What is D&D?

  Unlike many of its videogame counterparts that often have predetermined narratives, themes, or characters, D&D’s flexible ruleset gives players creative agency over the game world they inhabit, thereby enabling them to explore stories that are unique, and that cater to their own interests and playing styles. In D&D, you can do and be whatever you want. Created in 1974, D&D was often viewed as a niche and overly complex high fantasy hobby, further maligned when it became embroiled in the ‘Satanic panic’ of the 1980s. However, the play and reception of D&D has evolved dramatically since then. D&D’s publishers, Wizards of the Coast, have publicly committed to creating a game that presents ‘humanity in all its beautiful diversity’. They proclaim, ‘we want everyone to feel at home around the game table and to see positive reflections of themselves within our products’ (Wizards of the Coast, 2020).

Highly popular among teens and young adults, D&D offers an enjoyable and social escape from the stresses of the pandemic, but more than that, it can challenge players to reflect on themselves and their real worlds through rich learning experiences that are organically embedded within the game.