Play report - Neverland, miscellaneous adventures and playing with teens
I've mentioned on Discord that I run monthly three-hour Cairn games with teens at my local library and said I would come back with an actual play report. Here it is! While this is mainly a retrospective for me, I think it's worth sharing on the web.
The Neverland Sessions
It started with Neverland with 2 players (two 10-11 year old boys) and lasted 4 sessions. After the second session, two new players joined the group (2 girls aged 14). We did a few small quests and finished by playing an adapted version of Cairnevale for Neverland which was really fun (I can give more details if you're interested). After Cairnevale, we all decided to change things up.
Looking Back
The sessions were a first for everyone, so to speak. Three of the kids had never played before and the other one had only played 5th edition at a friend's birthday party. On my end, it was my first time creating custom backgrounds for Cairn 2e. I decided to go with this approach because I wanted the players to be from the Island and start from there. In retrospect, I think it's a good idea for a chill game where, for example, players go fetch salamander fire juice for Uncle Thyme. But the vibe from such a setup wasn't what the players were looking for, and I agreed with them.
A New Start
We went back to character creation using the Classic Fantasy Backgrounds from 2e. So far, we've played a shortened version of A Gathering Storm by Seedling Games. During which I left hints that there had been dwarves at some point in the past in the mines at the end of the valley. After resolving the situation with the storm, they decided they wanted to explore the mines. So I took Astral Curse of the Iron Gnomes by Nate Treme and changed the gnomes to dwarves. Both adventures took 2 sessions each. We finished just before the holidays, and I don't know yet what we'll play next. These sessions were fun and pretty fast-paced, to say the least.
The Game Experience
I say fast-paced because I would describe the teens I've played with so far as being pretty concise. This doesn't mean they don't come up with good creative solutions - quite the opposite - they just do it with far fewer details and descriptions compared to the adults I've played with. Which brings me to talk about the "gameplay" so far.
Combat
It went well. I have to watch myself because I tend to like specific and gory descriptions in combat. I really don't know what's appropriate for this age group so I stay on the safe side. This makes me think I should create a lines and veils checklist and go through it with them. Otherwise, they're slowly learning the Cairn way of fighting. Using the environment, being creative, and gaining advantage.
Surface and Underground Exploration
This was the most fun part. They're careful and think outside the box. They're also pretty greedy which, combined with the limited inventory system, led to some great questioning and good decisions. At one point during Astral Curse of the Iron Gnomes, I realized they didn't know there could be secret doors and passages, so I told them. One player became obsessed and wouldn't stop looking for them. I can't wait to see if this habit sticks.
Social Interactions
At first it was chaotic, they weren't focused at all on the conversations they were having in-game. They would plan actions and who would say what mid-conversation with an NPC, sometimes even going as far as talking against the NPC who was supposed to be standing right in front of them. They would say things and then change everything. As a result, it was hard for me to keep things coherent and maintain the atmosphere. I figured it needed some structure. So I introduced the "scene" concept. Just before we enter a scene, I clearly announce that this will be a live moment, where everything said counts as in-game and is spoken aloud. This gave them the opportunity to plan ahead and arrive prepared to play out the interaction.
General Observations
Playing with kids and teens is both fun and challenging. The biggest challenge has been their short attention span and keeping them focused on the game, which especially disrupted in-game social interactions as I mentioned.
Conclusion
Overall, this has been a really fun and enriching experience. One kid's mom even told me that it was one of the only things they looked forward to among all their "extracurricular" activities, which warms the heart.
What I've found helpful is leaning heavily on procedures. For myself, obviously, but also for them. By being clear about which step of the gameplay loop we're on, it creates a framework for the game to flow smoothly. With the little experience I have, that's the best advice I can give for playing with this age group. Now, I want to go a bit further in integrating procedures at the table. I have a few ideas, like having physical objects on the table. I'll need to be careful to avoid making it feel too much like a board game. When I try it all out, I'll come back to tell you about it.
Until then, roll low.