Parmandur
Book-Friend, he/him
Behind a paywall, bit the New York Times has an article up about D&D right now:
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D&D 5E (2014) New York Times Editorial: "In A Chaotic World, Dungeons & Dragons is Resurgent"
- Thread starter Parmandur
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abirdcall
(she/her)
Quote that the next time someone says that 5e isn't selling well.
I just clicked on the 'this is your 1 free preview' notification and it let me read the entire article.
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abirdcall
(she/her)
I don't think this is a statement about what is better or valid.
I think it's just a statement about what is contributing to the game's popularity.
I think in discussions of 5e's popularity people either discount or are not aware of the vast numbers of people who are quietly playing in their homes among their friends. I think this is the heart of the popularity. Some people introduce their friends to the game. They find it easy to learn and have a pleasant social experience. At some point they then introduce it to other friends and so on.
And then in time we have millions of people quietly playing in their homes visible only through sales numbers.
The rate of sales, not just the raw number of sales, continues to climb. I think it is through this word of mouth. Literal mouths, not messages on the internet.
Parmandur
Book-Friend, he/him
But VTT is a fairly small part of the 5E player base.
ccs
41st lv DM
Sure, staying in touch with your far flung friends is important & thank God for this marvelous tech.
But there's also something very important about the method as well.
We observe it all the time down at the local shop. D&D games, MTG, board games, miniature wargames..... People come in & see others having fun together. They watch, they ask a few questions. Someone involved in whatever's playing always takes time out to answer & talk to them about it. {we also have a standing practice of NEVER going negative about our games when talking them up - no matter what the BS crap rule/aspect/company policy that bugs the *** out of us is. Potential new person can figure that out later.} In the case of a lot of our minis games we'll often use part of our own turn to essentially run a demo.
We've done this with everyone ranging from 8 year olds to 70 year olds. People who've come in solely for parts for RC cars & are now watching WWII play out in 15mm. The bored GFs who're along as their guy is shopping for the latest greatest MTG cards. The parents/grandparents who've found their way in during Christmas shopping. Kids along with mom/dad & who're under orders "Don't touch anything!" - parent turns around & their kids taking a turn pushing our Space Marines into position....
etc.We repeatedly hear things like: "This is so much cooler than playing XBox/newest PC game at home!" "I remember when I was a kid we'd play games after dinner." (I presume they're talking family, mass retail games like Clue or such) "I played ___ back in college!" "I always wanted to try D&D". "OH I saw them playing this on {names TV show, maybe website}!" "My son would love this!"
In the case of the one old guy who's hobby had only ever consisted solely of building 1/35 scale etc model tanks "I never thought of playing a game with them." (Oh yes, we have a book for that!
) etc etc etc.If they seem interested we give them a card with what tends to play on what days.
Come join us. Come play.
* In the case of the miniature games: Look at it this way. As adults, we get to play with toys - and call it a hobby.
CapnZapp
Legend
I did not get that option.
I could, however, enter a phony email address, click through a series of obnoxious offers, and then read the article.
Select quotes:
But when he was hired in 2012, [Nathan Stewart] said, “it was really obvious that the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons was not ubiquitous. Everyone wasn’t loving it.”
Players from its 1970s-1990s heyday had grown up and moved on. Younger generations, embracing video games and smartphones as their escapism of choice, seemed indifferent or bored by D&D’s make-believe world of swords and sorcery, labyrinthine rules and polyhedral dice.
Now D&D appears to have been resurrected as if by a 17th-level necromancer.
Several factors — some engineered, others organic — led to D&D’s rebirth. The first was Wizard’s decision to reboot its rules system. The mainstreaming of geek culture has helped D&D, too. Being able to view actual D&D sessions on the internet, some featuring celebrities, have been instrumental to D&D’s growth. Another factor: older players who have gotten back into the game, teaching their kids to play.
Players from its 1970s-1990s heyday had grown up and moved on. Younger generations, embracing video games and smartphones as their escapism of choice, seemed indifferent or bored by D&D’s make-believe world of swords and sorcery, labyrinthine rules and polyhedral dice.
Now D&D appears to have been resurrected as if by a 17th-level necromancer.
Several factors — some engineered, others organic — led to D&D’s rebirth. The first was Wizard’s decision to reboot its rules system. The mainstreaming of geek culture has helped D&D, too. Being able to view actual D&D sessions on the internet, some featuring celebrities, have been instrumental to D&D’s growth. Another factor: older players who have gotten back into the game, teaching their kids to play.
The headline made me think the piece would argue for people turning to D&D in a world of political and environmental disasters, but AFAIK the closest the article came to connecting back to its title was this:
Therapeutically, D&D has emerged as a powerful spell of healing for those who struggle with social anxiety, autism and ADHD.
I wonder how many of these there have been now? We get a major news outlet covering D&D every three or four months now, it looks like. (The article is always very similar, expressing surprise at D&D's resurgence). Heck, the NYT already covered it in April.
www.nytimes.com
www.bbc.co.uk
www.nytimes.com
www.theguardian.com
www.washingtonexaminer.com
I'm sure there are more! Those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head.
Opinion | Why the Cool Kids Are Playing Dungeons & Dragons (Published 2019)
Fighting the dragon queen Tiamat is a much more satisfying way to spend time with my friends than social media ever was.
Dungeons & Dragons: The revival of a 'geeky' pastime
Games such as Dungeons & Dragons - once seen as the preserve of the uncool - are enjoying a revival.
www.bbc.co.uk
In a Chaotic World, Dungeons & Dragons Is Resurgent (Published 2019)
The role-playing game has made a surprising return to mainstream culture.
No more nerds: how Dungeons & Dragons finally became cool
TV’s Stranger Things and Game of Thrones have brought millions of new players to the classic fantasy game
www.theguardian.com
How Dungeons & Dragons still dominates
Over the past two decades, people increased their time online, spending twice as much time as before, with a full 24 hours out of every week spent in
www.washingtonexaminer.com
Dungeons and Dragons turns strangers to friends
Three tables of warlocks, spells, elves and dragons transformed Oxford’s Books & Brews into the world of Dungeons and Dragons this past Tuesday night. The 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. event was staged by Miami’s Theater Department to promote the upcoming play, “She Kills Monsters,” written by Qui Nguyen...
www.oxfordobserver.org
I'm sure there are more! Those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head.
Ruin Explorer
Legend
VTT is cool but I think he is right for the most part. My friends manage to get together regularly for D&D but, even though its much easier in a technical sense, there isn't the same enthusiasm for getting together to play online games, and that includes VTT. People want to actually get together when they can.
I also think it is worth noting that when I go to boardgame cafes in London, the vast majority of people there are under 30 (not over 40 like I suspect most of us are), and I know there are D&D groups forming in the same age range, from people who have no nostalgia for D&D, but like the idea and find it a good way to get together.
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