Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a board game made in 1974 by Gary Gygax and David Arneson. Gygax made this game around his love for fantasy books; he wanted people to experience the adventure that people read about in those books. D&D is a game all about storytelling. When people play this, there is a lot of freedom given to the player; it is often that people will be able to say or do whatever they feel during this game. 

To play this, you will need seven dice – virtual or physical. These dice consist of: d4, d6, d8, d10, d% (which is another d10, but for percentages), d12, and the most popular, d20. All of these dice have different roles when you play the game. The d4, d6, d8, d10, and d12 are mainly used to roll damage for magic attacks, while the d20 is used for actions; the higher you roll, the more success you will have performing the action. 

While only a minimum of two people are needed to play (a “dungeon master,” the guide for the campaign, and an actual player), many people play with groups of four or more. 

Before you begin the game, every one of the players must make a character or choose the character they wish to use. There are many classes you can choose from for your character, some of which are: cleric, paladin, wizard, druid, bard, and many more. 

Characters all have “proficiency traits,” which help when committing actions or speaking to non-playable characters (NPCs). Some of the traits are charisma, athletics, dexterity, intelligence, and a couple more. These are important because even if your roll is not high, you still have a chance of succeeding in your action depending on your proficiency traits.

Not only is Dungeons & Dragons a popular game, but the show “Stranger Things” is also based around the game and its monsters. This show has made D&D more popular from the amount of references made to it in the show and when the characters are shown playing it.

There are similarities in how the story of “Stranger Things” flows and how a game of Dungeons & Dragons would play out, each consisting of a group of tight-knit friends that embark on an adventure that end up becoming closer to each other over a series of dangerous events.

Dungeons & Dragons is more than just a game… It’s a way to embrace fantasy for yourself and create lifelong friendships at the same time.