Many parents wonder: should I let my child play Dungeons and Dragons?

Dungeons & Dragons is a popular game for people of all ages. This leaves a lot of parents asking questions about the game. Is D&D appropriate for my kids? How old does my child have to be to play D&D? Can a 7 or 8 year old play D&D? We’re a group of parents, educators, and gamers who run games for young players, so we have a pretty good idea of when to start children on D&D and how they can have the best experience.

Should I Let My Child Play Dungeons & Dragons?

What age can kids start playing DnD? That all depends on their skill set and your comfort level.

Before asking whether this game is right for your child, it helps to understand what D&D actually is. In Dungeons & Dragons, players take on the role of a character they make up themselves: perhaps a clever dwarf who tinkers on inventions or a nature-loving elf who transforms into the creatures of the forest. They then join a team of other players and go on adventures. As they play, they decide what their characters do, act out the things they say, and roll dice to see if their actions succeed. These all follow the rules of the game as refereed by a Dungeon Master, who tells the players what's going on in the world and makes up the challenges they have to face.

There are a few potential concerns with D&D for parents. The first is the content - will my children be taught about witchcraft, demons, and the occult? The second are the mental abilities required - can my children play if they’re still learning math or have trouble paying attention? The third, and one not all parents may consider, is the emotional capacity required - as they play, can my children deal with things not going their way or trying to work on a team with other kids?

What Age Can Children Play D&D With Cognitive Skills?

Can a 13 year old play DnD? If they have the cognitive skills typical for their age, definitely!

One of the biggest roadblocks for playing Dungeons & Dragons (at any age!) is the game’s complexity. Its rules span multiple books. Even a swing of the sword can get complicated: cross-reference what kind of damage dice to roll, check a character sheet to see what numerical modifier to add, and flip through pages of the rulebook to see if your character class is proficient with that exact kind of sword. Experienced Dungeon Masters do make this process a lot easier, but players need the mental acuity to grasp some of the rules so they can understand what’s going on and make meaningful decisions within the game.

Because Dungeons & Dragons is a story imagined mostly in the minds of the players (though there are sometimes maps and figures to help), playing requires some abstract thinking and the ability to picture what’s going on in a scene (“Okay, so the fairy queen is on her throne, the goblin horde is outside breaking down the doors, and we’re over here next to the magic fountain.”). Because every moment of play is something occurring in the story, wandering focus can lead to confusion or boredom (“Wait, who’s talking?” “What were we trying to find?” “Why do we need the magic necklace?”). Because of this, a decent attention span and the ability to self-regulate focus are necessary to be able to truly enjoy playing. So if your child can understand the rules of a complex game, picture elements of a scene and story in their mind, and pay attention to what’s going on in the game, they have the cognitive skills to be able to play Dungeons & Dragons!

When Can Kids Start Playing D&D With Emotional Skills?

Kids can start playing DnD when they can tolerate failure, work on a team, and take turns.

There’s been a lot of great research on the benefits of Dungeons & Dragons for learning SEL (Social Emotional Learning) skills like self-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making, self-management, and social awareness skills. But in order to practice these skills in the first place, players need a foundation to build off of. A group of D&D players is meant to work together so they can go on quests, solve problems, and fight the bad guys as a team. With so many people at the table together, players must pass around the spotlight and let everyone have a turn (particularly in combat where turns are part of the rules of the game)! Another facet of D&D we see the players have trouble with is tolerating failure. Even when the statistics are in your favor and you have a brilliant plan up your sleeve, the outcome is (quite literally) up to the roll of the dice, and things not going as planned is a key part of the game. If your child can work on a team, take turns, and accept when things don’t go the way they want, they have the emotional skills they need to be able to play Dungeons & Dragons!

Is Dungeons & Dragons Appropriate For Kids?

Parents wonder when can kids start playing DnD and potentially being exposed to dark themes

Dungeons & Dragons could technically take place anywhere (some of our games have been in a city of superheroes, or a magical candyland), but D&D is usually in a high-fantasy setting - think elves, wizards, and magic. Many of these kinds of stories include elements that may not be appropriate for young players (say, a cult to a demon lord). But, like an author writing a book, every Dungeons Master gets to decide what kinds of stories they want to tell and what elements they want to be in those stories. Any good Dungeon Master knows to build their games to fit their audience, which includes leaving out darker themes when running games for kids.

However, some elements are fairly core to the game of D&D. The vast majority of games will involve the players’ characters working on a team, exploring the unknown, and fighting monsters. If your child can’t imagine crawling through a dark cave, bleeding from a sword wound, or finding a scary monster without having nightmares, you should definitely wait on D&D until they’re older.

What Is The Youngest Age To Play D&D?

There are plenty of DnD alternatives for kids who haven’t hit their 6th birthday yet

With all that said, we typically recommend waiting until a child is about 8 years old to play Dungeons & Dragons (though if your child really wants to play, is a gaming whiz and takes failure like a champ, you could introduce the game as early as 6!). Fortunately, there are a lot of games with similar concepts (rolling dice, playing on a team, and going on adventures) that are specifically built for younger players: they’re fun, they’re creative, and they can set your child up for success if they ever DO want to play Dungeons & Dragons.

Children as young as 4 or 5 can play games like Venture Society, which is designed for parents with ready-to-play adventures, Stories RPG, which increases emotional capacity and is adaptable to all kinds of story concepts, and No Thank You, Evil! which is designed to be scalable so that younger and older players can play together without becoming frustrated or bored. In fact, there are literally hundreds of kid-friendly tabletop role-playing games; our friends at TTRPGkids made a handy list so you can check them all out for yourself!

Can My Child Play Dungeons & Dragons Online?

Here at Young Dragonslayers, we host D&D groups for kids and teens online. Our Dungeon Masters are experienced with working with young people; they’ll teach the rules of D&D, craft an adventure for their group’s interests, facilitate collaboration and teamwork between players, and ultimately give kids a great experience with the game of D&D! If you have a child 10 or above, we have a place where they can learn this awesome game alongside peers their own age in a safe and fun environment. And if you’ve got an ambitious child who would rather be the Dungeon Master themself, we have something for them too! Our Dragon Leaders course teaches young players all the skills they need to run their own games of Dungeons & Dragons for their friends and create a story all their own! No matter how your child gets into tabletop roleplaying games, know that they’re entering a world of creativity, learning, and team building that they’ll enjoy for years to come!

DnD for Kids: Is It Appropriate and What’s the Right Age to Start?