I was about 10 when I started role playing, my first game being Dungeons and Dragons back in 1979, but I also discovered Traveler back then and after that always preferred science fiction role playing games. I had taught my kids some games in the past, both D&D and a few RPGs designed specifically for children. My kids, 10 year old daughter and 12 year old son, discovered Solar Echos at Balticon this last year and after playing a few sessions encouraged me to buy them a copy of the game. The rules are simple enough to allow playing with minimum set up time for the players and were easy for my children to read and understand. My ten year old has run a few adventures for us since buying the game. The real depth of the system though, I discovered when my son started to try to create his own content. In order to understand the information provided for each of the alien races, he read up on astronomy and star types, and he noticed how the spectrum of the parent stars impacted the creature’s vision. I saw how much thought was put into the science in this science fiction game, things that can be left as just background if someone is looking for just a fast-paced game, but that are also inspiring my kids to research astronomy and biology as they try to follow the examples in the book and create both realistic and interesting aliens of their own. It is encouraging both creativity and learning and I’m glad my kids discovered the game.”

-Tim, father of gamer children