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What the Game Is Counting

Three short lessons for parents who do not play video games: health bars and the leftover hit, level curves that add or multiply, and why a 1% drop rate feels so slow.

For grown-ups, from what LevelForge teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1The leftover hit
  2. Lesson 2Curves that add or multiply
  3. Lesson 3A one percent drop
At the table · Two to four, ages 7 and up

A paper dungeon

You'll need: Two dice, paper, pencils.

  1. Draw a monster with 20 health points. Each turn, roll one die: that is the damage.
  2. Before the fight, everyone guesses how many rolls it will take, and writes it down.
  3. Play it out, keeping a running total of health left. Then play again with a monster of 30.
  4. Talk about why the number of rolls is never exactly the health divided by 3.5, the average roll.
Where the numbers came from

A little history, and what nobody knows

Experience points

In Dungeons & Dragons, first published in 1974, characters earn experience points and go up a level when they have enough.

Who first thought of counting experience in points is not settled.

Source: Dungeons & Dragons (Wikipedia)

Your child's ladder · on Spark & Anvil

The same idea at every age

  1. Ages 3–5Not made yet
  2. Ages 6–8Empty the Health Bar
  3. Ages 9–14Two Ways to Level Up
  4. Ages 15–18A 1% Drop Rate

Your child will meet this idea again at every age. The tools and courses here are the part for you.

Everything for a child who loves video games →

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →