Dungeons and Dragons is a game in which various players create fantasy characters, while the Dungeon Master creates a world that these characters live in. Using dice to determine if they succeed at various goals, the players adventure through a fantasy world, fighting monsters, gaining treasure, and creating a story together. The game has existed and been popular for nearly five decades. 

Each player creates a character sheet describing who their character is and their strengths. The Dungeon Master maps out where they are, and with each player making their characters’ decisions, adventure through the world, occasionally rolling dice to determine if they succeed at killing a monster or breaking down a door. It is still played by many, including the members of Beth Tfiloh’s Dungeons and Dragons club, run by Ryan Silien 24’ and Ami Adler 24’, the dungeon masters.

They meet every two weeks on Sundays to have a full session and occasionally at lunch in school for a quicker one. They build a story together over the course of a year. But the thing that Ami says he likes most is “the social aspect of the game”. The goal of the game is not to win, it is to enjoy having fun with your friends and to create an interesting story. 

D&D is a very unique game in that respect, as it is not a game about rules. It is an open concept game of discovering a magical place. You are not following the rules to score points, you are talking to various fantasy people to understand how to reach the dragon in the tower and defeat it. You are playing the roles of people in an ever-changing world, and can do whatever you would like to accomplish.

This is the heart of the game that, though it was created nearly fifty years ago, is still played by high schoolers. It is a game that transcends time, because the heart of the game is making up a story with your friends. The game is more than just a game, it is a world that you build together, talking together and hanging out together as much as playing a game.