[Deptheads] Fw: Strategicon and a kids' track?

Fri Sep 6 23:54:02 PDT 2019

Um...what did I just read? There is a big difference between 12 and 13,
leave it that way. I don't care who plays what game, but 13 year olds can
volunteer if they don't want to pay...that's how I GET my volunteers in the
first place. When I started working for my badge at this con, back at the
Westin, I was a runner in RPGs, and all my co-workers were 13, 14, 15 year
old kids (mainly boys). These "tweens/teens" had found something to do.
When they weren't doing their volunteer thing, they were playing RPGs and
board games. OK...just kidding, we don't have to turn her kids into
volunteers, but the rest of it...

Tween track? Most of the true "tweens" which is anything with a 1 in front
of it, NOT 8 or 9, already hang out with their friends and play their
games. I'm not understanding how the games that run in Family Area are too
juvenile...I ran Fireworks (suggested 12+ I think), Wacky Races (suggested
age 14+) was run, and Kids on Bikes is an RPG for anyone. I know we have
other games going on there too. In fact, Tanya had been expressing concern
that we didn't have enough "little kid" games on the schedule. As someone
who gets paid the big bucks (haha) to teach classes of children how to play
tabletop games, there really isn't any reason to separate 5 year olds from
11 year olds. I teach mixed ages like that all the time. If a game is too
much for a kid in this area, they don't play it. No reason a game can't be
in the family area or offered to kids with a minimum age limit attached in
the description...8+, 10+, etc. I'm not sure what rules are being broken in
the family area. Tanya lets people use the last table if it's not needed at
the time. If they weren't using it, it would be sitting empty. If your kids
are playing a game, you don't need to "hover" unless you are helping in the
game. Remain present, and go play a game at that table at the end.
Otherwise I see kids and their family members or other older or adult
people with them. That's the purpose of the Family Area. I feel like she's
asking us to reinvent the wheel. The area is there. The games are there. If
"tweens" (I hate that term almost as much as I hate the term "teens")
wanted to play games there, they'd be there playing games.

I have nothing against kids (or I should probably rethink not only the last
37 years of my life, but my day job too), and I absolutely have nothing
against having activities for all the kids. I really don't think we're
lacking (much) in that department. Maybe interview all the 12 and up kids
that have been going to the con for several years and ask what they think.
I'm serious. I do know we have more now than we did when my youngest kids
were 6 and 10 years old. Maybe my kids are a little weird, so not a good
example, but the younger one was so integrated into the con after 4 years
that by age 10 she was demoing games in board games (Granted, her first
game demo was SPANC, so yeah, my kids are weird), and by 11 or 12 running
off to play Werewolf. Heck, one of her all time con highlights is
interviewing Ted Alspach for her school newsletter when she was 13. (Yeah,
ok, she's really weird).  I know more than several homeschooling families
(since she mentioned homeschooling) that attend, and their kids find plenty
to do and plenty to play. Werewolf is a big thing with a lot of them, and
Cash & Guns, as we all know. If she wants games offered in an area for
"tweens", I don't think the drop off rule is an issue. These kids start
running around on their own by the time they're 9 years old. I think our no
drop off in the family area pertains more to 7 or 8 and under. And that
being the case, I don't think those parents need to be in another room.
They need to be available. I'm really not understanding exactly what we'd
be doing differently. Please let me know if I've missed something in her
email.

Someone should also let her know about GameSchoolCon if she's a
homeschooler and wants a super friendly kid con. Or maybe she's been, and
is trying to recreate it here. This is a different con. A different feel, a
different mission, and different is not a bad thing. Okay. I didn't mean to
jump on a soapbox. So, oops. But I'm really just not getting what she's
asking for, and how it's any different than what the reality already is.

Karla :-)

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On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 9:59 PM Strategicon Department Heads <
deptheads at strategicon.net> wrote:

