Role-playing makes us all children
I know most of us are adults, many middle-aged, but this goes for older and younger. I’ve never been at or seen a table where it doesn’t happen. When we play TTRPGs, we all turn into absolute children. Fart jokes, infantile snickering at accidental double entendres, and generally being rambunctious little kids.
Why? Why does a man in his forties with a decidedly grown-up job and an over-full basket of adult worries turn into a giggling child once he breaks out the dice? (The man in question is Aron, and it’s adorable.)
Aron and I have talked about this at length, and all we can figure is that it’s inherent to the nature of the game. We’re all playing pretend. With rules and dice and maps, sure, but it’s still playing pretend.
Remember the time we all used to play pretend? When we were children. We pretended to be superheroes and brave knights, aliens and monsters, kings and queens. Playing pretend is a kid thing — in all the best ways possible. So we all become kids when we play, and get to recapture some of that shine of childhood.
So if your table is getting too wild and silly and rambunctious, definitely talk to them about focusing up so you can all game together. But remember that it’s a good sign when they’re being little kids. It means that you’ve given them that beautiful piece of childhood, and it’s a gift.
