Tabletop Role Playing Games (TTRPGs) are games in which players take on the role of  fictional characters in a shared story facilitated by a Game Master (GM). While there are many games to choose from, the flow of TTRPGs is generally the same. The GM describes the world around you, what you see and hear, and you say what your character does. The GM narrates what happens as a result. Sometimes you will roll dice to find out what happens (which can be surprisingly fun!). This repeats as you explore a new world, meet exciting characters, uncover secrets, steal treasure, or save the day! 

 

Games are played with pencil and paper, and maybe maps and miniatures depending on the system. Sometimes the game takes place entirely in our imaginations in what is called “Theatre of the Mind”. Whatever supplies a game requires, these are fundamentally games about sitting around the table and telling stories with your friends. They take the structure of rules from board gaming and combine them with the creativity of the human imagination to produced fantastic and memorable results. 

 

These games come in a variety of types. Some focus more on the rules or “procedures” to hold up the reality of the fiction you are creating. Some rely more on improvisation or creative writing. Whatever way you could imagine having fun telling a story with your friends, there is a game system to accommodate it. You could pick a game based off the genre you find most interesting (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, contemporary), how complicated the rules are, or just what it feels like to play the game.