My son is 6 and he really likes Laser Maze. It's pretty fun. There's a bunch of mirrors, splitters, a checkpoint and targets.

Try Mice and Mystics.

Okay, I'm going to suggest a couple of things-- but with some conditions associated.

1. Cards against Humanity-- super-modified version. I don't know if anyone has ever played Apples-to-Apples, but it's like that. But funnier/edgier. And gross/adult. BUT--

You *can* make your own more acceptable/PG-rated set

This amounts to being a game which is a little bit like Pictionary-- but verbal, like Mad Libs. Or something. It's a little hard to explain.

Clearly this is going to appeal to verbally quick kids who have that super-advanced sense of humor. But I figure that this is a population which can appreciate that better than most, so. DD plans to make a specialty version for a couple of different groups of people she hangs out with. She's not interested in the "nasty" cards (like in the official game) but more snarky current-events-and-politics themes.

2. Speaking of Mad Libs-- DD loves her free mini-madlibs app for her Android phone. She cackles in glee for hours over it.

DD10 just got Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule for her birthday, and we're all playing a lot of it. We all still feel a little like we're playing randomly, but it's getting more strategic as we start to learn what to do. Even played randomly, it's fun, and DS5 has no trouble at all playing.

I haven't played it (yet), but this math game on Kickstarter looks interesting.

Does anyone play D&D with their kids? My kids have independently been inventing something that looks a lot like a Monster Manual. I never played, but my brother did so I'm passingly familiar with it. I'm wondering if there is an easy/simplified way to get set up. We actually have the Dungeon board game, but that's pretty different.

Haven't done D&D or similar in many years. My son is interested in trying some RPG. From my research modern D&D is fairly complex, but there is a neat looking and fairly simple looking RPG called Mouse Guard as well as another using a similar rule system called Dungeon World. The system is designed to be extensible; so, if they are creating their own content that might be a nice direction to go.

Sort of off topic, but Mouseguard is a beautiful, very well-done graphic novel/series, well worth a look.

My DD has just been invited to join a long-running D+D game, she loved her introduction, but she was guided through by kids who have played for a while. We have a nephew who joined in several RPGS through a local game/card shop that hosts events like this, that might be a way to get started/set up. Nephew ended up playing mainly with adults but really enjoyed it despite the lack of kids.

I played it as a kid, and my DD showed enough interest last year that I acquired the books online, and started getting her and some friends set up with players, before their interest tailed off. It was just too complicated for them at 8. She still brings it up from time to time, as she clearly enjoyed the process of inventing the character, so we'll probably try again in a year or two. I never started with it until I was 11 or so.

The new version is a lot more complicated than I remember it, but keep in mind that you can basically ignore any parts of the game you find inconvenient.

There's a thing called a Starter Set that has a much smaller set of rules, spells, monsters, etc. It includes a pre-packaged adventure story to play through. It's not a great value, because it quickly becomes obsolete if the kiddos decide D&D is a hit and they want more.

What is the complicated part? Is there a lot of math? Is it slow? A lot to keep track of? Gaming of all kinds is by DS's #1 interest, so interest is intense. I don't think we have yet met a game he could not learn, but we haven't yet bought any of the top-level Eurogmes.

I know someone has to be dungeonmaster, and that that part takes a lot of planinng. My DH is willing to do this. He played the game a little as a teen, though he was not really into it by any means.

I will look at Mouse Guard and especially Dungeon World. Something extensible would work well for us in that it would suit DD10's desire to create. Her monsters are very scary and awesome. (She has one called a "sklate"--looks like a human, but its pupils are slits and it has no lips. It's telepathic, and if you get too close to one when you are under 10 years old, you will automatically kill someone you love the day you turn 11. The worst part is that you then regain your senses and realize what you've done, just before you die. Yeah, DD has quite the imagination!)