Elisabetta Golzio
We thank Fabio Bianchetti for the Eihwaz physical manual sent to us for this review.
You can find it on Amazon in Kindle format at the price of 4.90 euros or in physical edition at the cost of 15.60 euros (in Italian only).
Looking carefully at the cover, we can read the subtitle Roleplaying in Educational Contexts. What does this mean? This is indeed a special product, designed for teachers and educators for a target audience ranging from 4 to 10 years old. Let’s take a closer look at it.
Eihwaz Review: Roleplaying as a Pedagogical Tool
Role play has been a technique used in psychology since the 1930s, well before the advent of roleplaying games. It should come as no surprise, then, that it could be used in education as a means of analogical mediation. “Putting yourself in someone’s shoes” will help children confront aspects of life that are sometimes frightening, without the anguish of experiencing them firsthand. Understanding your character’s emotions from a privileged perspective will also help us name what is usually most difficult due to the over-involvement typical of childhood.
Roleplaying is an ideal educational tool for developing Theory of Mind. It’s about the ability to understand that those around us may have different emotions and thoughts than our own, something that isn’t always obvious even among adults.
Character Creation and Game Mechanics
The approach to character creation will vary depending on the audience. Children who can write will have a physical character sheet, with some distinctive features (how they’re imagined, what they can do) but without any specific numerical characteristics. For younger children, however, this process will be purely descriptive, perhaps aided by specific questions like “Who are you?”, “What’s your name?”, “What do you look like?”, and so on.
In the world of Eihwaz, we won’t need to roll dice, so we won’t have to fear failing tests due to luck. Children will play the role of the Dyre, the heroes of these lands who will act to save them from oblivion. Twenty different adventures await, charting a challenging path to overcome in order to regain lost peace.
Stories and Trials
The narrative unfolds, as we’ve already mentioned, through 20 different stories. At the beginning of our session, preferably in a circle, we’ll read together the introduction to the day’s adventure. From here on, the children’s imaginations will take over, leading us to places where we can’t always follow the story’s thread. But that’s precisely the beauty of Eihwaz: giving us the freedom to explore any path and see where it takes us.
The manual offers numerous ideas for tests and puzzles to help us in this endeavor. Miming, creating magic potions, inventing a spell, and memory games that can be challenges against the creature in question are just a few of the suggestions. Children will always know how to find an alternative.
Eihwaz Review: the Test
As a preschool teacher, I have tried my hand at perhaps the most challenging group, as it is at the limit of the required age: four-year-olds.
Eihwaz accompanied us for several weeks during the drama workshop and was immediately welcomed with enthusiasm by the children. Re-experiencing the characters and familiar surroundings week after week gradually made them feel more at ease, unlocking their full potential.
In the second story, for example, we dealt with a prince who was saddened by the fact that his mechanical bird had broken. Despite various options, the playgroup of 10 children decided to try to rebuild it for him, because they could relate to the loss of a pet. No sooner said than done: in a few minutes, each child contributed their building blocks to recreate the little bird. But if you think that was the end of the story, you’re sorely mistaken. Satisfied with their creation, they recognized that it wouldn’t be possible to create the exact same bird anyway. So they decided to stay with the prince and comfort him for as long as needed.
Each story is accompanied by several drawings representing the scenes of the tale in question. As a completely personal choice, I decided to show them to them only at the end of each session to ensure that each child, initially, was free to imagine what they wanted.
Token Economy
At the end of the manual, there are also some medals to color, perfect as a prize at the end of the workshop. In some cases, they were very useful; in others, they preferred something that had a clear connection with what they had interpreted.
For example, in the story of the bandit who hid his heart, in order to go to the guardian who protected it, we had to wear a special ribbon on our wrist. So, we’ll all return home with it, explaining to our parents how it symbolizes our heroism.
Conclusions of the Review of Eihwaz
Fabio Bianchetti, author of Eihwaz, is a pedagogue and educator, and this is fully evident in the pages of his work. Nothing is left to chance, and the themes delicately address everyday issues.
The aesthetic and layout of the manual are very basic, typical of a self-produced volume, but they do not detract from the value of the narration.
Illustrations, edited by Jacopo Maltoni, are cartoonish and black and white, making them age-appropriate for the players in terms of simplicity. The only colored element is the manual’s cover.
I’d love to see Eihwaz as a laboratory experiment in schools, summer camps, or, why not, in the hands of a parent passionate about roleplaying games who wants to entertain their children and their classmates in a different kind of afternoon. It’s up to us, and us alone, to nurture the future gamers of tomorrow.
