As the kids have gotten older, they’ve begun to have a bit more of an attention span for the various things that we, as adults, enjoy. Books, visual entertainment, and (finally) more complex tabletop board games. Don’t get me wrong, we still occasionally enjoy a round or two of Candyland, but now that their tiny brains have started getting wrinkles, and they’re able to critically think out situations, I’ve started to slowly fold in tabletop gaming into our time killing activities. I came across The Quest Kids from Treasure Fall Games from a targeted ad on Instagram (the algorithm works, folks), and decided it need to be a part of our house. A few weeks later it arrived, we played a few rounds, and now I can officially offer to you, the DCDT Review: The Quest Kids!
To start, The Quest Kids is designed for ages 5+ (That’s two of three kids at House Egolf), 2-4 Players, and is going to take up about 30 minutes of time. That time doesn’t include setup and breakdown, but those won’t take more than 5 minutes. It’s going to be helpful if your kids can read, but if you’re playing with them, it’s not going to be overwhelming if you have to read most of the cards. Most of the data coming off of the cards is simple: you’re counting stars, looking at symbols and pictures, and determining if something is addition or subtraction.
Visually, the game is a blast. It’s colorful and creative and teeters right on the edges of fun and fantasy. You’re not going full-on D&D with this game, but you’re going to get a good amount of Knights and Wizards and Monsters. Think “D&D meets Saturday Morning Cartoons”.
The version that I crowd-funded came with little plastic figures that represent the four characters in the campaign. The game also includes cardboard standees of the characters, but your kids are going to definitely want the miniatures. It’s a nice visceral addition that will keep your kids engaged with the gameplay and add a bit more realism to their imaginations.
There are also a bunch of different cards, representing health and abilities and quests, and a fun treasure bag that players can collect throughout their adventure. None of the game is overly complicated and allows for as much, or as little, fantasy roleplaying as you want. Oldest really just likes the gameplay aspects of getting the most stars and treasure and beating monsters. Middle (the one with the wild imagination) really enjoys the storytelling aspect. In that way, there’s really something for everyone.
As a parent, one of the best parts of the game to see is the concept of “Kind Kid” cards. Kind Kid Cards are granted to players who help their fellow adventurers during the campaign. While the game is a competition to see who gets the most stars at the end of the game, the adventurers are all still working together to clear the dungeon of all of the monsters and QK cards, and may encounter a situation where they simply don’t have the required ability cards to defeat the monster. Going around the table, Adventurers are allowed to share an ability card with the challenged player, in exchange for a Kind Kid Card, that will grant that player some bonus. It’s a great way to teach kids that, even during competitive tasks, we can still help our friends out to meet their goals. It’s a nice little touch that starts to bring together the concept of working as a team. Even in D&D and other tabletop games, you’re still experiencing individual victories while working together as a team.
I do have a couple of qualms with the game. Most importantly, the instructions seem to leave a few key details out. We played our first few rounds without a full board, before watching a youtube tutorial where it was made glaringly clear that every card should be placed on the board. The game would also benefit with a few more set pieces, because my kids have trouble recognizing that there are “doors” and they’re only allowed to move through those. I’m sure it’s nothing a 3D printer couldn’t solve. Lastly, it can be difficult for the youngest players to grasp the concept of only being able to access certain spaces on the board, so make sure you have the patience of a Saint when it comes to explaining the rules.
Overall, this is a great game. The kids ask to play it frequently, and it’s a good way to start introducing your kids to the wonders of tabletop gaming. It helps kids increase their creativity, while at the same time improving their critical thinking skills, math skills, and their ability to work as a team. We also have the expansion, The Trials of Tolk The Wise, so look forward to another DCDT Review when we get to it!
Official DCDT Review: The Quest Kids score: 4.5/5 Magic Missiles
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