The soldier company trudged through the clinging mud, desperate to reform their ranks in time to meet the oncoming enemy charge. A beat up space ship zips through an asteroid field littered with the remnants of a long forgotten culture as marauding pirates bear down on them with guns blazing. Table Top
These are just a couple of examples of stories we’ve all likely heard at some point in our lives. Human beings, by their very nature, are storytellers. Every day we both listen and tell stories to our friends, our families, even to random strangers. Just about every form of entertainment we take part in today can be traced back to telling or listening to a story.
Gaming is no exception. At their core, nearly all games no matter the platform is about a story. Either a story finely crafted and presented to us, or an open world sandbox where we are tasked with both creating and experiencing the narrative.
There exists another form of storytelling though and that is the notion of a shared story. The idea that a story is made richer, more meaningful, and in the end more enjoyable by people coming together and collaborating on it. In my opinion, there’s no better medium for shared storytelling than tabletop gaming.
It’s my goal in this article and ones to follow, to guide you through the world of tabletop gaming in all it’s myriad of forms. From Role-Playing games, Board games, Miniature games and beyond. In an effort to pay homage to the social and collaborative nature of tabletop gaming I’d really like to hear if there’s something specific you the reader would like me to cover. Along the way, I’ll write some reviews, give some suggestions on ways you might improve your own games, and answer any questions you might have.
“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman
