Some teens may have heard of Dungeons and Dragons through shows like Netflix’s Stranger Things or casually mentioned in a TV show.

It was known to be a game exclusively for nerds, but in recent times, that has appeared to change. YouTubers like those on the Critical Role channel have brought Dungeons of Dragons into the world of streaming as actors make the role-playing aspects of the game into an entertaining experience just to watch.

D&D is experiencing a revival as casual watchers become players themselves. With nerd and gaming culture becoming more popular, it’s no surprise that D&D has been a game to be amongst them. For those who don’t know, the way you play D&D is by role-playing a character, such as a barbarian or a rouge.

You can make up whatever character you want, like a tieing rogue or a halfling druid. You choose to play however you want, with the roll of a dice deciding if you succeed or not. You can go on a heist mission or defeat crazy monsters at the leisure of your dungeon master.

The dungeon master builds a world and a story to follow, but the players ultimately decide what to do The role-playing aspect of D&D has helped this game, first released in 1975 alive and relevant today.

“It’s therapy,” avid D&D player Liam Lohse said. “You get to hop out of yourself and play a different character.”

Many, myself included, agree with that idea. It’s much different from other games in the way that you can play however you’d like. Your dungeon master might tell you that you have the option to exit through the door or window, but you could still choose to dig a hole underneath the room to escape.

The appeal of Dungeons and Dragons for me is that you’re playing with a group of friends and interacting with them in ways that are different than in a normal conversation. It also helps that with web- sites like Roll20, D&D. Beyond, and voice chat services like Discord, playing D&D is no longer limited to just your friends you see in person. It’s so much more accessible in today’s digital age. Nowadays, you can sit down with friends from Florida and bust out a 3-hour session playing as kobolds.

“Playing in person is a lot more scheduling,” Lohse said.

With Netflix planning to release an animated version of Critical Role’s first D&D campaign, Vox Machina, it’s yet another way that this role-playing game is going to gain popularity. I have high hopes with the future of D&D, with young players get ting to discover this total different game or veteran players revisiting their campaign from their friends in middle school for the first time in years.