As a school teacher working with 11-18 year old students, I’ve learned a thing or two about introducing teenagers to the roleplaying hobby.
In my early pre-teaching career working for Games Workshop, I ran a hobby store which hosted tabletop wargaming sessions every week. Later on, working at HQ, I developed tools for helping create gaming clubs aimed at teens. When you add my 8 years in teaching, creating clubs in two separate and very different schools, I think it’s fair to say that I have a positive track record in gaming with teenagers.
I’ve written in the past about setting up a gaming club in a school and later added some ideas inspired by my experiences with D&D 5e. It’s about time I updated that advice. This post outlines the three most important tips I’d offer to anyone setting up a game for teens.
#1: Treat Teens Like Adults
I’ve always approached teenagers like they were adults. To be more precise, I’ve dealt with teens as peers.
When I was first going to secondary school (aka high school), I disliked it when adults treated me like a child. In fact, I generally disliked the way in which every adult around me thought that they knew better and that I was an idiot.
When I joined the Regia Anglorum – that’s a Saxon and Viking re-enactment society in the UK – I met a bunch of guys in their thirties, forties and fifties who treated me like a peer. They didn’t talk down to me, they didn’t patronise me, and they expected me to learn the skills I needed to take an effective role in the society.
In the same way, I’ve learned to teach new gamers in the same spirit: treat them as peers. I assume that an interested gamer is capable of learning the game. I don’t prepare watered down scenarios or simplistic adventures aimed at children. I create the genuine gaming experience that I would want any adult gamer to take part in.
Certainly I am mindful to avoid the themes that I know some adults would find distasteful. That’s no different than simply respecting a person you don’t know very well. What I don’t do is avoid those themes because I am dealing with a child.
Here’s the nub: treat the new teenager at your gaming table in the same way you would like to have been treated when you started gaming. As an adult. With respect. And with patience.
#2: Give Them What They Need
Any new player needs to have the equipment required to play. Teenagers, even given the outrageous amounts of pocket-money they might receive and the high value of their ‘phones, won’t prioritise this stuff. To be fair, many new adult gamers don’t either.
When I start a new teen player in my group, I give them a set of dice. I give them a character sheet (preferably one-sided and minimalist). I lend them a pencil and eraser. I allow them access at the table to the rule books I own… or at least, I show them the books and tell them what they need to know.
What a new player needs is dice, pencil, and a character sheet (or piece of paper). Give them those things.
Honestly, despite the many times I have provided a copy of the basic rules to D&D 5e or similar, a player does NOT need a rule book. Only once they gravitate to long-term play might they get curious enough to read one… but, just like with adults, a lot of players don’t ever desire to read the books. GMs read books.
Give them the information they need to actually play. For example, in my current B/X D&D game, I start with giving them a set of polyhedral dice and a character sheet. One of the cute items I found in a local shop was a set of three D6 erasers… so I get the new player to roll up their attributes with those. Roll 3d6, in order, six times. We add the “to hit” numbers. They choose a class and we add the saving throw numbers. They roll for some cash, buy a weapon and armour, and choose an equipment pack. Magic-users and Elves can choose their first spell… or roll on the table. Then we play. Less than 15 minutes. Easy.
I have noticed that, given a set of dice, the new teen always feels like they joined your group. It’s like a membership badge. Add the chance to make their own character and they engage quickly. Even if they die in the first scene, the sense of belonging that comes from owning dice and knowing how to make a hero is enough. They are ready to play.
#3: Introduce Roleplaying Before Rules
Roleplaying games are about decisions. The basic structure of the RPG is, as the Angry GM puts it:
- The DM presents a situation
- The players imagine their characters in that situation and decide how the character acts in response
- The DM determines the outcome and describes the results, creating a new situation
Thus, the primary role of the player is to decide how their character acts in the situation presented by the DM. Thus, decisions.
For the new player, the first thing to do is give them a character. Honestly, as much as I have had success with pre-generated characters, I recommend allowing the teen player to create their own. Quickly.
Once they have a character, drop them into the action. Give them a situation that’s interesting and ask them, “What do you want to do?”
That sounds simple enough but I’d make sure it’s a nice clear situation. My favourite introductory game is a fantasy Goblin hunt simply because, in modern culture, everyone knows what Goblins are and that heroes are supposed to vanquish them. If it’s not a fantasy, I go for a nice clear-cut confrontation scene – military SF, modern cops and terrorists, whatever.
Once they are in the situation, get them to focus on what their character will do. What the actions are. I tell them to ignore the sheet, not look at that stuff at all, but to simply imagine the scene and decide… what do you do?
Once the player chooses an action, adjudicate it. Once the rules come into play, explain what you are doing as you go. Keep the rules stuff brief, focus on the roleplaying (i.e. the decision-making as a character), and make sure the situation unfolds fairly.
What Next?
They feel like a peer. They have dice and a character. They’ve learned to roleplay (make choices) in the game. They are a gamer.
Invite them back. Encourage them to be clever and cunning. Ask questions to help them figure out solutions. Avoid telling them how to solve the problems. Emphasise the importance of teamwork.
The rest, as they say, comes naturally. Like it did for us when we first started playing. Go with it.
Game on!
