Shadowdark has become a popular choice for families with young kids, as it offers a unique gaming experience that is particularly appealing to the younger generation. Despite its darker theme, families often interpret the game as more of a 'ghost story' or 'spooky Halloween' adventure rather than a morbid or violent one.
Where do I get my data? I see people on YouTube, current and former 5E players, switching their families over and sharing the hobby with the younger generation. I keep coming across these videos by a bunch of different creators.
Shadowdark is the better game for very young players.
Death is still in these games, but the families' presentation is more like, "The monsters got you!" This is a far cry from D&D, where it is nearly impossible to die, and players end up bored and invincible at high levels. Shadowdark teaches good exploration, conflict resolution, resource management, and problem-solving behaviors. D&D teaches that "more power equals victory."
Shadowdark's design better fits a real-world teaching model and healthy mental development. You can't have it all, but being smart and creative means far better odds. Death is death, like a game over in a video game. Modern D&D puts an unhealthy emphasis on "you are your character" with all this identity marketing, and it damages mental health. Don't take my word for it; TSR, back in the 80s and 90s, told us not to put ourselves in the game.
Modern D&D is like the end of any Marvel movie; it is a giant, flashy CGI battle that means nothing, and victory is assured.
One key reason younger players prefer Shadowdark over D&D is its accessibility. The rules are straightforward, the book is well-organized, and even referees as young as nine can confidently run the game. This inclusivity makes Shadowdark a hit among players of all ages, including those over 60, breaking the age barrier.
The primal "fear of the dark" drives the action here, which is a classic, almost Halloween-style motivation and theme. This goes back to us as kids, when the nighttime was something we were afraid of, and we never knew what was lurking out in the woods at night.
If I were Wizards of the Coast (or their investors), I would be in an outright panic. This is the next generation of gamers, and it is not "set in stone" that they will "graduate to D&D 2024" in a few years. Many will start with Shadowdark and see D&D as that "other version with too many rules that old people play." They will stay with Shadowdark and other games, giving them a similar "afraid of the dark" experience. They will see every character having a dark vision as dumb and a relic of a bygone age when people were lazy and had to make imperfect VTTs work for everyone.
Also, D&D 2024 is being marketed to the wrong demographic. AAA gamers with tiered levels of support? Huge books with walls of text describing rules? VTTs with subscription fees? These books are being marketed towards current players, video gamers, and mobile game whales rather than the next generation of players.
And D&D 2024 has no entry offering because the game is more complicated, so it can't support one. This is not a "beginner's box" thing; D&D does not have a complete and supported line or a version of the game designed for younger players. This is precisely like the D&D and AD&D split back in the day; D&D was the better game that stood the test of time.
This is a massive problem for D&D, not today, but five to ten years from now?
They will realize the kids were all playing something else back then.
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