Young Asgardians

A collaborative storytelling role-playing game for kids

Hey, friends! I’m Frank Fradella, the creator of Young Asgardians and a post-residency graduate student in mental health counseling at The Chicago School. Some of you might even remember me as the author and artist of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing! I created Young Asgardians for my three sons eight years ago after they expressed an interest in the D&D game I was playing weekly. I didn’t think they were ready for D&D, but I also wanted a game where they could play heroes their own age. Heroes that would grow as they did. So I created Young Asgardians, allowing them to play little bitty gods who don’t know what they’re the gods of yet. The game mechanics reward collaboration, cooperation, and communication, and I saw those skills transfer into real life the longer they played. The game, as it stands now, has been playtested, battle-tested, and kid-tested for almost a decade. It’s ready for you and your kids. Enjoy and thank you for your support! - Frank

Young Asgardians is a tabletop role-playing game designed for children ages 6–10, their families, and anyone who wants to explore how games can teach us how to work together.

Players take on the role of young gods who don’t yet know what they are the gods of. Through shared adventures, imagination, and cooperation, they discover who they are becoming - together.

There’s none of the typical “experience points” in this game because the experience is the point.

The game is designed so that players are most successful when they collaborate.

Most games reward competition. Young Asgardians rewards collaboration.

Instead of telling players to “be cooperative,” the game changes the rules so that teamwork is how success happens. When players work together, their efforts combine. When they don’t, they face challenges alone.

The game doesn’t ask, “Who is the best?”
It asks, “What can we build together?”

Young Asgardians is a collaborative storytelling role-playing game.

One player takes on the role of the Narrator, who gives the world its shape, color, and texture by describing what the characters see, hear, smell, and feel. The players portray young Asgardian children their own age, making choices that shape what happens next.

The Narrator describes the world.
The players create the story.

Cooperation replaces competition: victories are shared, setbacks are solved together

Every player matters! Everyone is useful!

Growth through play: children practice resilience, communication, and problem-solving without even realizing it

The rules are intentionally simple so kids can focus on imagination, choice, and play. The rules stay small so the imagination of your players can become giant. Most of all, the rules reward collaboration, which, in turn, shapes player choices. 

The guide also includes tips for Narrators to help children shine together!

Young Asgardians takes place in the branches of Yggdrasil, the One Tree that holds many worlds together.

In this first edition, we begin with three realms:

Asgard – the home of the gods, where young Asgardians are learning who they might one day become

Midgard – the world of mortals, full of everyday lives, quiet bravery, and stories that matter

Jotunheim – the land of giants, vast and wild, where difference, challenge, and growth are found

Other realms rest in the branches of the One Tree, waiting to be discovered in future expansions.

Connecting these realms is the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge between gods and mortals.

In Young Asgardians, the Bifrost is more than a road between places. It represents connection.

Travel between Asgard and Midgard is not only possible, it is meaningful. Young gods and mortals influence one another. Stories, choices, and emotions carry across worlds.

The Bifrost reminds players that:

• The gods are not distant
• Mortals are not insignificant
• Connection matters as much as power
  
  Stories don’t stay in one world. They travel as far as the players want to go.

In Young Asgardians, characters don’t begin as powerful heroes.

They begin as Asgardian children, each of them the god of something. What they are the god of is revealed through play and exploration. 

Along the way, each character discovers a unique item tied to their personality and growth - not just strength or power, but qualities like courage, patience, and self-control.

The game doesn’t tell players who to be.
It creates the conditions where growth happens naturally.

• Children ages 6–10
• Parents and educators who are looking for cooperative play options.
• Storytellers and role-players of all experience levels
  
  No prior role-playing experience is required!

The rules of Young Asgardians are written and playtested. Battle-tested, even!

This Kickstarter exists to fund:

• original artwork
• professional layout and design
• printing and digital distribution
  
  Backing this project helps bring Young Asgardians into the world in a thoughtful, complete form.

This is a Make 100 campaign, meaning that our goal is simply to pay for the production of the first 100 boxed sets, including the guidebook, Narrator screen, and dice. 

Your feedback, insights, and stories will shape:

• future adventures
• expanded realms
• refined rules & guidance
• higher-quality physical editions

By supporting now, you help determine how Young Asgardians grows and why.

 You are part of the world from the very beginning.

Our journey starts here, together.

Frank Fradella is a graduate student in counseling, a game designer, an artist, and a parent.

Young Asgardians as originally created as a game for his own children and grew into a broader exploration of how systems, incentives, and stories shape behavior, collaboration, and identity.

Young Asgardians is a game, not a therapy tool.
It is designed to encourage imagination, cooperation, and shared storytelling in a way that feels natural, playful, and fun.