Meh like I said I’ve looked at other ones a bit. Pathfinder 2, Genesys, some various one-page RPGs etc. I just come back to my beloved 5e.

But I do hear you on it, it’s not like I’m not open, but I know what I prefer and I know what my players prefer, for the most part.

I’m sure there are many great flavors of ice cream out there, but mint is my favorite and if it’s an option it’s what I’m gonna order, if that makes sense.

Yes and no.

Yes - if you can find a good group with good vibes, it’s some of the best. Laughing with friends about dice rolls and the ridiculous shenanigans they result in.

No - if you don’t do well learning rules equivalent to a boardgame. You do need to learn some rules to play, but it’s not a ton, and you can try to find good DMs who cater to new players. BUT again if you get frustrated by bad luck, learning rules, etc then maybe not.

Maybe - try watching a let’s play? Critical Role or similar. Keep in mind your average game isn’t professional, but this can at least show you relatively what to expect with the amount of rules and stuff.

Yeah I have done a few short campaigns for kids. In general my advice is lowing your expectations and simplifying the game. And of course, making sure the themes don’t get too dark.

1. With a 5 or under, you’ll want to keep things to just simple choices and results, less character sheets and specific skills.
2. In similar vain, they aren’t playing 5e Tiefling Sorcerer with all the specific features and spells. They’re wizard or they’re knight or they’re princess warrior or whatever they decide to be. I mean you can try doing actual sheets, but I feel like kids that young won’t do well with it
3. Unsure on dice, but if you’re worried about them you could get large novelty foam dice, it would be fun
4. Game systems can be visually displayed for the kids. Money is candy pieces or cereal or something. Health are toothpicks (colored red for extra effect) that they break when lost.
5. Obviously, don’t describe the details of violence. Keep it Marvel, they “beat them up”. There aren’t blood altars and nightmarish monsters.
6. If you’re going to play with character sheets, make custom ones with very easy to find abilities and features. And don’t bother with ribbon/fluff abilities like Dwarven stonecunning.

Now, if the kids were a bit older (12-8) then you could use character sheets and add a bit more of the details back. But again, there will still be things to keep in mind.

1. Most kids don’t do great at actually roleplaying as a character they created. Some might struggle with making the character. If it’s easier to just pick a character from a piece of media (“I wanna be Thor!”) that works. Often it’s fine that kids just insert themselves - their characters are them.
2. Beware the self insert - when kids experience loss, it can be rough, depending on the kid. Some are real champs and it rolls right off of them, they understand it’s part of the game. But others, character death isn’t something they can handle. Try to gauge which type your kids are, and don’t be afraid to lean the dice in their favor now and then.
3. Have a safety net. Maybe they’ve got an experienced retired veteran with them. They can’t normally fight because they’re old and retired, but if a fight goes bad maybe they spring into action! Key is to focus on helping the players, not taking the spotlight. But I’ve found overall that kids like having a cool older/veteran character around. Or maybe, they safety net is like a revival necklace that gives them 3 lives - it’ll feel a bit videogamey but Jumanji-like movies are popular for a reason

Finally, yes kinda. While working at a coding center for kids (learn to code and play videogames) I ran a weekend DnD club program, and we had a range of 7 to 13. I used some of the strategies above, though I did use real character sheets with them that we color coded.

Success with age gap relies on the two kids understanding and accepting that things will be uneven but that’s okay. Not something you always need to ask them, some kids and especially siblings do well naturally at just enjoying the game itself.

Sorry that’s a lot! I used to be a camp counselor and teacher so DnD with kids is right up my alley

lol I wish

And personally, every time I have dabbled into other systems it just makes me like 5e more lol

Both of my groups are still in the early parts of campaigns, but they are enjoying them a lot more. We had some minor bumps and learning moments. Overall the rules are nicer, but I wish certain bits were specified better just to prevent RAW-abusing.

Mainly the polymorph / wild shape temp HP issue. RAI obviously if you lose the form you lose the temp HP. But unfortunately this isn’t clearly spelled out in the wildshape section. Led to the only real “argument” we’ve had about the new rules