1. It’s a social outlet. It’s just hanging out with friends, making jokes, drinking beers and Coke while engaging in a common activity. People watch sports with their buds, they go to bars with their pals; I just happen to sit around a table and role funny dice. Gaming has actually led me to develop deep and lasting friendships with a lot of people. One of the guys I gamed with in Texas was a groomsman in my wedding. I served as an usher at Rich’s wedding here. For me, gaming has been a consistent social activity that’s led to lasting friendships.

2. It’s fun mental exercise. I like pretending. I like figuring things out. I like solving puzzles, coming up with tactics and scenarios, and testing my wits. Gaming lets me do all of these things. It poses a challenge and allows me to learn new things. I know D&D helped me develop my vocabulary, reading skills, and math ability when I was younger.

3. Most importantly, it let’s me participate in developing a story. I love stories. It’s why I’m drawn to novels, films, and comic books. Stories help us understand things about other people; they help us to understand things about ourselves. Gaming allows me to participate in the telling of stories, which seems to me to be a fairly fundamental human activity. Fundamental, at least, in what it means to be human. We tell and retell, we call and respond. Gaming gives me a way to be a story maker, rather than just a story consumer. That’s invaluable to me.