Ciao lovelies! Today I have another Agere post for you all! Sorry that it’s been so long since the last one, but I think you will really like this! Have you ever had trouble deciding what to do with your toys when you’re regressed? Do you feel kind of annoyed because it’s hard to pick a game or prompt to go off for pretend play? Well, I’ve got 5 pretend-play prompts for age regressors to talk to you all about today! Let’s get into this and learn how to play pretend, agere edition!
Imaginative play is a super important and fun part of life. As children, imagination shapes your problem solving skills and provides tons of entertainment. But as we get older physically, even if we’re still children on the inside, getting that inspiration back can be very very tricky. Society is somewhat built to suppress imagination in “adults,” so it’s not uncommon to feel like you’ve “lost your imagination” as you get older. What I’ve found that helps me when I want to begin a session of imaginary play, is something to begin with, like a prompt! In this post, I’ve listed and described 5 of my favorite imaginary play prompts that can be used with toys, stuffies, or even just in journaling or drawing! These prompts are the ones I use most often and I enjoy the most. There’s no ranking here, just five ideas in a random order. I really hope these can help those of you who are looking for a place to start when you’re wanting to voluntarily regress!
Idea 1: Game Show!
This first idea is something I find super fun, and it’s easy to customize it to whatever you prefer. The idea is essentially, set up a game show for your stuffies, dolls, toys, etc, whatever you want to do! You can be the game show host, or choose a toy to be the host and announcer. When picking the contestants, try to give them fun back-stories to affect the game! Below this paragraph, I have a short “comic” type thing where I am playing this prompt! If you need some inspo, it’s a nice thing to look over!
I like using this idea in various ways. Sometimes it’s similar to “Total Drama Island” (like with my example above). Sometimes I frame it as a task oriented game show like “Wheel of Fortune” or “Jeopardy!” Other times, I set it up like a cooking show, similar to things like “Great British Bake Off” or “Chopped”.
You can also have fun with this by imagining the prizes or even crafting them! Sometimes I like to draw and cut out prizes like huge fake checks (like the ones on TV), or award badges. Other times, I like using a treasure chest as a “grand cash prize!” Adding my own touch to these things is really enjoyable and adds to the experience overall.
My last tip for this prompt is, the more outlandish and wild you make the contestants, the more fun you’ll have! Don’t be afraid to make certain characters fall into reality tv tropes, those sort of things are totally fun in this type of game.
If you’ve used a prompt like this before, comment below how you set up your game show! I would totally love to hear more ideas.
Idea 2: Deserted Island / Shipwrecked
Okay, so this next idea is something I like doing with smaller toys, so I can give them a big island to explore. I usually pick like 3-5 “characters” who get stranded on a deserted island together and have to figure out survival. Sometimes I have items they brought with them, but not always. This is a fun idea if you like camping or outdoorsy type stuff. It can totally be played outside, but that’s not required.
A tip for playing this inside: use blankets/towels to add different “zones” of play. For example, I like to use my orange Umaru blanket for sand type things, and blue towels or sheets for the ocean. This is helpful if it’s harder for you to visualize environments like that.
Some other ways to add to this prompt, I suggest having a variety of character types to play with. Not everyone can be amazing at survival stuff, and everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Giving everyone a different special skill can really help with that too. It’s fun to flesh out team dynamics in that way! It’s kind of like one-person-DnD.
It’s perfectly okay to use pre-established stories too! Sometimes I like to act out scenes from Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous with this prompt, or even have similar concepts to Jurassic Park 3. (I’m a huge Jurassic Park/World nerd, I know, lol!) There’s nothing wrong with using existing stories as a starting point or as a “script” of sorts. Imagination comes in all forms, and using inspiration is perfectly normal!
If you’ve played something like this before during your regression, (or childhood!), please comment below, I’d really like to hear the types of stories you use with your toys as well! I’m a huge fan of sharing concepts and ideas as a community, so hearing from you is always my favorite thing, and totally makes my day!
Idea 3: Detectives
This is one of my fave tropes/concepts in media, when a show has an episode where they have to solve a mystery! It’s super fun to watch and even more fun to act out. The way I like to play this one is usually pretty simple, but then escalates over the storyline.
Usually, I first pick out what type of mystery is being solved. Murder Mysteries can be good (more on that in Idea 4,) but I also like heists, conspiracies, ancient magic, stuff like that! After picking the type of mystery, I like picking 2 characters to be a “watson and holmes” type duo. Sometimes I bring in more characters to work with them, like random experts that are relevant to the type of mystery, key witnesses, etc.
One of my absolute favorite things to do in this scenario is adding in obstacles/roadblocks, the more absurd, the better. Art museum was robbed of their most valuable statue? 2 detectives begin the case, but the art museum’s cameras were off that day. Taking witness statements? Only two people saw the suspects, but neither person can see well without glasses, and neither were wearing them. Got a clue leading to an address? Turns out to be an ambush trap, and our detectives find out that this mystery is only the beginning to something bigger! Things like that really add to the story, and you can make them as crazy as you want, because you are the author of the story, so you can just invent any solutions to them that you want. It’s such an enjoyable thing to do.
