[mayhem1703]

Hopefully this doesn't sound stupid or petty.

I just started running a bi-weekly game at my flgs, and put out a post on the fb group that we were open to more players (we have 3 plus me so far). Only nibble I got is from a 15yo male, and all the players are mid to upper 30s (I am 43 myself). I don't want to be a jerk. I would like to let him in, but worry the subject matter is not proper for a teenager. Effectively, I am worried about his parents deciding that we are contributing to the delinquency of a minor, especially as the group is in the process of trying to set up a protection racket and effectively become a new mob family.

Any thoughs of how I should handle this? I know part of this is my fault for not putting an age limit on the request, it honestly never occurred that a teenager would reply. My bad there.

[Carmody]

I started Shadowrun when I was 16 year old. We were only teenagers around the table however.
It did not cause any problem, none of us turned delinquent   

For me two kind of issue can occur:
   - issues with his parents, as you mentioned, in that case the best is maybe to discuss with them beforehand (just let him know, if he does not want it will solve your problem)
   - issues within the group, playing with a teenager may not work, just because you and him may not agree on the level of "realism" / "grittiness" you want in the game. On the other hand, it may be very refreshing, who knows.

[Sphinx]

Follow the motion picture rating system. If your games would be rated R (language, sexual situations, depictions of extreme violence, drug abuse, etc. ... think Deadpool, John Wick, or Tarantino films), then it's probably not okay to include a minor unless one of his parents also participates AND you have a frank discussion about tone and content ahead of time.

On the other hand, if your games would be PG-13 (rare F-bombs, mostly "tame" violence, nothing too grim or gritty ... like the Ocean's 11 or Fast & Furious franchises), then it's probably okay for younger players. To be on the safe side, I'd still insist on at least a phone conversation with one of the kids' parents to address any concerns they might have about their offspring hanging out with people twice his age.

When I run games at conventions, I try to keep the atmosphere equivalent to episodes of "Leverage" or "The A-Team." I occasionally have younger players (as young as 13 accompanied by a parent). When kids are present, I remind the older players to "keep it clean," and no one's ever had any trouble with that.