# Age & The Game



## SGMAlice (Aug 13, 2010)

My mother moved house a few days ago so i was required to crash at my sisters house in order to help with the move (I live like a million miles away from them) In doing so, i took my case with some Orks in to contiune the painting and give me something to do apart from dote on my neice and nephew. She was asking me about them as i sat painting a Nob or two. Meanwhile my nephew had decided to steal one of them off to a corner to look at.

Explaining the game and its nuances to my sister and my nephews fascination got me thinking about the age range of our most revered game.
It says, if i recall correctly, on the AoBR box that its for 'Age 12 and Up'. With all the rules plus the unit specific rules and then the special character/unique character rules, and more rules governing Vehicles and then the painting/modelling aspect, Without including Fluff.

Who of you knows any twelve year olds who actually play? or thirteen years olds.
Is not the multitude of required things to remember to do or not do just a little too much for a child of that age?
Any thoughts?

SGMAlice


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## effigy22 (Jun 29, 2008)

I know plenty, i used to be a staff member at my local store at we had a lot of 12 years old's turn up for a beginners day. 

Its the same across the country, we advise parents children can come in to the store for beginners once they have hit Secondary school. Every day we knew we were going to get 20+ children into our store to learn and play the game.


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## jaws900 (May 26, 2010)

i know a few younger than that even. Quite a few players at my local at 11-14 and most of them started at about 10 or lower.


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## The Thunder of KayVaan (Jun 19, 2009)

I started when i was about 7ish and at about 9ish i had a pretty good grasp of the rules then. But unfortunatly, i don't find many people that have done that. I reckon its about if the child is _Properly_ intrested and not because Space marine looks cool.


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## the-ad-man (Jan 22, 2010)

i thought all 12 yr olds now days were too busy doing drugs and having sex with eachother :/


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## The Thunder of KayVaan (Jun 19, 2009)

Thats Fourteen year olds ad man  which is why i'm glad i'm 15!


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

I started when I was... Hmm... 11? Not sure...


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## Masked Jackal (Dec 16, 2009)

As can be inferred in this thread, gamers aren't just 30-somethings. I know there's two kids at the FLGS I go to, but don't know of any others.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

the-ad-man said:


> i thought all 12 yr olds now days were too busy doing drugs and having sex with eachother :/





The Thunder of KayVaan said:


> Thats Fourteen year olds ad man  which is why i'm glad i'm 15!


It actually averages out at 13 because of all the 11 and 12 year olds doing the nasty in Merseyside...


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## The Thunder of KayVaan (Jun 19, 2009)

Dang! so close. Ah well i'm still not in that age group


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## humakt (Jan 2, 2008)

My son, who is now 13 cant really be bothered to learn the rules, and is much more interested in collecting and painting the minatures. I see this as perfectly reasonable and Im sure he'll turn to playing the game if he feels he wants to when he is older. I personally was doing role playing games when I was 11, and these can be just as complictated.


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## IanC (Sep 3, 2010)

I've played against a couple of early teens, and there always seems to be a few in the GW store I go to.


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## Words_of_Truth (Sep 20, 2007)

I think most just get interest in collecting and painting the models before they get a little older and then start trying to learn to play properly.


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## Unforgiven302 (Oct 20, 2008)

SGMAlice said:


> Who of you knows any twelve year olds who actually play? or thirteen years olds.
> Is not the multitude of required things to remember to do or not do just a little too much for a child of that age?
> Any thoughts?
> 
> SGMAlice


My son is now 11. I introduced him to the game when he was around 9 years old. He whoops up on me on a fairly regular basis. He has grasped the rules fairly easily and doesn't need the rulebook or codex for a lot of things. He struggles with strategy and a good deployment, but that can throw me off too trying to counteract a very random setup. 
My daughter is 8 and wants to learn the game after watching and helping me and her brother when we play. Demons have peaked her interest because of the "cute" demonette models.
The two of them have even been known to bust out the current edition of Space Hulk and have a game. They mess up the rules more often then not, but they have the core stuff down.

They both have taken to painting models too. It has given us something to do together on those rainy days. "In the grim darkness of the far future... there is family bonding."


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## the-ad-man (Jan 22, 2010)

Unforgiven302 said:


> My son is now 11. I introduced him to the game when he was around 9 years old. He whoops up on me on a fairly regular basis. He has grasped the rules fairly easily and doesn't need the rulebook or codex for a lot of things. He struggles with strategy and a good deployment, but that can throw me off too trying to counteract a very random setup.
> My daughter is 8 and wants to learn the game after watching and helping me and her brother when we play. Demons have peaked her interest because of the "cute" demonette models.
> The two of them have even been known to bust out the current edition of Space Hulk and have a game. They mess up the rules more often then not, but they have the core stuff down.
> 
> They both have taken to painting models too. It has given us something to do together on those rainy days. "In the grim darkness of the far future... there is family bonding."


dude, thats awesome. lucky dad eh? haha

i started around 12-13 and was deffinately more into the painting and converting, then i bought the 4th ed rulebook on a family trip to france and was hooked haha 

tho i think its harder to get older people into it than younger people, my dad is living proof (but i'll get him one day!!)


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

I think 12 is about the right time to get into the hobby,but obviously it depends on the child in question,I have always said that if i am ever blessed with children i will encourage them to participate in the hobby if they want to, mainly because i think that hobbies are massively important and secondly if a kids gonna have a hobby it should be more involved then using his or her thumbs to complete crumb fed first person shootas while they slowly becoming obese and unable to interact with the opposite/same sex/humans without the aid of an avatar.
Wargaming although slightly controversial and considered geeky requires people to develop a level of creativity,maths,reading and social interaction amongst other things and in my eyes those are pretty important things to get by in our world, hell if they could incorporate 30 mins of cardio exercise into the game somehow it would be th perfect hobby.


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## the-ad-man (Jan 22, 2010)

bitsandkits said:


> I think 12 is about the right time to get into the hobby,but obviously it depends on the child in question,I have always said that if i am ever blessed with children i will encourage them to participate in the hobby if they want to, mainly because i think that hobbies are massively important and secondly if a kids gonna have a hobby it should be more involved then using his or her thumbs to complete crumb fed first person shootas while they slowly becoming obese and unable to interact with the opposite/same sex/humans without the aid of an avatar.
> Wargaming although slightly controversial and considered geeky requires people to develop a level of creativity,maths,reading and social interaction amongst other things and in my eyes those are pretty important things to get by in our world, hell if they could incorporate 30 mins of cardio exercise into the game somehow it would be th perfect hobby.


change inches into metres and weighted models?


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## Marneus Calgar (Dec 5, 2007)

I started the hobby when I was 13, and got a basic grasp of the hobby. I was in and out of the hobby for a few years, then when I was 15 I really got into it learnt the rules (especially when 5th ed came around) and started gaming a lot. 

I think that if the kids want to carry on with the hobby then they will actually learn the rules thouroughly, thats what I've seen anyway.


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## Tzeen Qhayshek (May 4, 2010)

I am glad to see the resident Heresy Dad's involving their kids in the hobby. That is just awesome. A perfect bonding experience, if you ask me. If I am still in this when I am blessed (or cursed) with children, I would love to do something like this when the time is right. I think it would be a blast.


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## Blue Liger (Apr 25, 2008)

All I can say is the avergae age of gamers in my store is around 14-15 - this is the average due to us having alot of 16-21 year olds a few older gamers though most paint and the boys/girls who play more are around 9-13 years of age, yes some are a pain in the butt, though most aren't and it's only exaggerated by the fact that the 18 year olds can't get it through thier own heads they were like that only about 3 or so years ago!


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## Unforgiven302 (Oct 20, 2008)

bitsandkits said:


> hell if they could incorporate 30 mins of cardio exercise into the game somehow it would be the perfect hobby.


* Every time you fail a morale test and a unit falls back, run around the game table at top speed 3 times. 

