One of the things that many RPG players learn in time is to listen… to watch… to ask questions… and then take action. Those players who run into rooms without first listening at the door? Smart players learn to make smart decisions, and hopefully this practice will carry over into real life. But bad decisions will be made.
And a roleplaying game is the perfect place for kids to have the full mantle of responsibility put on their shoulders. Parents and other adults can step back and let these young players make mistakes, perform questionable actions, and take extreme risks… and know that the end results will only affect the health of a fictional hero.
They are so tuned into the game that they have tuned out the world. This is good and bad. Kids have a tough time in their social circles. Kindness to others is often something that is made fun of when displayed where kids congregate. I think of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and how he was both a despicable character and one that managed to inspire pity.
RPGs give players a chance to do things that are unexpected, and this often plays out in ways the GM cannot predict. And players often do this without worry of how their fellow players will react. Players in RPGs know that there are times when the evil-looking creature is just that: evil-looking.
But not evil-acting. RPGs allow young players and really ALL players to feel sympathy and show mercy to see if they get a positive result without risk of ridicule. RPGs are fictional games. Anything can happen. And this allows players, young and old, a chance to try out actions they might not normally get to do in real life. I personally know a player who who makes hard decisions every day at his job, that is always leading meetings and having to be the group leader.
When he played at my table, he played a quiet wizard who stayed in the shadows and examined and listened to everything. He or she was often the quiet student or the one who is marginalized in school. The outcast. But put them at a table playing a dwarf barbarian or an elven wizard and they were saving lives, defeating dragons, and making discoveries that historians would write about and bards would sing songs.
These are the kids who should be playing RPGs. Bed time. Flu shot. Home by 9. No YouTube. The list goes on. Of course, many of the rules and limitations we put on our children are for their safety and health whether they understand the dangers or not. But the fact remains that kids often have very little control over their day-to-day lives. As adults, many of us have forgotten just how fenced-in our lives felt as kids, with few decisions other than maybe where we want to eat or what to wear to school.
RPGs have no fences. A good improvisational GM can allow young players to do all sorts of craziness whether it kills the character or not , and adults watching kids play RPGs will often be shocked at how the kids let loose. I try not to limit my younger players, and when it comes to kids at my table I try to be as supportive of their proposed actions as I can, including praising unique solutions. RPGs have a long history, and I hope that they continue to grow and expand.
But without players, an RPG is dead in the water. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy recently vocalized this on Twitter and nailed it: 6. It hurts. So in my sparse free time the thought of doing more emotional labor by talking about real-life problems can sometimes be draining.
Structured, cooperative game play like TTRPGs, and other activities like sports where there is an element of teamwork, also helps fill the basic human need to belong to a group or community and increases achievement motivation through the pursuit of shared goals to which the players are mutually committed. But not all activities can achieve all of those things at the same time and can be done digitally without detriment to the experience.
Playing tabletop RPGs has the auspicious advantage of being very social and easy-to-do while social distancing. Aside from our current medical and economic woes, a number of articles have commented on the current and future mental health crisis which had been brewing anyway but has now been given an injection of steroids. The question of how to address this mental health crisis is too big a topic to even begin approaching in this article.
Unfortunately, therapy, despite its importance, is not nearly as accessible to as many people as it should be. A small body of research has looked at the therapeutic applications of TTRPGs over the years with some promising results. But things like emotional catharsis and giving outward form to feelings are just as helpful in everyday, non-clinical contexts as they are in clinical ones. How do you even survive emotionally at a time like this, let alone go beyond survival and do things to help?
To believe that this is possible, that we are capable of doing it, requires self-efficacy. The problem is that many of us struggle with self-efficacy to some degree even during the best of times. COVID therefore has effectively obliterated our sense of self-efficacy. McGonigal, once again, has written extensively about how games in general boost self-efficacy. Here too the literature is sparse, but there is some of it and it does show connections between TTRPGs and self-efficacy.
