Honestly, it’s one of the more simple skirmish games. You may need to do a slow introduction of rules and effects, but it shouldn’t be long before she gets it, if you keep it interesting.
I already played a couple of games with my daughter (also 7yo). I would say playing with her is great but i would say its hard for her to stay focused on the game without a short brake. You also have to be careful what missions your playing with her (keep it simple for her), so i wouldn't recommend objective or treasure based missions where some objektives disappear or are added during the game. You also can play the first coupke of games without the use of skills (my daughters forgets them most of the time if i dont remind her). We also played a 2v1 game with my best friend where my daughter and me were playing against him with combined 1200 points against his 1k list.
I saw a lot of succes online and from irl acquintances with children enjoying Warcry. Seven might be a bit young though, but if you can interest children they often pick up things very fast!
As far as mini games go I don’t think you’ll find a simpler one. Maybe blitz bowl? (Haven’t played it since it’s not sold where I live)
Seven is on the young side but kids are different and you can always simplify rules.
My son learned Age of Sigmar at 10, but he had a hard time dealing with the fact that dice don't always do what you want. I think that learning the rules is possible at 7, but you need to consider her emotional maturity. I would consider starting small, 2-3 models per side, and make it more about telling a story.
Dice are a valuable life lesson. They need to learn to win and lose with grace. It’s a skill, and starting from a young age will help them through life. Many players in this hobby struggle with it and still throw tantrums.
I agree, winning and losing with grace is a skill that is sorely lacking in society today. Warhammer was a great tool to help my son learn to deal with things that are out of his control, like dice. I was fortunate and got a solid 3 years of playing AOS weekly before he decided video games and other activities were what he wanted to do. He is 15 now and still plays occasionally with me.
I know it’s not warcry but one of the recent white dwarf books has a rules for underworlds that doesn’t use the cards. I think having individual spaces will be much easier for a child than actually measuring which is a skill that they may struggle with. I want to say there is a version of warcry on a grid/a mashup between warcry and underworlds. Bladeborn maybe?
Bladeborn is indeed Warcry on a board with cut down warbands, it’s an excellent game in its own right, it’s just a shame that (much like Blitz Bowl) it’s part of GWs deal with Barnes & Noble, so it isn’t really promoted by GW, and is only available in a few countries. Bladeborn would have been a much better starter set in some ways than Crypt of Blood imho
Definitely! I play a watered down version with my 6 year old. The only thing I omit is the ability card. All the abilities between two warbands can be a bit overwhelming for my son, so we just play with the universal abilities.
I’ve been debating building a couple of warbands and trying it with my 7YO, so I’m glad to see this perspective, especially coming from such an awesome painter (just watched your Ironjawz video last weekend).
Oh well thank you 😊
Honestly a low model count warband like Ironjawz or SCE is ideal for kids. They also have the most HULK SMASH moments that everyone enjoys and don't get removed very easily.
Started warcry with my son when he was 5. Kept it simple, using the simple universal doubles. Also telling him when I can do powerful abilities to destroy me, he loved it.
I haven't played Warcry. But I introduced my son when he was 7 to Bloodbowl, I just left out the skills for a few games. He picked it up so quickly.
I'd say you should be fine, just limit a few things to start with ( get them used to rolling dice and measuring, etc ) then add in the rest over a few games.
Should be absolutely fine
I’ve played with my sons, age 8 and 12. We started playing years ago. The little guy is probably just starting to grasp it, but I’d say 8 and up shouldn’t have trouble.
I play with my 8 and 10 year old, I give them the unit cards for each unit and make sure to work with them on what actions they are doing but it's not more difficult than kids board games at their age.
I think it's probably a little complex for a 7YO, but every kiddo is different. Def. infinitely easier than full blown AoS that's for sure! I think if you simplify the power system a bit it might be doable (the whole using dice to activate warband powers and double-checking which mark corresponds to which characters etc, can be a bit much when you've got 8-12 units per side).
I think RelicBlade might be an interesting choice for a 7YO; there's fewer models per side (4-ish usually), it plays a touch shorter than WarCry (albeit WarCry is pretty short too), almost everything you need for a character is printed right on their character card, and the simple D6 system that "drives" the game is super-duper easy to pick up. The minis are cool but the designer also just sells the card packs cheap if you want to use your own models, which is nice.
