Improving Relationships Dynamics
by Playing Tabletop Role Playing Games
When I started playing tabletop role playing games, I had no idea how it would improve relationships with my family and friends. And I didn’t realize what it would cost me.
Common wisdom tells us that if we are playing a game together and having fun, chances are that we will return to the source of that fun.
Fun is the reward for the price of attention.
Whether it is a game of cards, a board game, or a D&D campaign that lasts all year, when people gather around the table to share fun with each other they create a cycle of engagement and reward.
Engagement costs attention
We have an attention deficit. I’m telling you that there really isn’t much to go around. We are hyper aware of what is going on in the world (much of it leaves us powerless beyond our sphere of influence) and over stimulated with cheap dopamine hits of likes and scrolling.
I’m looking at you smart phone.
To properly engage costs attention but rewards with fun. That means in order to enjoy yourself, you have to be present. At the table. With your family and friends. Your attention is currency and a resource and honestly, a rarity. To deliver a loved one undivided attention is becoming one of the top love languages of our time.
If you take the challenge and focus your attention during the game with your family, you will leave full of fun. Isn’t that neat? You gain the rewards.
It is truly hard to give without receiving. That’s a law in nature. You cannot plant a seed without gaining more in return. Keep that in mind when you feeeeeeel your attention is on empty.
I want to have fun. I want to smile. I know that if I leave behind the digital and embrace the present and share in the imagination of storytelling with my friends and family - I will live a better life than my alternate self.
I intend to pay attention.