The Benefits of TTRPGs

Or, Why is this a great hobby for Kids?

Here at Bristol Adventurers’ Guild we believe that Roleplaying Games like Dungeons & Dragons are a great hobby for children and young people, because they give kids the opportunity to PLAY, MEET, BUILD, and CREATE.

PLAY

First and foremost, roleplaying games are just a whole lot of fun! From exploring a sunken pirate ship, delving deep into dungeons, or climbing to the top of a mountain, the adventure possibilities are truly endless!  It’s well documented that play is essential for children’s wellbeing, and that doesn’t stop being true as they get older, teenagers and adults need to play too! 

MEET

Tabletop Roleplaying Games like Dungeons & Dragons, are a great way for kids to socialise and make friends. Our games range in group size from 2 – 5kids, which gives everyone the chance to participate and really get to know each other. There’s nothing like the search for lost treasure, or working together to protect a village from a fire breathing dragon to help build lasting and meaningful relationships! But there is so much more to it than having fun with your mates!

BUILD

There are a whole range of skills which kids can build on whilst playing TTRPGs!

Empathy and Social Skills

Tabletop RPGs can help children to empathise and understand other people’s point of view. These skills allow us to understand and adapt our behaviours based on the responses of those around us. It’s important to remember that a player’s character in games such as these will likely have a very different background and viewpoint from the player themselves. By roleplaying through the different social interactions, we aim to develop the kinds of skills that will help our players in the real world. Will they bump into an angry ogre who they have to convince not to eat them in the real world? Hopefully not, but we all encounter short tempered waiters, upset colleagues and impatient friends.

Team Building

Unlike traditional board games, in Tabletop RPGs players aren’t working against each other to win, but in fact take on the role of a team of heroes working together to complete a particular quest. Some of the obstacles our players will come across simply can’t be overcome by one person, but our stories are designed to be played through with groups of players working together.

Resilience

It is important to realise that in RPGs, like in life, things don’t always go to plan. A lot of the outcomes in our games are decided with the roll of a dice, which might not always go your way. But being able to pick yourself up after a run of bad luck is a great trait to have!

Confidence

Playing a tabletop roleplaying game can be a great way to help kids build their confidence, especially around public speaking. The small group of players helps create a trusted safe space, and pretending to be a character can help kids feel able to express thoughts and feelings they might find more difficult to show when being themselves.

Maths

Most TTRPGs involve a little bit of basic maths, such as adding and subtracting, so this can be great practice for kids who might not be so confident in this area, and since they’re having so much fun they might not even notice that they’re doing maths!

CREATE

Playing a Tabletop RPG is an amazing creative outlet for kids’ imaginations! First of all they will create a character for themselves, and then together with the DM and the other players they will collaboratively create an exciting adventure story together! The game is played through narrative description and roleplaying, so kids will be using their imaginations to visualise the monsters and mayhem, and developing their creative writing skills as they describe their character’s actions, thoughts and feelings.

We hope that this has convinced you that playing D&D is a great thing for children and young people to be doing, and if it has, why not join one of our groups? Suitable for ages 8+, all of our groups consist of 2-4 children of a similar age and are run by trained Dungeon Masters. We can also run one-to-one games for children who might struggle with a group setting. Email info@bristoladventurersguild.co.uk to find out more.