Seven

The Eldest has asked us to play Dungeons and Dragons or D&D. So seven things about this game

1. It's nice to be included in her activities.

2. The game is very complicated. We spent over an hour defining our first characters, and we haven't even started the game yet. There are so many choices: Warriors, Druids, Elves, Thieves and then subchoices. Alignments of good, neutral, bad. I'm relieved to know that during this first game for simplicity sake we will all be aligned with good. Whew, I was getting a headache.

3. We really had a lot of fun cracking jokes and making comments while we were trying to figure out what we were doing.

4. I enjoyed watching The Eldest assume the role of teacher. She was patient, enthusiastic, and determined we would all enjoy the game. She kept stressing the point wasn't to win, but to have fun.

5. Board games have certainly changed from when I was a kid. This game has seven dice, all different shapes. There's even one shaped like a dodecahedron. There's no board, though there could be. No playing pieces like a top hat or a race car, though there are figures you can use if you want to. Board games were cooperative play when I was a kid. One set of dice, a board. You took turns. The Eldest graciously purchased each of us dice and a players handbook. These things aren't cheap! Why can't we share the books and dice? I asked. Because everyone having their own book makes the game go faster. See #2 above.

6. When she first said RPG, I immediately thought of Report Program Generator, a programming language I learned back in programming school using punch cards. I feel like a dinosaur.

7. I've been reading my player's handbook. Characters, proficiency, alignment, battles, equipment. My head is swimming. I think I need to purchase D&D for Dummies or go back to a game I thoroughly understand like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders.