Allison and Jon talk about his rules-lite fantasy RPG for 1 to 4 players "One Shot in the Dark", the nostalgia of playing Old School Revival-style games, and why it's important to create space for the imagination. "One Shot in the Dark" is a great game for adults, kids, or mixed-age groups and is suitable for both beginner and veteran players!

Grab your copy of ⁠"One Shot in the Dark"⁠ (and its expansions) at Drive Thru RPG! Also available ⁠ in Portuguese⁠!

You can find Jon's audio drama podcast (designed for adults) ⁠"Tale Of The Manticore" on YouTube⁠ or your favorite podcast app.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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Land of Eem is a whimsical roleplaying game of exploration, discovery, and creativity that's best described as "The Muppets meets Lord of the Rings". Receiving 3 Ennie 2025 awards for Best Family Game, Best Monster, AND Best Production Value, it's an absolute slam dunk of a family game. In this episode, Allison chats with Land of Eem creators Ben Costa and James Parks about the inspiration and creation process for their wacky world of adventure! To find out more, visit ⁠ Land of Eem: Beginner's RPG for Kids on Kickstarter⁠ or ⁠Land of Eem Website⁠.

To find StoryGuider: Coloring Book Adventures for Kids Ages 2-7, visit ⁠Backerkit⁠ or ⁠TTRPGKids.itch.io⁠!

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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What happens when the DM rolls too well, and panics as they realize they may have just gone overboard, upsetting the story and the players? Allison & Ryan discuss how they handle this situation when DMing for kids.

To find StoryGuider: Coloring Book Adventures for Kids Ages 2-7, visit ⁠Backerkit⁠ or ⁠TTRPGKids.itch.io⁠!

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Different D&D players are smart in different ways, so why not incorporate puzzles (challenges) to keep all players' brains engaged and give each individual their time to shine? In this episode, Allison and Ryan chat with Trevor of Emberglow Gaming about Multiple Intelligences Theory and how to use puzzles of all kinds to enhance your game. See below for a list of ideas! For high quality TTRPG accessories like GM screens, dice bags, and subscription boxes that'll wow your players, visit

Here's a list of D&D puzzles to help get you started. What other puzzles would you like to add?

Kinesthetic (body) -obstacle course/laser maze -relay race -cup bowling -peanut butter river

Visual-Spatial (picture) -puzzles -draw/color/sculpt -tetris/tangrams -spot the difference

Verbal-Linguistic (words) -riddles (also logic) -codes -scrambled words -tongue twisters

Logical-Mathematical (logic) -dot to dot -mazes -magnatiles/legos (also kinesthetic) -memory game

Interpersonal (people) -telephone game -stand on the sheet and turn it over -watch where you step (communication game) -doppleganger (social deduction game)

Intrapersonal (self) -journaling -affirmations -meditation -regulating tools

Naturalistic (nature) -rainbow nature scavenger hunt -cloud/bird/star watching -species/shell identification -animal sounds game

Musical (musical) -rhythm clapping -repeat the tune -instrument sound identification -create an instrument

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a DM's worst nightmare: your D&D players have made an unexpected choice, obliterating your plans, and you now have to DM on the fly. Those who DM for kids can find themselves in this position more often than DMs with adults, because kids can be wonderfully and chaotically creative players! How can you encourage your players to follow the narrative crumbs without taking away their agency? How can a DM prepare for the unexpected and grow their comfort with going off-script? Ryan and Allison share some ideas that can help!

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

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Planning sessions, we love to hate them. But, in kids' DnD, do they actually have a distinct purpose? In this episode, Ryan & Allison chat about how planning sessions help kids develop important life skills such as executive function, verbal processing, and teamwork - and, what important role adults at the table fill to help.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D&D puts players in control of a collaborative story, but can kids handle the necessary moral choices? On this episode, Allison & Ryan chat about a moral dilemma presented to our kid heroes in Season 2 of our show, why this was an age-appropriate theme, and how you can determine which topics to introduce to the kids at your own table.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D&D is fun, but can it help improve player confidence? We recently shared clip on social media (on 5/2/25) showing a stark contrast between how kid player Khloe handled the pressure of mid-battle decision-making back in Season 1 compared to Season 2. On this episode, Allison, Nicole @gamemastermom, and Daniel @thedrawing bard chat about how they've seen kids grow in confidence while playing D&D, and about the vision behind Nicole & Daniel's new storybook "Tales of Aetheria: An Unexpected Quest". You can back the book now at www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamemastermom/tales-of-aetheria-an-unexpected-quest!

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a recent episode of our original kid-focused Dungeons & Dragons show (S2E06 "An Ominous Warning"), the party wakes in the night to a surprise attack! Caught at a disadvantage, our heroes are in dire straights, and the kids start to get scared. Ryan and Allison discuss when and how it's appropriate to include scary elements into your D&D game with kids.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest episode our original kid-focused Dungeons & Dragons show (S2E06 "An Ominous Warning"), mom Raenelle steps in to negotiate between new teen player Dillon and the rest of the group, thereby both modeling and including our kid players through the art of negotiation. We call the method she employs, "Yes, or", as opposed to the popular improv comedy method "Yes, and", and we think it's crucial to running TTRPG games with kids. Ryan and Allison discuss this method and how it empowers players of all ages at your TTRPG table without letting the game slide totally off the rails.

Welcome to Area of Effect, a podcast about how TTRPGs benefit the whole family!

About us: When kids are at the table, everyone wins! Playing TTRPGs with all ages helps develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, & confidence - while building connections around the table. That's why we offer an original, all-ages-inclusive Dungeons & Dragons show, advice for playing D&D with beginner players, and our own campaigns to help you bring the adventures to your own table!

For Our Family Adventures & More: ⁠⁠www.thekidstablednd.com⁠⁠ To Support Our Work: ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠

#dungeonmaster #dmtips #howtoplaydnd

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices