Dungeons and Dragons Essentials Kit (RPG)
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Posted on July 11th, 2019 by
The newest edition of Dungeons and Dragons (known as D&D) burst on the scene in 2014 and this “5th Edition” released by the Wizards of the Coast has never looked back. Thanks to the rise of a large streaming culture, where gamers broadcast their games on Twitch or other streaming media, play of D&D has grown nearly 50% in each of the past two years. A recent announcement states that over 40 million people now play the game, with 9 million of those also watching streamers play their games. While the initial release of 5th Edition included a Starter Set, Wizards of the Coast has gone back to the drawing board and created a new entry-level experience to provide a better on-ramp to the world of Dungeons and Dragons role-playing.
Role-playing games are experiencing a huge renaissance, with gamers not only playing but watching other people play on Twitch and other streaming sites. The most popular genre remains high fantasy (think Tolkien or Harry Potter) while other genres, such as space or superheroes, tend to fade into the background. Starfinder is Paizo’s newest RPG, a conglomeration of their popular Pathfinder fantasy game with common tropes found in space operas. As with any complex game, the challenge lies in getting past the initial learning curve. The Starfinder Beginner Box is Paizo’s answer to easing gamers into the setting and rules. Containing everything a group of players need to get started, the Beginner Box is a great way to jump into the Starfinder game at a pretty good value.
No office desk is complete without a desk toy to help you through the slow times of the day. For anyone raised in the heyday of video game arcades, the folks at My Arcade are there for you. They offer a line of nostalgic classic videogames in realistic arcade cabinets that are small enough to fit on one’s desk. Some of the biggest names in early arcade history are available in a handheld portable Pocket Player, as a 7” tall arcade-shaped Micro Player, or the top-of-the-line 10” tall Data East Mini Player. Sure, they’re fun to play, but I get a smile simply seeing it there on my desk.
The folks that brought you Worms have entered the space race. Load your planet with offense and defense and attack your opponents in a real-time battle of planetary destruction in a evolving planetary system. Worbital is an interesting take on the old fixed artillery battle mold, increasing the intensity through real-time control and gravity wells from the central sun and orbiting planets. It is a great multiplayer game, but has a bit of a UI learning curve.
Role Playing Games have surged in popularity in the past couple of years. If someone in your life shows a leaning towards imagination, creativity, or storytelling, an introduction to the world of role-playing games might be in order. In the 
Happy Holidays! Boardgaming has had a serious upsurge in the past few years, and there’s no better time to get into the hobby than an extended holiday break. As we at GamerDad have done for the past 15+ years, it’s time for an annual rundown of recent boardgames well worth your time. Nothing beats the social aspect of in-person gaming with friends. 
Catacombs takes the basic idea of flicking wooden discs around a game board and transforms it into a competitive role playing game of players vs a game master. Played over a series of boards, players journey into a dungeon in hopes of becoming powerful enough to beat the final boss in the game. A fun mix of disc-flicking, tactics, and a fantasy theme create a very unique, and enjoyable, boardgame. The newest edition (with fancy new rubber playmats rather than cardboard) is currently 
Arguably the best-selling modern boardgame is Ticket to Ride and its sequels. Players collect sets of train cards (like sets in Rummy), and use them to occupy routes on a game board map of the United States. Players earn points for placing large sets of trains as well as bonus points for managing to connect cities shown on their personal “ticket” cards. Many versions have been released which change the map (Europe, Asia, the UK, etc…) and each add in some small twist to make the version unique. Ticket to Ride: New York is the newest release and it takes most of what is best about the game and distills it down to a small box game, playable in less than 20 minutes (closer to 30-45 minutes if playing with new players.) While the “large box” games tend to allow more long-term grand strategy, New York serves as both a great introduction to the game and a fully playable version when you have less than an hour to spare.
The Legacy of Dragonholt boardgame is essentially a tricked out choose your own adventure. Allowing freeform character generation and spanning multiple volumes, it is more than a simple book. However, despite its boardgame sized box, but it is not a traditional boardgame. If that sounds interesting to you, Legacy of Dragonholt is a great choose-your-own adventure experience with strong role-playing game flavor.
