MATTYDALE – With a blockbuster movie about to premiere, more people than ever before are interested in learning how to play Dungeons & Dragons. There’s no better place to learn than through Salina Library in Mattydale.
Dungeons & Dragons – known to fans as D&D – is a table top role playing game, or TTRPG.
It’s a fantasy game of make believe, with interactions being resolved with the help of polyhedral dice.
When the game was first published almost 50 years ago, players had no choice but to sit around a table together, rolling dice, scribbling on sheets of paper, and developing friendships that lasted years – and sometimes, decades.
“With the pandemic, in-person gaming came to a screeching halt, but technology has advanced a lot in the last few years, and virtual table top websites allow gamers to play together, regardless of their physical locations,” Janet Richards, adult Services coordinator at Salina Library, said.
While online classes and programs like Zoom have received the most attention for facilitating virtual get-togethers, many gaming-specific websites experienced phenomenal growth during pandemic lockdowns. Salina Library has an account with one of the largest of these sites – Roll20, named for the die most often used in table top games, one with 20 sides.
“Even folks who aren’t leaving their homes because of health issues, or for any other reason, can now play this very popular game,” Richards said. “We’ve lined up two experienced people willing to teach people how to play D&D, and to use the Roll20 virtual interface.  Our program is open to gamers of all experience levels. All you need is some way to connect to the Internet, and some way to send and receive voice streams.  If you’ve got a webcam, you can interact via video as well, if you like.”
For more information please email [email protected].