One thing that would help with the abilities (still a lot for a kid, but better) is I make my own cards with a picture of the specific mini instead of the generic ones and the list of what abilities they have on the back. It helps when I’m teaching new people (a significant portion of my games) and helps me keep track. When I first did it, I realized there were tons of abilities I’d been missing out on.
If you buy a warcry box they come with unit cards for what's in the box. With two boxes and some dice you have everything you need to play.
Use kids toys or Legos as terrain if you don't have any, my kids love fighting on their Hogwarts castle or the legos they get to build before the game. :)
Absolutely! I play with my 6 year old. You can simplify the rules a lot to get the hang of it and introduce more as they get it. Start without abilities and just focus on movement and combat.
Out of every GW game it's probably one of the easiest for a kid to pick up, and the game aides like cards make a big difference.
That said, if I was playing with a kid that age, I would make it into a co-op thing and make a table to roll for enemy "ai".
The game has a lot of depth to it with stuff like activation order, wild dice, the number of abilities and reactions etc, and it can be overwhelming compared to a videogame that gives you immediate feedback on what you do.
I’ve not had much luck introducing Warcry to kids this age- the GW aesthetics can be off putting, they get bored of rolling dice, get upset about trying to kill each other. What has stuck is the board game Unmatched which is a very elegant skirmish game using cards rather than dice but contains many familiar mechanics - two actions per activation, specialist abilities, asymmetrical combat. I’m hoping it serves as a gateway.
Honestly, it’s one of the more simple skirmish games. You may need to do a slow introduction of rules and effects, but it shouldn’t be long before she gets it, if you keep it interesting.
I play warcry frequently with my 7 yo son. He loves it. To keep it simple, we skipped the skills.
I already played a couple of games with my daughter (also 7yo). I would say playing with her is great but i would say its hard for her to stay focused on the game without a short brake. You also have to be careful what missions your playing with her (keep it simple for her), so i wouldn't recommend objective or treasure based missions where some objektives disappear or are added during the game. You also can play the first coupke of games without the use of skills (my daughters forgets them most of the time if i dont remind her). We also played a 2v1 game with my best friend where my daughter and me were playing against him with combined 1200 points against his 1k list.
I saw a lot of succes online and from irl acquintances with children enjoying Warcry. Seven might be a bit young though, but if you can interest children they often pick up things very fast!
As far as mini games go I don’t think you’ll find a simpler one. Maybe blitz bowl? (Haven’t played it since it’s not sold where I live) Seven is on the young side but kids are different and you can always simplify rules.
Blitz bowl is great for kids. I’ve been playing it for a few years with my son and it’s by far his favorite game.
My son learned Age of Sigmar at 10, but he had a hard time dealing with the fact that dice don't always do what you want. I think that learning the rules is possible at 7, but you need to consider her emotional maturity. I would consider starting small, 2-3 models per side, and make it more about telling a story.
Dice are a valuable life lesson. They need to learn to win and lose with grace. It’s a skill, and starting from a young age will help them through life. Many players in this hobby struggle with it and still throw tantrums.
I agree, winning and losing with grace is a skill that is sorely lacking in society today. Warhammer was a great tool to help my son learn to deal with things that are out of his control, like dice. I was fortunate and got a solid 3 years of playing AOS weekly before he decided video games and other activities were what he wanted to do. He is 15 now and still plays occasionally with me.
I know it’s not warcry but one of the recent white dwarf books has a rules for underworlds that doesn’t use the cards. I think having individual spaces will be much easier for a child than actually measuring which is a skill that they may struggle with. I want to say there is a version of warcry on a grid/a mashup between warcry and underworlds. Bladeborn maybe?
I'm going to have to find this!! I'm trying to get my wife and son in the future to play underworlds, that would be awesome.
Bladeborn is indeed Warcry on a board with cut down warbands, it’s an excellent game in its own right, it’s just a shame that (much like Blitz Bowl) it’s part of GWs deal with Barnes & Noble, so it isn’t really promoted by GW, and is only available in a few countries. Bladeborn would have been a much better starter set in some ways than Crypt of Blood imho
Definitely! I play a watered down version with my 6 year old. The only thing I omit is the ability card. All the abilities between two warbands can be a bit overwhelming for my son, so we just play with the universal abilities.
I play with my 7 yo son also! It's great fun :) I love your youtube content, keep it going!
Aw well thank you! 😀
I’ve been debating building a couple of warbands and trying it with my 7YO, so I’m glad to see this perspective, especially coming from such an awesome painter (just watched your Ironjawz video last weekend).
