start rolling dice with your kids

Believe it or not, improved reading comprehension is the result of a youth's foray into adventure gaming.

I inwardly laugh as a type this because there are so many reasons why you, as a fellow parent, will flinch at what I’m about to recommend. And that's this: Start rolling some dice with your children.
Did you flinch? I mean the mere idea of rolling dice as part of an adventure game with your kids is, at its most basic, pretty absurd to consider.
Adventure gaming – what many refer to as role-playing games – is played at a table. So cardio exercise and conditioning? Ahhh, no.
Oh, and it’s played for hours at a time, often with loud outbursts. So peaceful? Ahhh, no.
And get this, it can be pretty violent, at least in a story sense. But less violent than what we’re constantly shown on TV and online, right? Ahhh, no.
So why would a parent, like myself, advise you to start adventure gaming with your kids?
There are a number of reasons, and we’ll get to that. But first, let’s explain this adventure gaming concept. For many of us, we first encountered it as a table-top game called “Dungeons & Dragons.” We probably played it in high school or college and later with other adults. At its core, its essentially a quest game. Get a quest – “save the fairie from the evil, hungry giant frog!” – and hopefully save the day by using your wits and what are now fairly simple game rules. And there’s chance involved - quite a bit of it! This is where the aforementioned dice come in as the game’s outcome can be decided by a heartening or heart attack-inducing roll.
Which is why adventure gaming is such a terrific activity to do with your kids. It can be, without question, a tremendously entertaining time. And get this, there are actually educational components wrapped up in this activity, including:

• Math. Simple yes, but mathematics are a constant part of this game. And honestly, there have been too many times I’ve gamed with young adults and/or teenagers that have struggled with completing their simple math (18 plus 7 is … is ... will they ever answer?!? ). At which point I inwardly wonder: Would this person's math challenges even be existent if they started adventure gaming when they were in elementary school? I seriously doubt it.
• Public speaking. Was there anything more frightening than having to get up in front of your fourth or fifth grade class and speak about a topic (that you didn’t care about)? For adventure gaming players – young and old – this is not even a blip on their radar because public speaking is something that’s done constantly in an adventure gaming environment. (Without them even thinking about it as public speaking!)
• Reading comprehension. This is a biggie and something parents who don’t adventure game have no idea about. But here’s what happens: A young player is introduced to adventure gaming and loves it. In fact, they love it so much they want to do it with their friends. So they become “Game Masters” - leaders of the adventure - for their peers, which requires them to read an adventure and then be able to communicate that adventure back to their friends. Boom! Reading comprehension, right there. And without one fuss or complaint about having to do homework. Crazy, right?

Besides the sheer entertainment value of adventure gaming, those are three terrific reasons why you should consider adventure gaming with your children. Get those dice rolling!
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Neil Pascale is a parent who lives in the Twin Cities. He is the founder of Heroes B&B, a Twin Cities-based service that provides adventure gaming to groups and families in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. He first started gaming as a middle-school student in math class. (Please don’t ask him what his grade ended up being in that class!) He can be reached at neil.pascale@yahoo.com

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