* For every failed invulnerable save, 5 push ups. 

* For every dumb rules argument, a 3 minute round of mixed martial arts in an octagon. 

Easy, you just need to be creative.


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

Tzeen Qhayshek said:


> I am glad to see the resident Heresy Dad's involving their kids in the hobby.


My little boy always wants to help me make my models, but as he is only just 5 he's not quite got the dexterity yet. I haven't tried, but i think rules comprehension might be out of the question.

He's painted up a few marines though, and he helps me file down mold lines. I have to watch him however, as once i gave him some SM legs to file and he almost managed to file right through them :grin:


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## Pyroriffic (Feb 28, 2010)

I took my son into GW for the first time when he was just shy of his 10th birthday. Since then, he's collected, built and painted (pretty well, too!) his ork army. he has a reasonable grasp of the rules, but has yet to really employ proper strategic thinking.

He's nearly 12 now and wants to start himself a Tomb Kings army as well. As someone further up the thread has pointed out, I'm all for encouraging this. I think that Warhammer offers a perfect combination of skills for a hobby. The ability to create, the ability to paint, the ability to construct an army and actually play it... all are great things that I'd far rather see him doing than going fuzz-eyed in front of the TV.

Just as an extra to that, in my capacity as a roleplaying mum, other mums who come into GW have told me they're glad I turned up, because they'd been itching to learn how to build and paint the models. I know of at least three now who sit there building and painting with their kids. It's great.


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## El Mariachi (Jun 22, 2008)

Unforgiven302 said:


> * Every time you fail a morale test and a unit falls back, run around the game table at top speed 3 times.
> 
> * For every failed invulnerable save, 5 push ups.
> 
> ...


I know that was meant in jest, but a good idea none the less! Particularly for rules arguments..."we'll settle this the old navy way...First one to die, loses!"


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## Col. Schafer (Apr 15, 2008)

My most regular oponents now adays (sadly meaning: I have played them about 6 in as many months) are a 30 somthing guy I know from the SCA and his 13 year old son. And his 7 year old, AKA the titan. Its worth pointing out, that I usualy won, and then when the dad decided to stop giving advice to his son, I started getting my ass kicked.


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## IanC (Sep 3, 2010)

I played against a 14 year old today and had a good game, even if I lost (again! And no miracles from my Scout Bikes this time!)



Col. Schafer said:


> My most regular oponents now adays (sadly meaning: I have played them about 6 in as many months) are a 30 somthing guy I know from the SCA and his 13 year old son. And his 7 year old, AKA the titan. *Its worth pointing out, that I usualy won, and then when the dad decided to stop giving advice to his son, I started getting my ass kicked.*


Hah! Isn't that always the case!


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## Pyroriffic (Feb 28, 2010)

One day, when time constraints allow and I don't have the Scary BL Editor-beast breathing down my neck, I will finish my army just so Small Son can defeat me without compunction.


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## Crimzzen (Jul 9, 2008)

I don't play many younger people these days, it seems like the youngest I play is maybe 18. Generally, we're all 20+. 

That said, I can't wait until my son is old enough. He's only 6 months at the moment, but we're already reading the codex's as bedtime stories! He started laughing pretty hard when I was reading about Ghaz krumpin' skulls. Coincidence?


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## kharn-the-betrayer (Jul 16, 2010)

I'm 13, and I know the rules pretty well.


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## Deathscythe4722 (Jul 18, 2010)

A trio of 14-16 year olds (didn't ask, but ages were pretty obvious) showed up in my FLGS last week. Since they were the only other 40k people there i ended up playing them. Annoying little fuckers. Like you would never believe. 

Examples of rules arguments they started:

1. Didn't believe the "Drop Pod assault" rule existed

2. Confused "Crew Shaken and Crew Stunned", continued to try and argue even after i brought out the BrB.

3. Told me the Burst Cannons (thats the S5 ones right? Tau names elude me) on a Tau Hammerhead were defensive weapons, and then tried to argue that defensive weapons included all hull-mounted weapons when i corrected them.

