"Ww2 rules for students with learning difficulties" Topic

I have started a ww2 war games session over a two hour period at the special needs school where I work. The students are aged 11-16 and have moderate learning difficulties. Play takes place on a 6' x 4' mat with added terrain for 15mm figures. I introduced basic squad leader rules with ranges and movement converted to inches. The IFT and AFV to hit charts have been converted to a single card to prevent the students becoming overwhelmed by information. However I feel it is still too much for them to absorb and was wondering if the Crossfire mechanics could be the way forward, even in a simplified way, for a more exciting fluid game, eventually with limited supervision. Even with learning difficulties when students engage in an activity that interests them I usually find they can excell. Thank you for any advice

You may want to give one-hour wargames a try. The book is by Neil Thomas. It contains simple sets of rules and 30 scenarios for periods from Ancients to WWII.

I have a daughter with Special Needs and we have had fun playing rules by Neil Thomas.

You can find the book on Amazon.

It appears that you have already done a great deal in modifying charts etc for your students. Do you think card based rule set may work for then in terms of activating/moving units etc. You know your kids and their abilities so you can gauge what may work the best for them.

I've played Crossfire with kids in the 8-9 range and had a lot of success. We left out a few bits but it's remarkably easy to explain.

Tell you what though, since you're doing something good, pop me an email at runequester@gmail.com and I'll pop a free copy of FiveCore Company COmmander (or skirmish, your call) your way.

It runs great with little kids and you can fit the info on a pair of index cards.

If you end up not liking it, no fuss, no worry.

Have you considered Memoir '44? Mechanically it is very simple but very stimulating and entertaining.

Take Weasle up on Fivecore company command. Fantastic game and is simple enough for kids. Also equally recommended is crossfire!

Have a look at junior general. There are simple rules with each scenario, but all seem to be fun enough.

link

The One Hour Wargame rules are both simple and fast!

I'm playing Company Command from Weasel with my 10 years old son and we have a lot of fun. The rules are great in their simplicity.

Look Sarge might work. You have to make up the tags for units and create the dice. But the plays will have everything they need with on the stand or on the dice.

The beginner version of Rapid Fire! is pretty easy and I've used it for kids games a bunch of times.

That said, if you already have a pretty simple system and are thinking of switching to Crossfire, I certainly would not want to dissuade you from trying, since the basic mechanics of Crossfire are really, really simple.

Let us know how it goes!

Rob

Flying lead has very good entry level rules.
The only thing that may upset the players is the activation system if they get greedy and try the maximum every turn. Although if you look at it another way it is a good learning curve for risk taking and judgement.
Good luck in your search.
I have found heroquest and space crusade to be very good games for children a young adults with learning difficulties .
They cater for a lot of scenarios that can disrupt or disappoint the enjoyment of group play.
Mars Attacks and deadzone are two games I would like to try next but alas these last four I mentioned do not cover your WW2 request without tinkering.

Maneouver Group has a ploicy of supporting schools. We could make available free of charge our rules and the carboard masters of the simple buildings. You would need to send the request for support on school headed paper. However its not clear to me whether the rules would be suitable, or even if the card buildings would be acceptable as they have to be cut out with scissors and the windows with a knife.

have a look at us here:-

link

May I ask, why did you choose ww2 as a suitable introductory game? It can get rather complex.

In reply to Dan 055, I originally started a Dungeons and dragons activity after observing the students playing at break time. The WW2 theme progressed from there. Some of the students were more interested in strategic games and also had a bank of knowledge on WW2, therefore providing a new activity for them to engage in. This is very beneficial to my practice, as building solid relationships and being a positive role model promotes a better learning environment for children with learning difficulties.
In reply to everyone else, thank you for your time and advice. The Miniaturespage has been an essential tool for nearly everything I have put together, I think perhaps next year we could expand to SciFi.

Do keep us posted, if you wouldn't mind.

I love hearing about projects like this.

There is a free version of specially designed for kids Mein Panzer called MP Junior that you can download at
ODGW.com.