A tip for this prompt, I enjoy modeling my detective characters off of Sherlock Holmes and Watson from the books, which means getting to give them funny voices and make them interact in fun ways. But you can make your detectives have any personality you want! Are you more of a fan of CSI? You can make serious policemen! Prefer something like Supernatural? Make them slightly snarky and quippy like Sam and Dean! It’s your story, so the tone is 100% up to you!
Similar to this prompt, you could also use the next idea, which is….
Idea 4: “Among Us” Style Mystery / Murder Mystery
This is something I remember playing very often as a bio kid, and now, as well. Starting with about 8-10 characters, who are somehow trapped within a house, ship, etc. Someone is murdered and nobody knows who did it. People keep disappearing or dying until the suspect is found, and nobody leaves until they know who was guilty. You can set this up to be similar to something like “Clue,” or even more similar to “Among Us.”
A tip I like for this prompt: select a character who is not guilty, but everyone thinks they are. Have them be super suspicious and mysterious, only to dramatically reveal that they are innocent.
Another fun tip: if you want a horror movie style thing (think like slasher films), select a character to fill the “final girl” trope (doesn’t have to be female though). This is the last person left alive who must face off against the killer in a dramatic final battle.
I like adding plot twists to these, because it adds so much fun to the story. Here are some of the plot twists I like to add to these stories:
- Someone has an evil twin, they are killed secretly and the twin replaces them until the very end.
- Someone in the group is working with the killer.
- Someone in the group witnesses a murder, but cannot speak and is in shock. They reveal the killer at the very end.
- The first person to die was of natural causes, everyone after that was just everyone turning on eachother.
- Nobody in the group is actually the killer, and the house is haunted, and a ghost is causing the deaths.
- Nobody actually dies, it’s all an elaborate prank on the sole “survivor” and this isn’t revealed until the end.
- Someone in the group disappears and is assumed dead, but reappears at the end to defeat the killer.
These sorts of stories are super fun to make overly-dramatic, and also super fun to give all the characters funny voices or weird reactions to events!
And now…. For the last prompt!
Idea 5: Exploring a New Planet
Maybe I’m a huge nerd, but I grew up enjoying Star Trek TNG and Voyager. My dad and I would watch whole seasons from DvD box sets we had while we ate flash boiled broccoli in the summer (because it was finally in-season!). My favorite characters were Data (from TNG), and Seven of Nine (from Voyager). A big part of my enjoyment of the show was when they would discover new planets or new life forms!
When I use this prompt, I typically use Star Trek as a basis for things like the space ship name, crew ranks, protocols, etc. I love having characters fight over the validity of the Prime Directive, and have intense moral debates. But that’s just me kind of being a dork. LOL.
To play this prompt, I suggest setting up an area you want to be the new planet. Laying down a blanket or towel in a fun color to be the surface of the planet, then use anything and everything to establish buildings, farms, etc. Make the planet anything you want!
Next, pick your explorers, I usually default to a group of 4-6. Select a mission leader, a science person, and if you want, a galactic ambassador!
Now, the explorers can visit the planet, being amazed by each new thing they see. You can have them make “audio logs” of their findings and take “readings” of new life forms! You can even have your explorers meet aliens and learn about new cultures and beliefs.
For extra fun, I like to have a scene or two with my explorers trying the new culture’s food. I use Monster High food props for this, mostly, but sometimes I also like to use playdough or floam to sculpt new foods for them.
You can make their adventure as perilous or as interesting as you want! Your explorers can encounter dangerous new weather patterns or plants, or they can have an enjoyable trip meeting new aliens, it’s totally up to you!
Thank you for reading this far! I hope these prompts can spark some fun for those of you who wish to use them! For everyone else, I hope you enjoyed reading about the scenarios I like when playing while regressed!
If you like my content here on the blog, and want to see more, I suggest visiting OFT’s YouTube channel for more awesomeness! I also have official OFT accounts on Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Also, if you’d like to support me and my content, I do sell merch! I sell designs on Redbubble, and I sell digital products (and offer freebies!) on my Gumroad. I do not use Etsy, I’ve seen some confusion around that, I’m still trying to remove my old account. It’s not active, and I don’t use it. ^-^’
Thanks for all the support from you lovelies! We have a pretty awesome community, and it’s all because of you! Thank you for keeping OFT’s online spaces positive, uplifting, and supportive.
And, thank you again for reading! And most importantly, please remember to stay awesome and love yourself! You are amazing just as you are, and you deserve so much love and support. I hope you all give yourselves the love and kindness that you show others.
See you in my next post, video, or whatever comes next!
4 Comments
I love your post they are so fun and really helpful. Thank you so much for making this and I hope to try some of these out next time I'm regressed
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reading! I'm so glad I could help, and I'm super excited to know what you think of these prompts while regressed! :)
DeleteOh my goodness this was so much fun to read, it actually felt like I was playing!! <3 the comic was so fun to read over too! The actually James Charles part killed me ahaha. As a child I was never so creative with my prompts, my play normally involved family type scenarios or mall visits. I wish I could have shared my own similar experiences, but I have these amazing (and so fun!) prompts now to explore in my life instead! :) thank you as always Luna, you always bring a smile to my face and happiness in my heart! <3
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked this post! Thank you for your amazingly kind comment, your support really makes my day! :) I'm also happy to hear that you liked the comic XD I was debating putting it in, but I decided to just for fun, and now I'm super glad I did! ^-^
DeleteType your thoughts here!