Dungeons and Dragons A world of Adventure!
Gameschooling is the practice of using games to learn. When you have fun while learning, you often retain information better! So why not take advantage of the many card, board and video games available—to absorb new information; practice life-skills like reasoning, team-work and losing with grace; and to keep the joy of learning alive?
By Aleisha Hobson
Game name: Dungeons and Dragons (DnD or D&D) Game Style: Fantasy roleplaying game
Description of Gameplay: A ‘Game Master’(GM) or ‘Dungeon Master’(DM) runs an adventure for characters that players have created. The success of everything they do in the game is decided by the roll of a dice!
Age Recommendation: I would say 6 and up, but it depends on the child. DnD kits recommend 12+. The game can move slowly so they need to be able to be patient and to listen. Being able to read and do basic maths makes it more involved for them, but they can always be helped out by a parent.
Number of players: 3 and up is best.
Time taken to play: We play for about 1-2 hours at a time, but the amount of time each ‘campaign’ takes is dependent on you. Some have a set time— say, three sessions; others go on for years!
DnD as a family
My husband and I have been playing DnD with friends for a year or two now, but we recently started playing with our sons, who are 7 and 10. As we sat around the table with the kids, bowls of snacks at the ready, our character sheets laid out in front of us alongside a set of interestingly-shaped dice, I realised that our family bonding and adventuring was a great activity, not just for fun, but for learning! (Shhh, don’t tell the kids!)
In this instance, I was running the game for the first time. Now, I am by no means as knowledgeable about the game as my husband, but I was able to create an adventure for the family that included a story I knew they would be invested in (a kidnapped sacred snake!) and I guided them through the story, having them solve riddles and visit a dungeon within which I included characters from their favourite video game—much to their joy! They discovered hidden secrets, translated runes to English, solved riddles and worked together as a team, and all the while they were doing maths without even thinking about it.
As a player, you are constantly using creativity and imagination—from dreaming up your character, deciding on their voice, personality and look (our kids like to draw their characters before we start), to envisioning the world that your characters are living in and the creatures and interesting people they meet along the way.
Great for teens
It is also a great game for teens; to quote my friend, Andrew, here, whose teen, Sebastian, runs a weekly game via Zoom with other home-educated kids:
‘It gives them an opportunity to roleplay making difficult choices without real world risk, and through those trials and challenges, imaginary as they are, grow closer in friendships, all while sitting at a table.’
Andrew’s wife, Cat, adds that through DnD, ‘Confidence with Sebastian went from social reluctance to having an agenda around which to socialise. This helped centre the interaction and meant there were shared expectations of the engagement’, which is ideal for kids who struggle to find something to talk about when thrown into a social setting.
How to play
Each character type has different strengths and weaknesses, so you choose based on how you would like to act in the game. Will you be a healer? A hunter? A fighter? A wizard? Once you’ve decided and created your character, the GM (Game Master) takes you on an adventure!
When an action occurs (for example, an ambush) the players take turns to decide what they want to do (whether it be attack, flee, talk, hide, etc.) then they roll a dice to find out whether that choice was effective or not—if they roll high, they’ll probably make a great attack. Roll low, and they might trip over a stone and fall over on the way into battle! It’s very unpredictable and funny at times, and it’s only limited by your imagination.
It took me a few days to think up the story and create the codes and riddles for them to decipher, so it was a great exercise in creativity for me as well, but if that sounds daunting, you can also buy DnD Essentials kits and professionally written DnD campaigns that usually come with maps and everything you need to be the Game Master.
We love DnD—it’s such a fun bonding experience for us to share with our kids, and knowing we’re covering a few Key Learning Areas with them just makes it all the better!
Give it a go!
Otherways 178 November 2023
