The Importance of Roles and Playing, a Tabletop Gaming Story
If you’ve been reading the blog (or part of the Dungeons & Dreamers Google+ page), you’ll know that we’ve been having a discussion about the importance of “role playing” in role-playing games.
As a storyteller, I find the role play to be most important in any communal game. How people react to each other and to the story determine just how much fun people have.
So it’s been fun to read the pluck out of the news some of the ideas we’ve been discussing this week. For instance, the joy of introducing somebody to the idea of role playing.
My daughter knows nothing about RPGs. The closest she’s played is Zelda, which is honestly not a true RPG. (Don’t hurt me.) In these last few weeks, it was my pleasure to start teaching her the basics of role playing games.
We don’t just play these games at home. These are meant to be played in groups, and so these games are popping up in places not normally associated with RPGs. One place where these games are being played: libraries. While comic book stores have hosted these types of tabletop games in the past, libraries have embraced the storytelling and community components of them as well.
Library makes plans for National Library Week
“It’s always good to have these monthly gaming sessions because it’s always a delight to see the kids interact,” said library director Kevin Marsh. “These gaming sessions are always a refreshing way to bring new interest to the library.”
It’s important to remember that these games aren’t just relegated to childhood. I would venture to guess that more adults play tabletop games than younger kids (although I don’t want to have a big fight about it.)
And if you’re going to play a big, communal game of Dungeons & Dragons, what better place to do it than surrounded by people who are already drinking and making shit up anyway: the bar.
Where to Unite Your Inner Beer and Board Game Geekery
Many closet gamers, having survived puberty relatively intact, now find equal revelry in the world of craft beer. The overlap between board geek and beer geek is considerable, so an organization has formed to meet the needs of those who love a round of Settlers of Catan as much as a tulip glass of Belgian Quadrupel.