Tried playing Catan with my 7 year old and it actually worked

Last Sunday I pulled out my old Settlers set thinking we'd just do a simplified trading game, but she picked up the robber mechanic in like 10 minutes. She even blocked my road with a knight card when I was about to win, which I didn't teach her. Any other parents have luck getting younger kids into heavier games than Candyland?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnson.jason19d agoMost Upvoted

That's awesome she figured out the knight card on her own, that's the best part. My kid got into Ticket to Ride around that age and the map puzzles them more than the rules, which is perfect for their brains. Just don't force it if they lose interest, let them come back to the table when they want.

riveradams19d ago

Lean into that point about letting them set the pace. We tried pushing my youngest through a couple of games when he was about six and it just backfired, he'd rather build towers with the pieces than actually play. So we put everything away for a few months and when he asked for it himself, he picked up way more on his own. Now he's the one reminding us about the rules and has his own weird house rules for the train cards. Kids surprise you when you stop steering all the time.