I taught my students 4th and 5th grade at the time to play at school after testing as a way to unwind. They are not that interested in knowing the rules. They do love a few things.

1. Rolling dice
2. Doing some fun math that is not too hard but has more than one step. i.e. how much do I have to roll to hit, did my dice add up to that number (greater than/less than/ equal to)
3. Can I hit you from range or just keep on punching you?
4. They liked to use just one character and use the very simplified rules reminiscent of Alpha.
5. Hey I know that character!!!!!
6. It was there at school and could be done quickly with little clean up
7. Since it was at school the parents didn't have to do anything.


Think about making it an after school club. From there after some time you can move them out of the school setting once in a while by having a "field trip" with parent attendance and participation at a local store with prize support (a GF booster or something little but utterly awesome to a kid)
Stress the importance of learning math, critical thinking (tactics), reading and understanding directions (also comic books, which is not frowned upon like it used to), sportsmanship, a social activity, and fun!


Not that I haven't put thought into this before.

I started to run Heroclix for a hobby store in Alliance Ohio. Mainly it was for the college kids around that area. To my surprise, I also got a few of the way younger crowd (elementary). I must say that they actually do better then the adults. So I have also in the past told parents of the same benefits that Heroclix has to offer. That makes it great to read about. So thanks thewildeman, for it has made my day. You have also helped to prove that gaming is not just a waist of time, but also a great educational tool.

Alas, they said their afterschool program is full. The local rec center said the same. But that won't deter me. There's a couple youth coordinators I can talk to yet :D

I work as a Youth Pastor and see upwards of a 150 students a week. What I've found is that it's hard to get them out to a venue they are not familiar with. Continue to try and get yourself into the after school programs, libraries, youth groups or any other place where the kids hang out. They have to see it to appreciate it. Hoping you the very best in this adventure. ~Robert

Great Job! Keep it up. I had a slow start twice getting the game up and running much less trying to get the community involvement. I will all come together.