I really like this game, and I don't even have kids. The characters are simple to put together, and easy to meld into whatever the player wants by allowing them to choose their "shines" (things they're good at), a weakness, and their One Special Thing--a powerful, but finite, resource to draw upon, which could represent a special item, a pet or follower, or an intrinsic ability or power. There are also 3 stats, rated 2-4.

The core mechanics are pretty standard dice pool roll-and-keep: the most appropriate stat makes up the base of a d6 dice pool. Add a die for any applicable shines, and remove a die for any relevant weaknesses. Roll 'em, and results of 4, 5, 6 each count as a success ("star"). 1 star is usually enough for a marginal success, and more is obviously better. Contested rolls compare the margin of success between two opposing rolls. The One Special Thing contributes automatic successes, up to 5 per session/adventure.

What I really found novel about this game is the way they handle "fights" and similar contests, where the goal is to take someone or something else out of the scene, and risk be taken out of it yourself. It's a lot like Fate, but with a simplified Stress/Consequences mechanic that I found really elegant. Essentially, a fight is a bunch of opposed rolls, and the margin of success on an attack (or any other action geared at overcoming the opponent, such as intimidation or trickery) is taken as Damage to the defender, who has a finite amount of Damage that he/she/it can take before they're knocked out, chased away, captured, whatever.

Here's where it gets cool: the players get to decide how much they really care about the fight before it even starts, by choosing how much Damage they can take before being taken out. That is, they get to choose their hitpoints/stress for each battle, up to the default limit of 12. Why not always choose 12? Well, if the character takes damage in excess of their highest stat (usually 4) during a fight, then the character is Hurt, and takes a -1 forward to all rolls until healed, as well as a new Weakness that lasts until the end of the adventure. By setting your Damage below your highest stat, you're immune to those serious consequences, but at the risk of being knocked out early. I think that's an interesting way to signal "Hey, I really have a horse in this race...10 DAMAGE until I'm out!" or "I'm going to play it safe, here...3 Damage," or "This is really Bob's fight, not mine, but I'm a staunch ally, so...6 Damage."

Character progression happens organically: if a roll produces all successes, you get to add a new Shine, or bump up the ones you have by a point. It probably goes without saying, but the worse you are at something, the fewer dice you chuck, the more likely you are to improve. Simple, but produces a familiar curve, without tracking XP or other nonsense.

Since One Special Things have finite uses, they make ideal treasures and items for the GM to reward players with without having to worry about overpowering them in any permanent way.

Overall, I think FirstFable does a lot of what Fate sets out to do, but in a much more intuitive fashion. I actually think that this game might replace Fate Accelerated Edition as my go-to one-shot and introductory RPG for grown-ups.

Very simple and fun game for kids. Lots of room for roleplaying and not too many mechanics so that the kids get bogged down with dice and numbers. Would recommend to anyone who wants to play with their kids

I never thought I would write games or books, but seeing all the details that there is to check just con vince me i've always been thinking right. If I ever change my mind i'll devour this book.

Very helpful, albeit sometimes outdated data.

Impressive work anyway.

This is a solid product. The plastic is thick enough to stand up to reasonable abuse (such as at a game table - you probably can't drive over it). You can pick up a full box by just the lid and the lid will not come off, yet it is easy to remove the lid when you want it off. I purchased the larger size and found it holds a deck of 125 poker sized cards nicely. It might hold a few six siders with a standard deck. Based on my Mark I eyeball, I do NOT believe this would hold poker sized cards in sleeves, but it might well hold smaller sized cards in appropriate sleeves.

I'd buy this product again, and recommend it for those with a need to store decks.

This feels like it will an excellent game for children to start out RPing. Right now my nephews are a couple of years to young for it but I'm definitely saving the game for when they get old enough to play.

This is a great deal. The box is sturdy and roomy enough to hold a deck of cards along with tokens and dice.

Worked like a charm as far as I know. I haven't heard if the people I sent gift certificates actually used them or not.... That would be a nice feature!

I have been playing this with my brother and my 7 year old nephew and he loves it. The adults are having fun too. This is an excellent introductory game to get your kids into role playing games. The rules are simple and I really like the focus on fun and the avoidance of violence (even if my nephew wanted to drown a boat load of pirates). Good work and thanks.

(oups, I posted that in the "discussion" part instead of here..

I'm currently making "my own" rpg adventure for my niece and nephew (7 and 5) since they couldn't stop rolling my rpg dices. I made them short improvised stories making them roll D20, D8 or D4 and they loved this "rpg introduction" so much than I finally gave them a dice set each. I read firstfable and am reading herokid as well to take what I like best in both games, but what bugs me is that both games use only 6 sided dices... That's a shame, since most parents introduce rpg to their kids because they play themselves (so they must have dice sets, right ?).

