We have all spent hours scrolling through Netflix’s library only to end up empty-handed. There are too many streaming choices and genres within each platform. Especially with Covid, I think we all need a break from the usual forms of entertainment. 

Here’s your wake-up call! If you aren’t playing tabletop games, you are missing out on hundreds of hours of inexpensive and sometimes free entertainment! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, hear me out. 

Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs) are a type of game where you sit around a table with your friends using dice and character sheets to build an interactive story. One player called the Game Master (GM) builds the world in which you play, controlling all of the monsters and non-player characters or NPCs. The rest of the group each builds a character and works together to explore and go on adventures in the Game Master’s world. 

Take this example. Say you have an elf wizard who wants to shoot fire in the face of an incoming zombie. You roll, add your character’s special bonuses, and get a total of 20 while you only needed an 11 or above to hit the monster. Say goodnight to the zombie because you just saved your party members. 

There are plenty of games like this with different genres and styles. Dungeons and Dragons is the popular fantasy option made mainstream again by, ironically, the Netflix hit Stranger Things. There is also Starfinder for sci-fi buffs, Call of Cthulhu for some horror, and many more. 

Most groups I have been in or seen get together once a week and play for 2-3 hours. This is called a session, and multiple sessions make up a campaign. Each session builds on the last to make a big, cohesive story full of fun, excitement, suspense, and more. This is hours of fun with your friends that you get to create together! 

Some tabletop shows and podcasts are popular on apps like YouTube, Spotify, and Twitch. For example, Critical Role is arguably the most popular Dungeons and Dragons show in the world. They broadcast on Twitch every Thursday and play for about 3-4 hours with well over 100 episodes in their campaigns. There is also Androids & Aliens, a Starfinder podcast on Spotify with one-hour long weekly episodes. Each of these shows is unique, unpredictable, and exhilarating with hundreds of hours of edge-of-your-seat excitement.

Whether streamed or with your friends, tabletop games are a great way to have fun and experience something new. You can’t turn down the possibility of this much cheap fun, so try a tabletop game today!