Bill Harris, author of the videogame-focused blog Dubious Quality, gets my Father of the Year award.
His 6.7-year-old son Eli mentioned off-handedly one day that he wished he could go on a big adventure. So Bill created one. He created a fake will from a fake pirate describing how to get to his buried treasure. He put the will on heavy, weathered paper, had it delivered "from an old friend" via FedEx, and led his son on a grand adventure that culminated with Eli digging up a buried treasure chest with authentic-looking pirate coins inside.
That alone is fantastic. But the coda to the story is what happened afterwards, as Eli's enthusiasm and joy made Bill feel guilty for selling his son a lie. He handled it beautifully, and I find the whole story enchanting and inspirational. Eli himself sounds like a great kid-- I should be so lucky when my time comes. The way Bill manufactured not just a single experience for his son, but a whole future relationship based on creativity and shared play fills me with warmth, and the hope that I can accomplish the same thing with my own future children.
Perhaps those years behind the Dungeon Master's screen will turn out to be more valuable than I thought.
Posted by Peter at March 24, 2008 7:01 PMA very sweet story indeed. Thanks for linking to it Peter. Last weekend was a major milestone for me, as I taught my 4 & 5 year olds to play D&D. They did great, especially the 5 year old. And three days later they both successfully recited the nine different types of monsters they had faced, the contents of chests, the types of traps, the missed saving throws, and reminisced over their first natural 20s (with this question from the 4 year old, "Daddy, have you ever rolled a 20 before???")
As they say, it is a slow but sure way to grow a gaming group.
Posted by: Lou Wainwright on March 27, 2008 7:43 PM