Edge of the Empire: Kids!

So yesterday was Father’s Day, right? Right. Had a decent day – got an enjoyable breakfast at Biscuits, grabbed new shoes, and dropped by our FLGS to see if I was interested in anything. Of course… I’m interested in pretty much everything, but who has that kind of budget? Wrath of Ashardalon? Game of Thrones LCG? Lots of options, but not the most free time. So I grabbed a dish of static grass (which looks badass on the figure I used it on, btw) and FFG’s Edge of the Empire Beginner Game.

I’ve seriously already gotten my money’s worth. I’ve been working with my four-year-old son – off and on for the last few months – on dice mechanics. “Ok, which one has the bigger number? What do these two add up to?” But… he’s probably still not quite over the novelty of just hearing the dice clatter, then grabbing them and doing it again. Oddly enough, this was totally different with Edge. I unwrapped the box, pulled out the dice, and he was immediately interested. *clatter* “Three booms, two triangles, and… these funny thingies!” As I pulled out the map and the tokens, his eyes lit up even more. “I wanna play, Daddy. Can we play now?”

I looked at the stuff on the table. I looked at the light in his eyes. I glanced at the clock. “Sure, kiddo. Here, pick one of these people to play.” I spread the four pregens out in front of him, and briefly described each one. He chose Oskara, and we were off to the races! I had him put the Oskara token in the cantina, and informed him that thuggish goons were coming through the front door looking for him. “Well, they’re not gonna catch me. I’m gonna go out the secret door in the back!” Wow. I threw together a Stealth dice pool for him – “Ok dude, these are the dice to try to get out without them seeing you.” *clatter* The glee on his face was unmistakable, and so incredibly satisfying as a gamer dad. He got a success and an advantage, so I told him he snuck out without them noticing at all.

The next thing dropped my jaw and filled me with pride. He started tap-tapping the token on the town map – “She’s walking around.” I asked how Oskara was gonna get out of town – maybe she needed a ship. He grinned, grabbed another token from the pile (possibly the one reserved for the downloadable Sasha?) and placed her in the shanty town in the southeast of Mos Shuuta. “This girl’s [name], and she can fly ships.” I honestly don’t remember the name he gave her. It had four syllables, started with a B, and he was consistent with the name for the rest of the game. Then he “walked” his Oskara token into shanty town and – by himself – held a brief conversation between the two. I… was… gobsmacked. Kid’s a natural.

When they broke into the ship’s berth, the guards pulled guns. Oskara fired a wild shot, and the two girls started running around the ship for cover. The Advantage on the guard’s next shot tripped [B#######], and Oskara had to make an Athletics check to get her aboard. “Where’s the steering wheel, Daddy? That’s where they’re going.” I point, “That’s the cockpit. But watch out! The guards are trying to close the landing bay doors!” He grabs Oskara’s token – “This girl’s gonna shoot them. Can she do that?” I hand him some dice and place the token on the weapons port of the Krayt Fang. The Success and Advantage lock the bay door open and block off the guards from interfering again. Away! I sweep the map sheet out of the way, and grab the ship tokens.

“But… oh no! You have TIE fighters chasing you!” Though they managed to damage the ship a bit, Little Dude acquitted himself nicely and jumped into hyperspace… just in time for me to start getting the grill ready. Best Father’s Day ever.

14 thoughts on “Edge of the Empire: Kids!

  1. Very cool story, and very appropriate for Father’s Day and in light of recent events. As Yoda so knowledgeably said in Attack of the Clones “A wonderful thing, the mind of a child is.”

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