By: Ryan Kasper
Now that students are returning to school and the pandemic seems to be nearing its end, we can look back on trends of the pandemic. Such as the continued rise of tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D.)
D&D is a fantasy role-playing game that was released in 1974 and is usually played face to face, but the game seems to have spiked in popularity over quarantine.
According to Google Trends, in California, D&D reached its peak popularity during April of 2020, roughly a month after schools started to close down.
“D&D is an amazing way to connect with friends, and when it was online, it was much easier to band together over messaging sites and play.”
Bailey Burdick (’24)
While some may have just wanted to talk and connect with friends, others may have wanted to escape to a different world, where they can adventure with friends. Braden Scott ’24 an avid D&D play says, “I think D&D became so popular over the pandemic because it gave people something to do, and that’s different than other activities because you’re bound only to the whims of your imagination.”
Since students couldn’t leave the house and hang out with their friends in real life, they decided to create characters and hang out that way. While it might be difficult to transition from an in-person game to something almost entirely digital, many players think they will continue playing online, even after they can start playing in real life again.
“Making the switch to virtual D&D, although weird at first, can still manage to capture the same experience one would have from playing face to face.”
Logan Anderson ’24
Out of all the things that put people off from Dungeons and Dragons, the main one is it’s the number of things to keep track of and shuffle through, like lists of spells, character sheets, dice, and rule books. With online sites like D&D Beyond, where you can quickly search up anything you need when you need it instead of having to flip through books, it has made life a lot easier for new and old players. Scott explains, “In person, you have to go through the books in the manuals and all that before the next turn, online you can just search it up.”
“I think after people are exposed to it [Dungeons & Dragons] during quarantine they will find out how fun it is and will continue to play it with friends in real life.”
Bailey Burdick
Even if you didn’t join the bandwagon during the lockdown, you can still start a game at any time and start playing with friends. “I would definitely recommend others try playing D&D at least once, it’s a very unique experience,” said Scott. D&D is a great way to have fun with your friends while also staying safe.
Ryan Kaspar
Ryan Kaspar ('24) is a four-year member of the Redwood Gigantea. They work as managing editor along with being a writer and editor for the News section.
You can reach them at ryan.kaspar05@gmail.com