Oddbean

I think tabletop roleplaying games (e.g. D&D, Pathfinder, etc) are great, and it has been nice to see them gain some popularity over the past decade. I've been emphasizing them as a hobby over the past couple years for a few reasons. -All of my work is quantitative, so for hobbies I like totally different things. Fantasy, basically. Spreadsheets during the day, slaying evil clerics at night. -I sit at a computer much of the day. I've been minimizing computer gaming over the past five years because I don't want my hobbies to also be at a computer. Outside hobbies are ideal, but for inside hobbies at least I don't want to be close to a screen or to have constant pressure on my wrist/shoulder from using a mouse. -They are mathematically-involved strategy games in combat, combined with character decision-making outside of combat. Rather than read a fantasy novel, a player can participate in one. Active participation rather than passive consumption. Active, strategic, whimsical, and social.

I played D&D almost 40 years ago with school friends. These adventures were great. I still remember well the battle when we conquered a pirate ship. Teamplay with different strength and special abilities at its best. But also very emotional when someone died.

We lately use computer more in tabletop gaming too. Rolemaster is a lot more easy to handle with it and Fantasy Grounds makes remote playing a breeze. I do admit remote play takes something away, but you play with what you got.

Cannot but agree. I've been playing D&D for 30+ years and I don't plan to quit anytime soon. Also, I can't wait for my children to be old enough for the full version. As for now, we play the "reduced" version, and fortunately they like it!

I'd recommend https://www.ironswornrpg.com/ and https://www.ironswornrpg.com/product-ironsworn-starforged they're solo RPGs and pretty fun for casually scratching the itch when you don't have a group. more like generative fiction than number-crunchng though

I've been wanting to start a campaign with my kids for similar reasons. But do you use just paper/pencil or do you use character sheet aids on a tablet/phone? It sort of defeats the purpose, but also might make it easier for my kids to get into it. I'm also curious to hear from any parents who have tried to get their kids into table top RPGs. It has not been as easy as I had hoped.