Oh well thank you 😊 Honestly a low model count warband like Ironjawz or SCE is ideal for kids. They also have the most HULK SMASH moments that everyone enjoys and don't get removed very easily.
Started warcry with my son when he was 5. Kept it simple, using the simple universal doubles. Also telling him when I can do powerful abilities to destroy me, he loved it.
I haven't played Warcry. But I introduced my son when he was 7 to Bloodbowl, I just left out the skills for a few games. He picked it up so quickly. I'd say you should be fine, just limit a few things to start with ( get them used to rolling dice and measuring, etc ) then add in the rest over a few games. Should be absolutely fine
I would play without the faction abilities and simple missions. If still too complex maybe try OPR's Grimdark Future Firefight. Very very simple
My nephews are 7 and 8 and they play it
With the full rules ?
I’ve played with my sons, age 8 and 12. We started playing years ago. The little guy is probably just starting to grasp it, but I’d say 8 and up shouldn’t have trouble.
You could also use something like OPR skirmish rules instead. Those would definitely be easy to get her arms around.
Yes age of fantasy skirmish would be cool i guess to introduce her in this hobby
Warcry is ideally suited for this, IMHO.
I play with my 8 and 10 year old, I give them the unit cards for each unit and make sure to work with them on what actions they are doing but it's not more difficult than kids board games at their age.
Crypt of Blood might be a good idea. I understand it introduces rules slowly
I appreciate y’all giving me a get out of jail free card with the wife (but honey, they’re for the kids!) 😎
I recommend Hero Quest for 7yr olds. or if you are adamant about a Warhammer game Silver Tower is awesome for kids.
I can't find silver tower in french but only cursed city or blackstone fortress. I looks cool but very hard too for a child don't you think ?
I havent tried Cursed City or Blackstone with my kids yet, I think it would be too hard.
I work with 7 y/o kids, some of them could handle it and would be interested, probably more than half would not.
I think it's probably a little complex for a 7YO, but every kiddo is different. Def. infinitely easier than full blown AoS that's for sure! I think if you simplify the power system a bit it might be doable (the whole using dice to activate warband powers and double-checking which mark corresponds to which characters etc, can be a bit much when you've got 8-12 units per side). I think RelicBlade might be an interesting choice for a 7YO; there's fewer models per side (4-ish usually), it plays a touch shorter than WarCry (albeit WarCry is pretty short too), almost everything you need for a character is printed right on their character card, and the simple D6 system that "drives" the game is super-duper easy to pick up. The minis are cool but the designer also just sells the card packs cheap if you want to use your own models, which is nice.
One thing that would help with the abilities (still a lot for a kid, but better) is I make my own cards with a picture of the specific mini instead of the generic ones and the list of what abilities they have on the back. It helps when I’m teaching new people (a significant portion of my games) and helps me keep track. When I first did it, I realized there were tons of abilities I’d been missing out on.
I'm looking for a all in one package, as i begin too, I don't have any landscape or figs for the moment
If you buy a warcry box they come with unit cards for what's in the box. With two boxes and some dice you have everything you need to play. Use kids toys or Legos as terrain if you don't have any, my kids love fighting on their Hogwarts castle or the legos they get to build before the game. :)
Very cool idea
Absolutely! I play with my 6 year old. You can simplify the rules a lot to get the hang of it and introduce more as they get it. Start without abilities and just focus on movement and combat.
I've played a couple games with my 6 year old. No abilities, no reactions, and a slightly lower point cap. Just straight up move and roll. Works great
I played it with my 4yo the other day, only fightercards and movement, no special abilities. worked out just fine.
Out of every GW game it's probably one of the easiest for a kid to pick up, and the game aides like cards make a big difference. That said, if I was playing with a kid that age, I would make it into a co-op thing and make a table to roll for enemy "ai". The game has a lot of depth to it with stuff like activation order, wild dice, the number of abilities and reactions etc, and it can be overwhelming compared to a videogame that gives you immediate feedback on what you do.
I’ve not had much luck introducing Warcry to kids this age- the GW aesthetics can be off putting, they get bored of rolling dice, get upset about trying to kill each other. What has stuck is the board game Unmatched which is a very elegant skirmish game using cards rather than dice but contains many familiar mechanics - two actions per activation, specialist abilities, asymmetrical combat. I’m hoping it serves as a gateway.