4. Insisted the necrons passed We'll be Back on a 3+. I didn't catch this until turn 3.

Oh and when they saw my list they went and changed around the wargear on all their units to counter me. I decided not to call bullshit, and it didn't matter in the end anyway.

Thankfully i still roundly slaughtered them. Rune Priests kick ass! Feels good when a 100 pt HQ kills around 150 points of infantry, then swallows their HQ with JotWW.


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## warsmith7752 (Sep 12, 2009)

wow you guys are all talking about your sons (at least in page 2 im to lazy to read the rest and i have chores i need to do if i want my defiler)im 14 and most of you are old enough to be my dad yet if i had not told you that would you have known? not realy a good example but what i mean is alot of teenagers posses enough maturity and brains to graps 40k and enjoy it.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

warsmith7752 said:


> wow you guys are all talking about your sons (at least in page 2 im to lazy to read the rest and i have chores i need to do if i want my defiler)im 14 and most of you are old enough to be my dad yet if i had not told you that would you have known? not realy a good example but what i mean is alot of teenagers posses enough maturity and brains to graps 40k and enjoy it.


There are a couple of members of Heresy who are technically old enough to be your Grandfather :grin:

Luckily for me I'm not so old yet that it would biologically possible for me to have a teenage kid, though it's another example of Heresy's greatness that we have members ranging in ages from 11 to their mid-50s.


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## Deathscythe4722 (Jul 18, 2010)

I find that kids who have enough dedication to come on a forum and talk about the game usually have a decent grasp of the rules and are bros.

Its the seething masses who go AMG! SPESS MUHREENS R COOL! and bum around /tg/ all day that get on my nerves. Sadly they seem to represent the majority of under 18s, at least in my area.


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## hippypancake (Jul 14, 2010)

Deathscythe4722 said:


> I find that kids who have enough dedication to come on a forum and talk about the game usually have a decent grasp of the rules and are bros.
> 
> Its the seething masses who go AMG! SPESS MUHREENS R COOL! and bum around /tg/ all day that get on my nerves. Sadly they seem to represent the majority of under 18s, at least in my area.


sucks to be you then xD

I'm the only one out of 8 at my GW that play SPESS MAHREENS! and even then it is 13th coy. SW so I have a very altered army to that of SW. Also it is worth noting out of the 8 there is a 12 year old, a 13 year old and 14 year old. the rest are my age except for one guy who is probably around his 30s-40s


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## shas'o Thraka (Jan 4, 2010)

I started along with a couple friends at age 12, and some of them started before that.

I think it just depends on the 'nature' of the kid.


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## Dlanor (Oct 17, 2010)

I started when I was 14 and my brother was 11 at the time, he saw I was getting into 40K and decided he wanted to play as well. He found it really difficult to grasp the rules, but I kept teaching him and it helped me to memorize the rules and he eventually did get better. There were a lot of youngsters at my local GW as well. I think it's a game that can be enjoyed by all ages, it's definitely interesting to younger people; just that I think the complicated rules just mean a lot of kids aren't yet smart enough to understand them.


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## DeathTyrant (Aug 23, 2009)

It's good to see people of all ages enjoying the hobby, I'm happy to still love (most elements of) it at 25, after almost 15 years.


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## warsmith7752 (Sep 12, 2009)

Dlanor said:


> I started when I was 14 and my brother was 11 at the time, he saw I was getting into 40K and decided he wanted to play as well. He found it really difficult to grasp the rules, but I kept teaching him and it helped me to memorize the rules and he eventually did get better. There were a lot of youngsters at my local GW as well. I think it's a game that can be enjoyed by all ages, it's definitely interesting to younger people; just that I think the complicated rules just mean a lot of kids aren't yet smart enough to understand them.


I have taken a couple of younger kids at my flgs and Atempted to teach them how to build paint and play the games, I'm sure you will all be happy to know NONE of them collect spess muhrines. I find it easier not to tell them the rules and just tell them what they need to roll and things like that. It's a shame they need me in order for them to play a fair game and that means whenever I'm not busy painting.............


