So we have Dungeons and Dragons games at our library twice a month. The group is a great geeky  crowd. Pretty much like us at work, so its like having family over.

James works at my library, and is the originator and founder of the club.  He met a fellow D&D gamer and through their conversations put together a game day at our library. It was a great success and its been a strong and growing group every since.

How does it work? Well, when I go watch the games, I'm always amazed at how intricate it is. The board is actually a large map…or should I say  maps. Lotsa maps!  They like topography and figurines to represent all manner of beast and ghoulish opponents. Think Lord of the Rings. The DM is the narrator and administrator who directs the game but never interferes. Danny our first DM who runs the younger group has on his laptop a music soundtrack to follow the game. He'll play different cuts if the action picks up, or moody scary if they’re in a crypt trying to find their way out. We have it hooked up to our flat screen there in the teen space where they play. Players take on a role and type of character, so that within that character they are bestowed certain levels of  strength, possessions, weaponry etc. (Please excuse or illuminate if and when I blunder on this subject. lol!!! )
Anyway, characters have a set of dice which are of various shapes (they bring their own),  and a rubric like piece of paper; sort of like an intense cheat sheet upon which to consult.

What are D & D players like? Well…lemme see. Many are the kind of people that think a little bit before they answer you. Intelligent.  Readers most of them;  Science Fiction/Fantasy types. I like that. They probably have collections of stuff and I think thrive on the creative aspect of the game. Its about thinking on your feet, reacting to what springs from the roll of the dice. But also knowing your character and your “package” and making your move accordingly. They have patience and can concentrate. There are so many things to put together and factor in. I sat watching just gripping the cheat sheet squinting at it for half and hour! My God!

And I wasn't even playing.

Like they'd let me play. psshhh

There are some gamers that just use the room as the game board and you visualize the scene just as you do on a flat plane of a map. Cool. It’s a mental exercise to play and yet the play goes on through-out the day. I mean hours they play! Arriving around mid-morning they stay all day, breaking for lunch and migrating out by closing time yet still together. At their last meeting,  they had moved out to the small courtyard as we locked up at five. They were hanging around the DM who was reading from an open book. Most were sucking on long awaited smokes. Junkies for the game.

 D&D gamers just keep playing as they get older, so there are quite a few twenty and thirty somethings that play. I’m working on getting more game manuals in the library. It’s technical reading and absorbing too so its definitely something I want. 

 Here's the link to their site. If you feel like donating D&D books contact them!