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I play role-playing games because I have found no better way to embrace my imagination, participating in and creating a whole different world all at once. All the elements of a friendly gathering merged with the riveting fascination of reading a great novel, all wrapped up in a limitless open-ended creative session. A good gaming night is better than any poker game (in fact I have had in character poker games during an RPG that were the equal of a Las Vegas table game, and for higher stakes!).

Why play role-playing games as opposed to board games? The fun of getting together with friends or family is the same, but the difference between rolling a die and moving spaces on a board and rolling a die to see whether you've successfully managed to kill a dragon and in the process become legend? No more space is needed, and little more rule comprehension. Many RPG gamers start playing barely into double-digits in age (and some younger). The essential ingredient is imagination, and young people have more than their share.

I won't go deeply into the advantages of playing a game at home (or wherever you choose to play) as opposed to going out to a bar. The potential dangers of drunk-driving, the costs involved, and the waste of time repeating conversations you have had a hundred times far outweigh the only real advantage, potentially meeting people of the opposite gender whose morals are inhibited by alcohol. If you are lucky enough to have someone of the opposite gender (or even the blessed luck to have a spouse) in your gaming group then even this dubious advantage evaporates.

Lastly, why play RPG instead of a video game? It can loosely be argued that you can make friends in the online community, or have some interaction with an MMORPG, but that equates a Saturday date night with chatting on Facebook. And in the end, someone else wrote the story for your video game, even the open-ended scenarios in MMORPGs. Only in face-to-face RPGs do YOU create the story, moment to moment, and some of the best sessions are completely improvisational.

I remain close friends to this day with my gaming group from twenty years ago, though sadly we don't play any more. But those days-long sessions, drug-free mind-expanding adventures, remain great and fond memories for all of us. No other social experience remains with us like that, with very few exceptions. I can think of nothing safer, and mentally healthier, and would not trade one day of playing for anything (well, except for the day I met my wife, but that's another story....).

Learn more about this author, Benjamin Lomax.
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