Tabletop gaming has seen an explosion in popularity in the last decade. Board games, RPGs (roleplaying games), card games, and strategic miniature games have all flourished in our modern “Nerdaissance.” These games are fun – but more than just entertainment both feeds and flows from the hobby. Tabletop games present challenges that players must overcome either individually or collectively – both from of the intricacy and parameters of the games themselves, and from interactions with other people, striving for the same or opposing goals and objectives.

Games connect you with other places and times, both real and fantastic, and immerse you in worlds in more inter- active ways than movies, tv, or even books. The very best games use mechanics and materials to engage you with the world and time in which they are set, showing you its colors, textures,language, conceits,  and creations. They also put reading and research into a relevant and accessible context that both intrigues and inspires. In short, games promote literacy – written and cultural – by inviting players to live in them, a few hours at a time.

Board games have been with mankind a long time, as diversions, demonstrations,  and teaching tools. Today, we know that games provide fantastic opportunities to connect learners with a wide variety of concepts. They allow students to test out and explore ideas in a safe and fun environment where victory and defeat – whether competitive or cooperative – reveal their consequences in a low-stakes environment. Games encourage players to think creatively. Open-world games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, promote risk-taking and trying almost anything. Traditional board games, miniatures games, and card games, provide more structure, but no less impetus for creativity as they require players to think creatively to solve problems within the strictures of the game. But beyond the games themselves, the gaming hobby also teaches students and players to relate to and appreciate each other. Whether players work together against the environment or a common foe or against each other, they must pay attention to the skills, tools, and resources each other player (and in some cases the Game Master) possesses in order to make good decisions. When players invest in the game, they invest in the material. They feel more connected to the subject being studied, and have a deeper understanding of it. Most importantly, they discover they care about it.