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## Corporal Chaos (Nov 27, 2007)

I got my son interested in the game at 12 but he did not really get involved for a year or two. My grandson is 8 and I have started to show him the modeling aspect and a quick game or two..combat patrol is all his attention can stand..lol with combat squads. But I am planting the seeds. I have met several of the younger gamers in my time at the local games shop and a friend had his two sons getting involved at 8 ish also. I guess it really depends on what is the latest craze and what influence the youngsters have as to their sustained interest. My collections has grown with the dissinterest of my offspring.


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## ssamoel (Jul 27, 2009)

Im 14!
And I do this for 4 years I think.
And Im even on 40K forums posting the best threads(no offense, just a joke....or not....)


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## Dlanor (Oct 17, 2010)

warsmith7752 said:


> I have taken a couple of younger kids at my flgs and Atempted to teach them how to build paint and play the games, I'm sure you will all be happy to know NONE of them collect spess muhrines. I find it easier not to tell them the rules and just tell them what they need to roll and things like that. It's a shame they need me in order for them to play a fair game and that means whenever I'm not busy painting.............


Haha, actually I think a lot of youngsters are more interested in crazy aliens than the Space Marines. My brother chose Tyranids simply for that reason... crazy, devouring aliens. Yeah, I've yet to meet a kid younger than 14 be able to learn the rules and play without guidance. If any of them can do it, they should take pride in knowing they're a rare breed!


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## The Thunder of KayVaan (Jun 19, 2009)

Well, my head is now raised high, Knowing the rules when i was about 10 and also knowing the majority of the codex too.  but then again, i'm apparently smart so that might be the reason. Or that i'm insane, Take your pick.


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## Zacharus (Nov 10, 2010)

im 13 this year and started painting at 10 years old but im not really good with the gaming like the painting and modeling more


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## Flindo (Oct 30, 2010)

I know none, the people that play at my gameshop are generally between the age of 17-50


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Most of the regulars in my flgs are over 14. There are a few younger, but they are generally seen less often. Then of course there are the majority of us between 18-30 who have been into the hobby for a good while and take it seriously enough to be worthwhile.

The day where a bunch of random kids turn up are the worst, because they take up a lot of room at the painting table, ask stupid questions and then you just know you`ll never see them again anyway. I`ve actually become quite good at judging whether or not a new customer will stick to it or not, sadly most do not.


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## Alexious (Apr 13, 2009)

I tnd to think 13 or 14 is ok to begin the hobby, I started at 15, but was playing RPGS since I was about 9.

The thing you have to realise is with 14 and 13 year olds is how to deal with them and what they will feel is important. Notice how many of the young kids are more interested in the hobby aspect rather than playing? I find that most of the time i play they watch.... then attempt to touch a figure and then they have those terrible wet their pants moments when I snarl and they wet their teeth.

What I like to encourage is the hobby aspect in the younger market.. I love it when some kid says look at this and its this awesome rainbow paint factory attacked marine and he is proud of it. Thats a great feeling that a kid can be proud to show you something and give them ecouragement from.

The only thing I dislike about them once they turn 14... to 16... hmmm well the thing I refer to is male... groups 14 to 17... WHO NEED TO LEARN TO WASH THEMSELVES so they dont stink like its a school gym. Yuckies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

I started playing at when I was about 12, that's when I first got the *Battle Manual*. I had purchased models to build and paint at about 10. I played all through 2nd ed, and was actually running the open gaming day and league at my FLGS when I was 16. 

I ran the league there for a few years and we had a mix, a few young kids who were dropped off as 'day care' and a few 12-16 who were massively annoying. We did have some of the 12-14 year olds who could not only paint but play as well, and they were pretty cool.

The other thing that I think is really valuable about the warhammer hobby is patience. Unplugging from the technological distractions to focus and paint or convert. I think it's valuable to learn the discipline of working towards something and being rewarded in due time with the satisfaction of completing it.

Cheers,
Kreuger


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