The D&D Starter Set is marketed as "Age 12+" on the top lid of the box set.

Thus WotC are marketing a game which they say is unsuitable for kids aged, say, 7.

This pisses me off.

Personally I was playing D&D when I was 5, and reading the rules and DMing by the time I was about 7 (my BECMI red and blue books were probably printed when I was 5 or 6).

D&D should be a game for all ages, or at least for anyone old enough to cope with the concept of killing an orc and taking its stuff.

Why is it rated as "Age 12+"?

I find it hard to believe that it is the mildly controversial paragraph on transgenderism under ridiculously intense discussion elsewhere on this site (not really interested in any further discussion of that here). I suspect it's probably more about the supposed complexity of the rules. If the age rating is accurate based on complexity, they should simplify, so that it can remain a game for basically any age. If it is accurate based on content, they should tone it down, so that it can remain a game for basically any age. I assume, of course, that the age rating is genuinely intended, although I doubt it will be effective.

Since when did any edition of D&D, even basic sets, get marketed to 5 year olds?

Back in the day you were probably quite precocious. Precocious kids today can probably handle acquiring the rules for themselves just fine. (The free download certainly helps.) Those who are not precocious would probably struggle with B/X or BECMI too.

I'd imagine* it has more to do with the complexity of the rules than content.

Out of curiosity I went to the game room and checked my old 1981 Moldvay/Cook Basic set... it's "Ages 10 and Up".

*This is just a hunch, I have no inside knowledge.

Because no self-respecting 8 year old is going to want to play a game for kids aged 8+. They want to play the stuff designed for older kids.

So WotC overestimate the age range a bit to make them want it more.

It's just like the UK magazine "Just Seventeen" that's marketed as being for girls age 17+ but is actually aimed at girls younger than that who like the idea that they're reading stuff for girls ahead of their age.

(I believe the US magazine "Seventeen" is the same - I just looked it up on Wikipedia and it says that the target age range for it is 12-19.)

Putting higher recommended ages on a product is a standard marketing strategy and has been for a long time. It plays on the fact that everyone considers themselves to be "above average" and therefore wants to do things that they're told are too old for them.

There's possibly also another marketing element at work too. With a recommended age of 12+, adults are less likely to dismiss the game as a kid's game.

You started playing when you were 5? That's... early. I started at about 11. My nephew is just coming up to 11 and only now is he really mature enough to play  something like D&D. My other nephew is 6 and no way would he be ready. I'm not sure that marketing directly for that age group would prove all that effective.

Alsp, I've just looked at both the TSR red box basic covers, both say they are suitable for 10 and up. So nothing has really changed by the looks of it.

Seriously though Omnifray, you and I have disagreed on many things in the past but this is the first time I've thought you might just be a shitty person rather than someone with different ideas about roleplaying. This is a strange crusade you are going on.

It includes dice.  It's lawsuit protection against kids choking on a swallowed die. Plus scary monsters, images, etc. 12+ gets looked at much less closely for content.

Quote from: CRKrueger;769772It includes dice.  It's lawsuit protection against kids choking on a swallowed die. Plus scary monsters, images, etc. 12+ gets looked at much less closely for content.

/thread.

If seeing age 12+ on a box of D&D pisses you off, it's seriously time to re-evaluate your perspective of things.

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;769767Out of curiosity I went to the game room and checked my old 1981 Moldvay/Cook Basic set... it's "Ages 10 and Up".

Well, I just checked my old blue BECMI Expert Set rulebook, and that also said 10+. My old red BECMI Basic Set rulebooks say nothing about age on the actual books. I doubt I still have the box they came in. My recollection is it said 7+ but having said that, we are talking possibly 20-30 years since I last looked at it.

Quote from: soviet;769771Alsp, I've just looked at both the TSR red box basic covers, both say they are suitable for 10 and up.

Weird, must be a different printing to mine.

Quote from: soviet;769771Seriously though Omnifray, you and I have disagreed on many things in the past but this is the first time I've thought you might just be a shitty person rather than someone with different ideas about roleplaying. This is a strange crusade you are going on.

I'll reply to this on the other thread (regarding transgenderism) as it has nothing to do with what I'm discussing here.

Quote from: ptingler;769777If seeing age 12+ on a box of D&D pisses you off, it's seriously time to re-evaluate your perspective of things.

I said it pisses me off, I didn't say it's given me an embolism or made me want to slap Mearlin around the face with a wet kipper. I would happily have a peaceful cup of tea with the man and congratulate him on the things I do like about 5e.

Most 5 year olds can't read, for one thing.

Quote from: ptingler;769777If seeing age 12+ on a box of D&D pisses you off, it's seriously time to re-evaluate your perspective of things.

I think the kids are probably thrilled in getting to play a game made for older kids.

Of all the things to get mad about...

Quote from: CRKrueger;769772It includes dice.  It's lawsuit protection against kids choking on a swallowed die. Plus scary monsters, images, etc. 12+ gets looked at much less closely for content.

Specifically it is to avoid the 'The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act'

Here's a list of games from Hasbro with the recommended ages: http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/board-games

Candy Land 3+
Monopoly Jr 5+
Battleship 7+
Monopoly 8+
Ouija Board 8+
Scrabble 8+
Life 9+
Risk 12+

Risk is rated age 12+ as well, so it has fuck all to do with content and all to do with expected ages that children will be able to hold focus on the game and handle complexity. It is a very rough estimate, and doesn't apply to all children.