> Message From: Tara Leederman  taleederman at gmail.com
>
> Hi guys!
>
>
>
> Yes, we’ve also noticed that the age ranges available now don’t work so
> well for gearing games toward the proper age group nor for letting people
> know who is of the appropriate age to understand the rules on their own or
> to be left alone while parents go play games. I don’t think Lili is quite
> right either—a “tween” track should run from about ages 10 to age 14,
> because parents definitely need to stick with their kids for any game when
> they’re under the age of 10, and 10 is pushing it for some kids. I also
> usually tell parents that some “mature” games are gonna be fine for an
> experienced gamer of 16 or 17, but not for an energetic kid of 13, which
> the online age range available to us doesn’t cover well.
>
>
>
> As a note: It would be really awesome if kids’ badges (all the
> under-eighteens) or their identifying badge number gave us a way of
> identifying and/or contacting their parents, possibly through reg. Another
> handy thing for parents to know would be the kids’ reading level, and for
> us to advertise games accordingly. Age isn’t the only factor to consider
> here. I’ve had kids playing LARPs with us from age 8 who are awesome at
> understanding rules and could, honestly, play Starship Valkyrie without
> their parents working alongside them just fine—but I’ve also had at least
> one 12-year-old who was so immature and his reading level so low that I had
> to ask him to go get his dad if we wanted to stay in the game (also
> Starship Valkyrie). Now this was easy—we have a rule against under-13s just
> being left with us. But if he was one year older and had similar problems,
> I’d basically have had to tell his dad “look, his reading level seems too
> low for this game.” But there isn’t really a lot of good codification
> around this stuff yet, especially in LARPs, where most of the games are
> homebrew and unpublished.
>
>
>
> Starship Valkyrie attracted the kids and tweens, for sure, which is why it
> always runs in a 2pm-6pm slot. Our boffer showcase, which runs on the other
> weekend day’s 2pm slot, is **definitely** a teen/tween-friendly event—in
> fact, this last run we had almost nothing but tweens and teens, and I have
> gotten to know a lot of kids and parents since we started running it. When
> we bring in the cover shooter, it will be yet another teen/tween-friendly
> game, which will encourage multiple runs. I’d love to see more events
> geared toward this group scheduled as part of a track, so we’re not
> competing with each other but smoothly transitioning families through a
> series of great tween-friendly games. I will also be looking to schedule
> more LARPs for younger kids, like Wizards Quest this last con.
>
>
>
> We already have some areas in the boffer showcase where adults **could**
> run games if they wanted to, though it’s a bit loud in the whole area. I’d
> be happy to set up some tables for them, but we’d have to include the
> information as part of the track, and I’d like it if they could get in
> touch with me before con, since I’d be overseeing that space for what is
> essentially another event or couple of events. I could make some board
> games available to them, or we could ask a GM to run a tabletop for the
> parents, in cooperation with Shane or Jim. Let me know what you guys think.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> Tara
>
>
>
>
>
> *From: *Strategicon Department Heads <deptheads at strategicon.net>
> *Sent: *Friday, September 6, 2019 9:04 PM
> *To: *Strategicon Department Heads <deptheads at strategicon.net>
> *Subject: *[Deptheads] Fw: Strategicon and a kids' track?
>
>
>
> Good evening,
>
>
>
> This is a follow up email from a conversation that I had with Lili (I also
> briefly met both of her kids referenced in the email below) while at the
> con last weekend.
>
>
>
> What do you guys think of her idea of a tween track?
>
>
>
>
>
> Eric
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Eric!
>
>
>
> It was so nice to meet you at this year's most recent Strategicon! We've
> been attending for the past 2 years, and it's been a great family
> experience for us. My kids are now 8 & 10, and we've enjoyed the Board game
> 101s, Game Library, Artemis, and Party Games. And as you know, my kids
> entered their first tournament. What we've noticed in the past 2 years is
> what appears to be a huge growth in the amount of school aged kids
> participating, particularly in the age group of about 8-13. In this age
> group, these kids prefer to play more "adult" games than what is offered in
> the Kids' area, but we've found that it's not always easy to incorporate
> kids to the regular 101s. Additionally, some people do not prefer to play
> with kids. Also, when kids are playing a game, parents have to hover
> around, which does not allow the parents to play their own games.  I
> definitely love the Family area on the 2nd floor, and I would suggest that
> the rules be enforced better to be reserved for families with kids OR
> possibly allow parents who are hovering over kids in the nearby room.
>
>
>
> Here's another suggestion: to have a tween track for kids ages 8-13 (about
> 3rd - 8th graders) with or without participating parents. This could then
> be marketed toward families who would like to attend, who are interested in
> more board games, or perhaps they homeschool. If parents do not participate
> in the games, it would be ideal to have a nearby room or tables for parents
> to be able to play games quietly nearby. This is because of your signs and
> rule that Strategicon volunteers are not responsible for kids (nor should
> they be responsible for our kids).  There are already some events that
> might be already part of the track (like the LARP on Sundays at 2pm), or
> certain party games, Magic 101, some of the video game tournaments. It can
> all be listed in a section of the schedule (to make it easier to follow)
> with some additionally 101s and tournaments added. And it wouldn't need to
> all be necessarily in the same room all the time.  This would probably work
> well on Saturday and Sunday when the Family Day Pass is available. (By the
> way, I suggest age 13 as the upper end rather than age 12 that you have on
> your upper end of a kids' day pass because that is approximately the age
> for a older middle school aged child. In high school, kids become more
> independent, but I would probably supervise my own kids more closely until
> about the age of 13. )
>
>
>
> I believe that with a stronger track and focus on this age group, we will
> see a continued growth of families participating Strategicon.
>
>
>
> Thanks again for listening to my suggestion!
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Lili
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Deptheads mailing list
> Deptheads at strategicon.net
> https://strategicon.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/deptheads
>

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