Family Planning

I knew living out in the middle of nowhere, having a family, and trying to be a good father/husband would limit whatever gaming I could do. Gone forever are the days of weekend Magic tournaments, weeknight campaigns, and Sunday pick-up games. They were sure fun, but completely unproductive in the real world.

I do have Maja hooked on the "No-Nos/Gnomes." Painting, playing, even a little make believe have been mixed in. So long as I give them a good seal cost, I don't mind her playing with any of them.

This Christmas, Operation: Turn the kids into gamers goes into full swing with the four magic words "Ages three and up." Maja will be over 2 1/2 by December, and she's made fantastic progress with her colors over the past couple. This means only one thing.

Mother Freakin' Candyland!

Candyland is the first true adventure game from kids. The little gingerbread men travel through the marvelous and potentially treacherous parts of Candyland. The Molasses (now Chocolate) Swamp, Gumdrop Mountains, and even the Ice Cream Floats are epic parts of our childhood. Building them in 25mm or even just using gnomes, teddy bears, or actual gingerbread men minis makes it more visual for Maja and, selfishly, more entertaining for Daddy.

And it just gets better: Chutes and Ladders with Space Marines? A Barrel of Monkey vs Cooties? Hungry Hungry Hippos vs Lucky Ducks. Mwhwhaahahaahaha!

It doesn't matter what variant I think of, my daughter (and soon both daughters) will beat me over and over again. And it's not because I'll let them. I just have horrible luck against kids. My tournament track record against little kids in Magic tournaments? Embarrassingly poor.

But that's where we'll start. Soon enough we'll be putting together an easy version of Mouse Guard and using all the mouselings I have. It's a perfect storytelling device. And, of course, once we go through all the books with the kids (and we will, just not in the next decade), Daddy gets to make up stories, and following the advice of my mom when she did told made up stories to me as a kid, I'm going to right down the gist of that night's story before I go to bed. Because kids always remember the details of the stories better than you, and if you don't bring your A-game, your wee ones will embarrass you.

And its great role-playing fodder.

And let's not forget the ulterior motive for the kids being at the Host for Fall-in! this year. Maja and I can walk the dealer's hall and let her pick out what she likes.

If she falls in love with Napoleonics I'm leaving her with an Amish family!