That would be my only critic here since both games seem really nice. I particularly LOVED the part in FirstFable rules about avoiding stereotypes (your characters sheet are quite binary though, the faerie is a girl, the knight a boy... I added a prince faerie and a knightress as well on mine lol) I like the fact FirstFable isn't combat centered (which seem to be the case for Herokid :/)

In a few words : Great great game, thank you for having made that, if I could make some suggestions it would be :

• a boy/girl version of each character class (your drawings are very nice!)
• using RPG dices (without needing to change the math system)
• adding "disabilities" (I don't like this word) I think it's nice to sensibilize children to differences as handicap, blindness, deafness etc :) and it can totally be included in a heroic-fantasy world :)

I really enjoyed this easy and short core book. I think it'll be perfect for when my daughter is old enough to start playing RPGs. I'm so happy this is on the market because I've been looking for something like it/

It was very easy to understand, nothing like the crazy rules and stats used in Dungeons and Dragons. Three stats and a few special moves for each character makes it easy for kids to understand.

It was a short read, only 41 pages with maybe 20 or so filled with the information to help you get started. The other pages include a short adventure, sample character sheets, and an actual character sheet for your new adventurer to fill out.

This is a highly costumizable game that let's you and your kid(s) create your own adventures or character classes. I'm looking forward to more fun and adventures from these creators.

First Fable is a roleplaying game tailored specifically to children around the age of 6. It is designed to be run by a GU (grown-up), who leads the characters through the story and helps the players understand the rules. There are many gamers who are now parents and looking to introduce their children to their roleplaying world. This book is set up to do just that! The wonderful part about this book is that the book is written so even grown-ups who have never done roleplaying games before can pick this up and play it.

The book starts off with the basics of roleplaying and why roleplaying can be beneficial to children. Language, math skills, emotional growth and communication skills are all built up in the process of telling a story. It’s also a safe way for children to work out social situations they may not know how to handle. We, as the GUs, can help guide a child through situations they may face in school or the playground when we aren't there. I will go into this in more detail later in the review.

Character creation is always the hardest part for new players. So how in the world do you get a 6 year old to make up a character? Well, that is where this system comes into play. There are 4 different character types outlined in the book, all of which are easily identifiable to children: a pirate, a warrior, a fairy princess and an animal keeper. Next, you get to pick any 3 things at which your character shines. They then choose one thing they are not very good at. After that, they can pick one item that does something very special; whether it is an animal that talks or a singing crown, it’s whatever they want. They can play characters that cross the different types of characters. Younger players may want to play themselves, which is fine as well! Challenge older kids to come up with reasons why they have their special items. Remember: always assist children with writing where needed!

The rules for challenges and resolutions are also very simple. D6s (six-sided dice) are used with 4s, 5s, and 6s being winning dice. A challenge is determined as an action that has the chance of changing the story. These actions should always have a dice rolled with an action the player cannot actually do in real life.

Tasks are simple actions that help the story move forward. Most tasks are actions taken by the players that can be accomplished fairly easily. These are storytelling opportunities where the players can give details about what their players are doing.

Special things are actions that involve the use of the unique item they possess. Each item gets stars, which the player can use to accomplish extraordinary tasks. It may also require a dice roll, depending on the action, but it is up to the GU to decide.

This system is one of the simplest starter systems to work with. It is open-ended, so children can pick whatever they want for any of the categories. Some kids may elaborate on their items or abilities, others may keep them simple. Always encourage children to elaborate as best as they can. They may need help with words or actions that they want to do. As a GU, help by asking them questions and helping them find the word they are looking for.

The age group I played with was 4, 5 and 6 – so, the younger end of the spectrum. When creating their characters, all of the kids worked together and helped each other. A couple of the kids were not good with writing, so the older kids helped them. I also had them draw their character. The kids I worked with modeled their characters after themselves. Some used their real names, others used a character name. For their official character sheets, I did write down what they told me, so that I had a reference, but allowed them to keep their original sheets. I ran the starter story in the book, and the kids loved it right from the start. The system for rolling dice was easy enough. With a few reminders, the kids quickly figured out how to roll their dice. The children all waited for each player to make an action, and helped each other with the story. They also helped remind each other what was written on their sheet.

Overall, this book was perfect for younger kids. It was challenging enough to make them think and engaging enough to keep them interested for about an hour, which is long for the younger age groups I worked with. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers alike. Experience in gaming is not necessary, though it may help. Just remember: it is not about the rules but about the story the kids tell.

really awesome bundle, even if you don't play them all.

My son was really interested in this game. Making the characters was very simple and the system is light enough for small children to follow. This is highly recommended for parents who would like to introduce roleplaying to small children.

It's a gift certificate, it does exactly what it says it does.

Would be nice if there was something that could be printed off to give to the recipient (enclosed in a card, or stuffed in their Xmas stocking in my case) to represent the gift certificate. Not sure what else you can say in review of a credit purchase, other than I purchased it and it added credit to my account. Which is nice I guess.