by Jakelin
Like most gamers bitten by the bug, I purchased this game probably 3 years ago when my son was 5 for "When he gets old enough to play it". It has been an excuse to buy many games, including ones my wife may not be as likely to get into, but I really wanted to play. My son is now 8 and a month or so ago I pulled this off my shelf of shame (unplayed games) and dusted off my paints and went through the process of relearning how to paint mini's. Got them all done a week or so ago and last night we had our first session. I decided to learn the game myself super thoroughly (Thank you Rodney with WIP, and Rahdo) watching as much as I could online and reading the rule book and FAQ several times in advance. I kept the rules explanation to a minimum and just started in to minimize down time for the kid. This was also great because I only had to consult the rule book maybe twice and it was super quick both times.As soon as my wife read the opening story, a grin grew on his face. We all thought the opening was really great but he really was into it. We start into the first room and he can't miss with Nez. He is knocking stuff out left and right.
We had no trouble in the first room. The drop into the sewer was a little tough. Filch got the fish hook right away and everyone was running across not realizing the roaches would go before Collin. Collin ended up stranded with only one cheese and three roaches on him. We thought we was going to be a goner but he barely made it across with one heart left where Tilda healed him up a little. Then in the following tunnels we had a great fight with more "hammer time" from Nez, all the while my 8 year old is dancing around while throwing an unbelievable number of hits, it was statistically just crazy. We cleaned that room out with the last player which placed a cheese that triggered a surge. So this is where we had to leave it off last night.
So I wake up this morning to find my 8 year old couldn't contain himself. He had "blinged" out his character, making a custom cheese holder and level sheet, and then a "Nez's Posessions" sheet. This was in addition to telling me he couldn't stop himself from reading the rules for the next section, the kitchen and he was telling me how the roaches on the table would react, preferring to eat cheese unless we climb on the table.
We had some family stuff we had to do today but promised him we could play again tonight. He didn't want to do anything else today but play this game. I know it is an older game for you all, but man this really was a solid hit with my son who has been willing to play games but is usually fairly ambivolent about playing them. This is the first time he has been hooked. This is good news becuase I also bought the "Heart of Glorm" expansion maybe two years ago hoping he would like the original. It will be under the Christmas Tree this year
It is very fun to see. Had to share.