This is because in Trail of Cthulhu success often depends on the judicious spending of skill points, which every player has, as opposed to leaving it to chance via random rolls of the dice.
This is a surreal time when many have lost income, entire jobs, and perhaps even our health seemingly out-of-nowhere. People have been robbed of agency, personal power, and control. Recovering a sense of self-efficacy is therefore vital for not just getting through this but to face the challenges that yet lie ahead. You might say that self-efficacy is therefore the foundation for action because it is the belief that our actions are even worth taking. And right now, more than ever, we need people to believe that they are.
And I would argue that what largely determines who becomes closer and who gets farther apart are ideological factors which, in turn, are often determined by lines of race, class, gender, etc. There is one thing I feel certain about and it is this: we are in a critical juncture of our journey together as not just a society but as an entire species. Things were already urgent enough with the crisis of climate change alone. Now we have this pandemic and its innumerable ripple effects on top of that.
Will we now be able to balance the needs of our economy, not to mention our clashing ideologies, with the equally urgent needs of our planet? Given the current political and cultural climate, that is a tall order to say the least. Here are some of the ways in which they can help:. Granted, I think it helps to have harmonious dynamics within a group of players. Resilience is being able to return to a previous level of functioning after a period of intense stress. Studies have found that both formal religions, when practiced healthily, and general spirituality can boost resilience as well as stress-related growth.
But w hile these are nice findings, what about the considerable and growing number of people who identify as secular? Are these benefits unavailable to them? But there are some benefits that overlap and can therefore complement your religious practice, if you have one no more Satanic Panic!
The first benefit is that TRPGs can be a source of feelings of awe. Thank you, all three of you. I never considered how roleplaying games can teach problem-solving. My son likes to play roleplaying games but is growing tired of the one he has. I will be sure to find a good place to buy and sell RPGs so that I can continue to foster a problem-solving environment. Your email address will not be published. Calling all Writers!
Come write for Gnome Stew! We are always looking for new articles and gnomes to throw in the stew. Through our partner Engine Publishing, we've published six system-neutral books for GMs, with over 28, copies sold.
Available in print and PDF. Through our partnership in the G. What Is a Roleplaying Game? With that out of the way, here are 10 ways that roleplaying games have been a positive force in my life: 1.
Roleplaying Teaches Problem-Solving A lot of what gamers do when they get together is team up to solve problems, another skill that comes in handy in just about every other aspect of day-to-day life. Roleplaying Comes with a Social Network When you become a gamer, you make new friends. Running Games Teaches You a Host of Skills Running a roleplaying game for your friends what this site, Gnome Stew, is all about teaches you: planning, leadership skills, organizational skills, project management, decision making, situation analysis, storytelling, writing, and a wide range of other useful skills.
Gaming Builds Lasting Friendships Nearly all of my friends are gamers. Conclusion Both as a child and as an adult, gaming has played an overwhelmingly positive role in my life. Acknowledgment This article grew out of an email exchange with a Gnome Stew reader who had encountered prejudice about his roleplaying hobby from someone close to him. This post is brought to you by our wonderful patron Jennifer Kathleen , supporting us since November !
Thanks for helping us keep the stew fires going! Previous Wildly Different Culture Settings. Next The Rebound Game. About The Author. Martin Ralya A father, husband, writer, small-press publisher , former RPG industry freelancer , and lifelong geek, Martin has been gaming since and GMing since Check out our newest content!
Martin, Thanks very much for this list. Cheers, David Reply. You may also be able to find existing groups in your area by contacting your local game store, library, or community center, Lear adds.
Whether the kids are playing online or in person, Horne recommends that games are moderated by at least one adult to make sure the conversation stays respectful and that nobody is being bullied.
Adult moderators can also step into the game master role until one of the kids is experienced enough to step into the position. And having fun is more important than ever as kids continue to deal with the effects of the pandemic. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next How video games can help kids socialize during this isolated time.
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