to point out how stupid this was. Eventually, she gave it up for others to read, and it became clear she hadn't actually been able to even read it herself. We had enough time to hear some rumors, and look at the items available for purchase, but ran out of time before we could purchase them.

In the following rooms, the four younger players were crazy, typically running around and touching things, despite the DMs attempts to stop them. The youngest knocked the portcullis over while saying "we can just move it and go through!"

The poor DMs had to raise their voices to her again and again, and by the room with the books and cards, I had to be far firmer with her than I would expect to be with a stranger, as a result of her hiding under the table and trying to trip me, followed by her attempt to take the torch forcibly from my hand.

I don't blame the TrueDungeon folks for her behavior, or for her friends' disregard for her actions toward me and my friends.

When I was 13, I'd have loved to go through TrueDungeon. And I'd have been just as annoying, petty, whiny, attention-demanding, spastic, and insane[1]. I don't begrudge them that. But I think it's reasonable to believe that there are a couple of different types of players, and that mixing them doesn't work so well.

Perhaps separating out specific time slots based on age groups, with the number of each obviously proportional to the typical turnout. In the older age groups, younger players might be allowed with a parent or guardian (but not just an older sibling. Humph.)

Or perhaps that's not a good solution. I'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts on this matter. Hopefully our experience was unusual enough that it's not even worth trying to fix? Or has this happened to others?

I really don't want to keep the younger people out. I just would like to see the styles of play be a better match, and while age isn't the best indicator of style, it sure is the simplest.

Of course, next time, I'm going to drag four more friends along and be done with the whole problem.

Thanks for a great time, TD staff and volunteers! It really was a fantastic time!

I was by myself in a group with a family of six. There were two adults and two around 10-12 years old, and then two more kids around 14-16. They all did really well. The younger kids were awesome on sliding the counters. It was up to the adults in the group to do most of the puzzles, but everyone contributed. I'm sure it also helped having the parents there.

I could imagine if I had been in a group with six 10-year-olds it would have been insane. I used to coach a lot of little league baseball and can tell you that a lot depends upon the child. I’ve seen some great focused kids at 10 and then seen some monsters.

While it’s hard to mix and match people you don’t know together, most people seem to have had a good experience. My best guess is to find other people your age here on the True Dungeon forums or on the Gencon Forums and make up a party of adventurers beforehand.

Plambert makes a good point about setting customer expectations.

Perhaps TA will need a disclaimer about the level of play being as varied as she mentioned...Or possibly TA would want to have groups set-up on two lists - those being SERIOUS and FOR FUN (how would one police this???).

I think the thing to remember here is customers have a certain responsibility to each other A CUSTOMER CODE OF PLAY if you will. (I would think this gets covered in the video - but I was in the back row of class when this was on and I needed sleep after a full day of gaming...)

The CODE OF PLAY would help avoid things and set a courtesy level that should be expected by all no matter the age of the customer (albeit very difficult to get pre-teens to shape up.)

Perhaps TA will address and design the CODE but I think it is mostly in the customers hands to have a sense of realistic expectations, be assertive with what you reasonably expect for your money and I am sure TA will take corrective actions that will keep the customer happy be they letting you leave the group to join another or warnings to players followed by ejections...etc.

One thing for sure you have a much better chance of setting the tone of the group if you all meet first and discuss what everyone expects to get from the adventure.

Gary

Anytime you are combining strangers to make a 'party' you have the opportunity for the people to not mix well. Luckily this doesn't happen often, but it has happened. Sadly it isn't even limited to badly behaved kids. One poster mentioned a problem they had where they played with a husband and wife, and the wife (cleric) would only use her healing on her husband.

I have seen some talk on this board and the Gencon board where players are going to try and find other players to make a complete group before they sign up. Depending on how popular this turns out to be, we could even create a 'players looking for players' area on the board.

Lee

I have seen some talk on this board and the Gencon board where players are going to try and find other players to make a complete group before they sign up. Depending on how popular this turns out to be, we could even create a 'players looking for players' area on the board.

Lee

That's a solution I like. It's not a lot of work for anyone, doesn't force everyone to listen to more rules, and puts the responsibility on the shoulders of the folks who're most likely to follow through!

Thanks, Lee!

--plambert

:shock:
someone is talking about my bad experience?

I have already got my problem fixed... I am bringing almost an entire TD crew with me. That way I can kill my friends if they don't help.

plambert

I live in soCal and I would be more than happy to group with you next year. Maybe even at Indy