MtG: Deck for a 5 year old?
Bob Laurent
she could play a simple deck, provided that we also played a simple deck
against her. Has anyone already built such a deck? If so, or even if not,
what would you suggest building? Thanks for your help!
Bob Laurent
(blau...@ingres.com)
Richard Pieri
>>>>> blau...@Ingres.COM (Bob Laurent) writes:
blaurent> Our 4 1/2 year old has been quite bored watching us play. We
blaurent> think that she could play a simple deck, provided that we also
blaurent> played a simple deck against her. Has anyone already built such
blaurent> a deck? If so, or even if not, what would you suggest building?
blaurent> Thanks for your help!
Start with a 40-card deck (small hands, remember?); you might want to leave
out the black cards simply because they are particularly unpleasant. About
20 cards should be basic land, evenly distributed between all types being
used. Creatures should be simple ones like Pearled Unicorns, Grizzly
Bears, Mermen, etc.; keep the special powers to a minimum. Enchantments,
Sorceries, Instants, and Interrupts should be kept simple: Circles of
Protection, Wards, Stream of Life, etc., and pretty uncommon; considering
the rules questions we get here, how do you expect a 5-year-old to deal
with some of the weird convolutions :). Your deck should be as identical
as hers as you can make it, or even a bit weaker if you can manage it.
Once she gets the hang of things, start adding the more complex spells like
regenerating creatures, Regeneration, spend X mana to do X damage/discard X
cards, disenchants/unsummons, etc.
You might also want to alternately "team up" with her; one of you plays
against her while the other coaches her for "werid" things.
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Christopher Barkley
play in the first place, of course. Teaching them the rules would be the same as
anyone else (we suggest having four players each playing a 2-person game. The newbie
gets advice from an experienced player in the other game [works with either one or two
newbies] without someone having to sit around and be an advisor).
Richard Pieri
>>>>> Barkley) writes:
barkley> Why couldn't a five year old play the same as anyone else?
I happen to know a very small number of 5 or 6 year-olds who are more
clueful than most 25-year-olds I know; but they are definitely in the
minority.
barkley> Assuming they wanted to play in the first place, of course.
Of course :).
barkley> Teaching them the rules would be the same as anyone else (we
barkley> suggest having four players each playing a 2-person game.
I'm afraid not. To an adult you'd summarize the rulebook, the probably
play a game or three. That won't work with a kid; you can't tell them to
RTFM, you have to show them, leading them through everything. The reason
for the "stripped" deck is it reduces the potential complexities that could
arrise from situations such as chains of Enchantments and Instants and
Interrupts.
barkley> The newbie gets advice from an experienced player in the other
barkley> game (works with either one or two without someone having to sit
barkley> around and be an advisor).
My guess is you don't work with kids much, do you. To start out, the kid
is going to both want and need someone there to show her how things work.
Magic is a lot like chess: the moves are simple, but the combinations are
incredibly complex. Which is why I advocate a pair of matching stripped
decks to minimize the complexity, at least until she understand the basics
of the game and can play on her own.
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Bill Seurer
We taught my nieces (11 and 14) to play. The 11 year old was definitely
interested but the nuances of the game escaped her. The 14 year old did
much better but still had trouble keeping everything straight. That might
have just been being overwhelmed by all the different cards, though.
My friend's 10 year old son plays OK though subtleties are beyond him. He
loves all the big number creatures and thought he was getting a great
bargain when I traded him a Craw Wurm for a 1/1 critter I wanted for a
"concept" deck I was working on.
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Business: BillS...@vnet.ibm.com Home: BillS...@aol.com
Bob Laurent
>What is the youngest that anyone has seen someone successfully play MtG?
>
Our 9 (almost 10) year old does OK. She hasn't gotten quite as much
practice as we have; she beats me about one game in four and is probably
not much worse at playing than I was after the same number of games
Bob Laurent
(blau...@ingres.com)
Chris Martell
In Shadis, Volume II, Number 4 (which includes the price list that everyone
uses), the author (Alan Emrich) has this to say:
...[speaking of Gateway'93 gamecon]
"...The game playing continued unabated, however, and my (then)
7-year old son James was taking on all comers, crushing them in
turn by springing one of "Daddy's Deck O'Doom" on them
which I had just put together for him before the show opened."
The article continues with a comment by an opponent of James, warning
people not to play for ante against this player.
So to answer the question, the youngest player that I've heard positive
proof of succesful playing of MtG is 7. Of course, with a gamer father, he
probably has a non-standard background with games.
--
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Richard Pieri
>>>>> ud...@freenet.Victoria.BC.CA (Chris Martell) writes:
ud706> So to answer the question, the youngest player that I've heard
ud706> positive proof of succesful playing of MtG is 7. Of course, with a
ud706> gamer father, he probably has a non-standard background with games.
Not to mention a deck that would give even most experienced players a hard
time :).
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