Hi,
I am currently trying to design a board game for children between the age of 7-8. (By the way, is that a narrow age to focus on or shall I expand from 6 to 9?)
The theme of the board game is wealth creation.
How the game goes:
The player will be given an amount of money to start off. For example:$20 .......
then the player will move on the tiles based on the die. As they moved along, there will be risk and tasks to add or minus money...
By the end of the game, they have to achieve the amount of money to receive something or to exchange for something .The tiles will be 30 (days for a month)
The player who reach the end (with the enough amount of $)can replay to to get the full items....
The player who didnt achieve the amount have to replay for another month to get the achieved money.....
IS there any loopholes to this game..?IS there any websites to show the fundamentals of designing board games especially for children...?
Most of the rules of designing board games are for adult players and teenagers...
board games for children
Hi there,
Sounds like a cool game. It's my thoughts that designing for kids is easier than designing for adults. And I think you're right - most of the information out there is for adult games (or video games... crazy people play video games...).
For kids, I'd focus on making the game simple and elegant (shouldn't all games be like that?). Also, I like the idea of kids dealing with money since it teaches them how to count. Just make sure they don't get into debt.
The player who reach the end (with the enough amount of $)can replay to to get the full items....
What do you mean by "full items"?
If you're looking for ideas for kids games, go over to www.boardgamegeek.com and I'm sure you'll be able to find a list of games for kids! Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.
Rob
As I'm awaiting the final product for my children's game (I've been saying that a long time), I had a few things to consider when I started my journey.
1. What are the needed components and how much will it cost to manufacture? As a parent, I would not spend $30 for a game so it needs to be close to a comparable Hasbro etc. game. Adult games are different as we can always justify buying ourselves something. If you can't get the costs down, think as to whether it'll sell.
2. How longs is playing time? Attention spans differ for different kids: however, I don't think a one hour game would fly for that age group.
3. Who will sell your games? If Wal-Mart doesn't pick it up, then who? If the independent store doesn't, then who? Take this down 3-4 layers so you have an exit policy. I committed to my wife, I'll sell the game one way or the other and I have a plan.
4. Follow your gut! Good luck.
HR Puff
I personally believe that if the artwork and packaging doesn't look good, even the best games will fail. That's because parents buy games for the kids and everyone wants to feel that their money is being spent on something good. That's not to say that you can't have content:however, it's a balance. My analogy is seeing a great film, but it was low budget. How many more would have seen it if it had some pizzaz behind it? Likewise, I think we've all seen a spectacular film, but it stunk because there was no story. It's all about balance.
As much as parents here in the USA say they want to buy games for the whole family to play, that's not usually the case. It's more like.."here, shut up and go play with your brother." These type of mass market games are what I'm referring to. Your game seems more like a teaching tool that the parents should be involved with. It sounds like a great idea. Good luck.
HR Puff
If you know any primary teachers, they can help you the various learning concepts that young kids need.