Ye Olde Inn

Another thread for kids... My sons are four and three years old and each year we spend about 200 euro (minimum) only for their gifts. They are far from learning rules about HQ or even more simple games, so I am wondering what else I could do to spend some money on things that they could play now but also keep them for when they grow up.

I am thinking about forts or castles to do some kid’s role playing with miniatures, but I am not very sure if they will find it interesting and have fun. Does anyone have tried this?

I'd always go with Lego.
Kids can do anything with Lego.
I believe in Lego.
Of course I'd watch out for older stuff from the Golden Age (1983-1987 or so), especially Castle and Space in order to introduce them to the whole Fantasy/Sci-Fi concept and creativity.
I can't say I have any firsthand experience but I'd try to put my own kids on that path if I had any.
With 200 € you can probably buy four, at least three old castles or big spaceships/space sets in complete condition. Or just a huge bin of '80s Lego, unsorted, but with building instructions so that there is a chance there are some complete sets in there.

everybody loves lego and they have an awesome range of fantasy and sci-fi stuff now.
I would keep away from the whole miniature bit for a few years as they might be a bit young, but that's your call, just thinking about small bits and breaking stuff. Although the current pre-painted D&D range is less plasticy and more rubbery so maybe!
it might be a great activity to get some old boxes and pva glue and make your own castles, get the imagination started.

Legos, certainly, though they're a little small for that age. Lego makes Duplo blocks, which are bigger
and safer for that age.

You can always try to get your hands on Crossbows and Catapults. I played with that up through age
16 or 17, easily...would still play with it with my son (5-1/2) if I could get it. It's a bit expensive,
unless you get luck.

You could do miniatures...if you stay on top of them to be careful, or only bring them out when
you play with them...until they're old enough to take care of them...they should be okay. I have
some nice foam swords that me and my kids play with. I have to stay on top of them to take care
of the swords - a few times we've had to put them away because they weren't treating them with
respect (hitting the ground or swing set with them, which will damage them easily).

Some I loved as a kid, though it is not fantasy based, is Richard Scarry's Puzzletown.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... n&_sacat=0

If you go with that - my sister might be bidding on the first link there.

I have many reaper minis which are very bendable and impossible to break even if they step on them. So, about minis I am ok. The warhammer minis can break or get damaged but even if they break them all in pieces they will have some bits for conversion when they grow up. In the other hand buying so many toys (action figures, cars, etc) that they play them for one week (the most) and then throw them away is worst.

For now, I’ve try the minis alone. I watch them play with them trying to make a story, but they need some scenery. With lego or playmobil no one can do much with just the figures. That’s why the scenery exists to make the game more interesting. That’s why I am thinking about a castle or some other things as wagons, or things that can be found on lego (or playmobil).

Crossbows and catapults are great but you can’t do much. Lego is a nice option, and I’ve seen some good products. Playmobil is good because they don’t need construction, they are ready to go. Each of these have a cost about 100 to 200 euro. With that money I could buy some warhammer scenery too.

I don’t afraid if they’ll break some pieces, I could glue them back. But as I see on games workshop, there are few of them and nothing great.

On ebay, with a fast check I’ve found an Italian company called Castle Art's (http://www.castlearts-it.com/), but I am afraid the buildings are from foam which means it could be totally destroyed in kid’s hands.

As a representative from Lego Land (Denmark) I say: Lego 4 ever!

torilen wrote:Legos, certainly, though they're a little small for that age. Lego makes Duplo blocks, which are bigger
and safer for that age.

And speaking as a teacher; every study I've ever seen mention Lego recommends normal Lego over Duplo, even for smaller kids.
It's just much better for training finger motor skills where the possibilities with Duplo quickly run dry.

I wouldn't really recommend warhammer stuff yet though. The cost/amount/durability isn't really worth it for kids so young.
For a fragment of the cost of a warhammer box you could get a bag of plastic soldiers/monsters/ninjas/knights...
And kids play rough! They throw and bang stuff together. No reason to put $9 fragile, glued-together miniatures in their hands.
You wanna be the glue-master? Okay, but you'll have a full time job...

I find that kids often enjoys things that are interactable or "does something". A catapult that actually lobs pebbles, a drawbridge that works or a button that makes an electronic noise.

Also dinosaurs! Do your kids have dinosaurs?

Do you guys have skylander a over there? The figures are more durable, and have the video game side of it as well as playing with the miniatures.
My youngest is now 8, but she takes the figures into her room and makes stories. They fight on her bed, the floor. Hide in her cupboard. As there is the newish Trap Team, so the original stuff can be bought very cheaply.
And I made a basic hero quest style game to use with the skylanders.

There is also skylander Lego.
But with young kids, you just need to see where their imagination takes them. I'm lucky as all 3 of my kids enjoy Lego, skylanders and hero quest.

Pick something, play with them and see where they go with it.

I have bought a bag full of dinosaurs and they play with them only the first day. They are role playing only with figures of humans, not animals or anything else.

It’s true that about lego, we have some Duplo and they are one of the favorites, but when they play they just construct things as weird towers and stairs, and because they don’t look “real”, they don’t try to pretend that they are houses to put some figures in and play with them. That’s why I believe I should make the next step.

I don’t have bought any real lego or playmobil yet, just for one reason. I know that if I choose one, I should stick with it. I am in this situation now, but I am thinking for warhammer too for the reason I told before.

You are right about the warhammer minis. They could break all the time, and that’s why I use reaper minis. But about games workshop towers, they are solid and I don’t think they could break so easily. Maybe I am wrong and that’s why I ask.

I am also thinking like you. It’s nice to support European companies, and lego company really worth’s it. The quality is very high. If no one here has any experience of warhammer scenery then I’ll buy a castle from lego’s high fantasy series.

ps: I am stick with the high fantasy theme (and I suggest it), just because I believe it is better for a kid to play the hero (with high ideals) than the crook in far west who is stealing banks, or the pirate who is chasing ships, or anything else.

ps2: about skylanders, they look cool but I am interesting more in scenery now. I’ll keep it in mind though.

Patroclus, it's far too soon for you to try to introduce them into anything like that. Just lay back and be patient for 3-4 more years. As far as playmobil or lego, there really is no question. Playmobil suck monkey ass while legos rock. Building and creating stuff is great for their cognitive development. Playmobils are stupid and I knew it from when I was 6-7 and I had a few of them. You can't do anything with them.

The roleplaying thing is a wrong way to go at that age. Let them find out first their own roles in life and then play someone else's. If their imagination is vivid they won't need something to base it on, they'll just create scenarios and roles out of thin air, there is no need to force it to them.
Buy some lego cars and firetrucks and space stations, tell them not to swallow them, and you're good to go.
When they are 8 or so, show them a couple of miniatures on a heroquest board. That should do the trick. You don't need to have a fantasy background to appreciate that kind of magical beauty.

I still have to say to go with duplo over actual lego - unless you're going to be watching them
every second they play with them. 3 years old is too young for something so small, in my opinion.
I mean, my four year old, once or twice, stuck something off the wall in his mouth that he could
have choked on...and he's a really good kid, for the most part, who listens and is quite smart.
(Not to mention he almost choked on a malt ball just a few months ago).

Now...for something new that hasn't been mentioned - My Busy Books. We have them in Barnes and
Noble here...and of course, you can get them on line. They're fairly cheap, and they come with
non-moving, heavy-duty plastic figures.

The neatest part - these figures are close to the same size and HQ figures...maybe a bit larger, I haven't
compared them next to one another, yet. But roughly...close to the same size.

I would suggest Jake and the Neverland Pirates and How to Train Your Dragon, to start with. And Maybe
Disney's Brave. These will have figures that can be used later for HQ. Of course, if you want to go with
superheroes - they have three or four of those, as well.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... busy+books