The image used for this post is by Cpl. Charles Clark [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

There is no doubt that kids and teens can become more powerful by playing Star Wars roleplaying games. Just ask any parent who has watched their child’s boosted confidence from acting out scenes as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Or check with a certain mother of three at our office. She is up to 24 handstand push-ups due to her weekly re-enactments of Yoda’s training of Luke in the swamp.

Some might think rippin’ and runnin’ with lightsabers in the real world is silly. Or kids turning monkey bars into their own personal Death Star is pointless. But there are lessons to be learned from acting out heroic scenes. Besides, those naysayers are the same ones who spend hours playing the role of “hypnotized swiper” on the latest iPhone games.

What the world needs are more heroes. We have a full quota of screen zombies (myself included on occasion). And the best way for a kid to become the hero in his own story is to emulate the most heroic people he or she can find. For many teens and adults, those people have names like Yoda, Rey, Han Solo, or the lesser known Garm Bel Iblis.

Going into regular Star Wars roleplaying games as Rey can teach a young lady she can be as powerful as any boy in her class. Think that would help during sporting events or taking the SAT? Playing the role of Rey shows, through story-based games, that a person can come from nothing and grow into something so powerful they cannot be ignored.

A couple of my adult friends love donning the Vader mask any chance they get. Parties, Halloween, outdoor Jedi battles, etc. They love feeling the power of the Dark Side. And they usually win the lightsaber fights. But these friends often talk about where Vader went wrong when we discuss Star Wars. They feel genuine hurt for the bad choices they watched Anakin Skywalker make, even though he originally wanted to do good.

Roleplaying games may never dominate the physical world like screens do, but who knows. No one could have foreseen a small rebel force taking down the Death Star in the original Star Wars, but it happened. Kids can benefit so much from physical activities such as these. It is not easy making friends by face-planting on a smartphone. The people they interact with on apps are rarely going to turn into real-world friends.

Stick a kid in a weekly Star Wars roleplaying game involving Jedi, Sith, Wookies, and plenty of sweat, then you have the makings of solid friendships. These games also teach teens how to interact with other kids who may not end up being friends. The real world is full of folks who are not a good match in the friend category. Yet adults can attest that we must get along with them too.

By the way, why do you think it’s so hard to make new friends as adults? It’s possible that we forget the benefits of playing games once we get a mortgage and a career. Remember how you met your first friend in kindergarten? I do. “Wes” invited me to climb up on a ridiculously high barrel at the top of our playground apparatus with him. I did, lived to tell it, and we’ve been friends ever since.

(Get this – studies have shown that lack of social activity may be even less healthy than smoking!)

When’s the last time you invited another adult over to play a game? Or when is the last time you checked your local Meetup calendar for games in your area (5Ks, Spartan races, cornhole tournaments, etc) Maybe you could even find a cool group that is into Star Wars roleplaying games? If not, you could always be the creator of such an event.

We should mention the inherent health benefits that come with roleplaying games for kids and teens. Children need various ways to burn off calories since they don’t usually join gyms! And playing Plague Inc. on your iPhone burns about 3.2 calories per hour.

Most of the heroes in Star Wars films look like they could be on the cover of fitness magazines. So acting out the throne room scene from The Last Jedi gets kids moving and stretching. It puts them on a better path to fitness. Defeating Snoke’s Praetorian guards is impossible when you are out of breath 15 seconds into the fight.

One life lesson we parents don’t necessarily want to toss onto our younglings is that of “struggle.” But rest assured they will meet this foe early and often as they get closer to adulthood. Kylo Ren shows this struggle in his defeat versus his master, Luke. His struggle is even more apparent against his own self. Ren is dark and lost, but his story… is yet to conclude.

Games show children they can’t win by simply showing up. The struggle to win more often gives them motivation to try harder and improve.

While we can’t dog smartphones and laptops at every turn, we want to make sure the games our kids play result in solid physical connections. Sometimes the best use of their tiny screens and speedy thumbs are to send invites to friends and neighbors about a Star Wars roleplaying game in their backyard.

If you are looking for a great Star Wars roleplaying game for kids and teens, check out our glow in the dark game GLOW BATTLE.

 

The reason so many kids and adults enjoy Star Wars roleplaying games (RPGs) is because they get to write the story in their own way. No need for debates about who would win a battle between Darth Vader and Rey. With RPGs, you can become Rey and take on your friend playing the role of the evil Vader. The outcome is based on your skills and how you use the Force.

Since no one has the patience to wait for each new episode of the Star Wars saga to be released (Solo: A Star Wars Story comes out on May 25, 2018), role playing games help us pass the time. So to fill your rebel void, we searched the galaxy for the top 10 Star Wars roleplaying games. Some of these games can be purchased and some are for do-it-yourselfers.

Save Han Solo

This creative little game is great for kid parties. It’s simple and only requires some water guns and a Han Solo action figure. If any of you have a life-sized version of this action figure, we’d love to see a picture of it! You set the game up by freezing the action figure in a rectangular container, then let the kids shoot the ice block with their water guns to eventually free Han. Make it a race by using multiple frozen containers. The kids can be any character they want but choosing one with great aim would be wise.

Star Wars: The Role Playing Game

(30th-anniversary-edition) – This tabletop RPG is not just for fan fun. It has had a big impact on the Star Wars films that came after the original three movies. Funny how games can change the course of history as they allow for more creative minds to enter the fray. This is the Force at work my friends!

Disney’s Star Wars Half Marathon

A foot race may be the purest form of competition known to mankind. Disney lures runners from both sides of the Force from all over the country to compete in their Star Wars themed fun runs. Fiery athletes who try to break records show up dressed like Boba Fett. While more casual runners on vacation at the theme park might just wear a Wookie t-shirt and log a mile a day in a segmented run. This is the one game that awards unique medals for every participant.

P.E. Teacher’s Star Destroyer

If you know a teacher then you have heard stories of low funding for their class activities. Well, they have to use their imagination and in this case their apparent love for Star Wars spaceships. The kids seem to enjoy the game as they toss balls into the “spaceships.” It would be cool to see the mats decorated up like the Millenium Falcon or the Death Star. Teachers like this would be a good choice to send one of our glow in the dark Glow Battle game sets so she could enhance her P.E. classes with even more realistic Star Wars battles.

Jedi Bubble Wars  

Remember part of Luke Skywalker’s Jedi training with the laser shooting floating balls? He was pretty terrible at the beginning. But he improved and eventually became a Jedi Master who drove Kylo Ren completely mad in The Last Jedi. Check out the link above to add lots of Star Wars roleplaying game options for a kids party or group activity. Smash the floating bubbles with your light saber as Rey, Luke, Kylo, or Obi-Wan.

Star Wars LARPing Hotel

You think Disney has the financial power to create the perfect LARPing (live-action roleplaying game) location for Star Wars fanatics? No doubt right!  This project won’t be ready for a couple more years, but we can’t wait to see it materialize. According to reports fans will be able to interact in stories and gaze at amazing worlds created as a view from starships.

Battlefront II 

Guess what? It rains sometimes. That means that you can’t always get outdoors to play real-life Star Wars roleplaying games. No problem. On stormy days you can battle the kiddos on the Xbox in Battlefront II. The story is huge, and you get to be one of many characters and interact with your favorite film characters. Parents, make sure to loosen up those fingers before playing. Your offspring’s hand/eye coordination will make you look silly if you go into the game stiff.

Star Wars Chess

Jedi Knights come to a Lego reality in this classic game that uses pieces from Episode V. The Emperor was a master chess player, in it for the long haul. Kylo Ren is too impulsive and would likely destroy the board after a couple bad moves on his part.

Star Wars Force and Destiny

Here’s another epic game from Fantasy Flight Games. It’s a dice-based game with a thick rule book. This game has a lot to do with luck but also your choices. You can advance using Dark Side tactics… but is it worth it in the end? The rulebook features an older Obi-Wan and the menacing Darth Vader on the cover.

The Galaxy Awaits 

This game gets down and dirty as it’s played at a Seattle campground twice a year. The time frame for the gameplay is five years after Revenge of the Sith. This event caters to new LARPers as well as seasoned roleplaying gamers. It’s a great way to get into Star Wars roleplaying games while meeting new folks in a cool city.

No worries if you can’t make it to the Great Northwest. Who’s to stop you from creating your own Star Wars RPG at a local campground? Trust us. There are plenty of diehard fans who would love an event like this and would join up in a heartbeat. If you have to, lure them in with a Glow Battle Game Kit. It will make the event more appealing since you can play at night and with our glow in the dark game pieces that make Star Wars role-playing games come to life and feel very real.

 

Do you know of any other cool Star Wars role-playing games for kids, teens, or adults? If yes, please add them in the comments section and thank you!