A Convenient, Inexpensive, Low-Commitment Way to Test-Drive Dungeons & Dragons (or Really any Tabletop Roleplaying Game) and My Recent Purchase
Updated: May 19, 2025
I have stated my intention of getting back into the tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) hobby on several occasions. That is still my intention. I recently visited a couple of game stores and I enjoyed my visits. At one of those stores I even picked up a copy of BattleTech Universe, a new book of lore for the fictional science fiction setting portrayed in the BattleTech novels, short stories, TTRPGs, and wargames. I played a game of BattleTech (the tactical wargame) in the dorm during my first year away at college. I am happy to report that I won that bitterly contested, solitary engagement and dropped one of the fearsome behemoths pictured in the screenshot below. I hope to eventually get into playing both the wargame in one of its current forms and one or both of the currently available BattleTech TTRPGs offered by the current publisher, Catalyst Game Labs.
I certainly had a lot of fun playing TTRPGs and creating player characters (PCs) and non-player characters (NPCs) for those games, but other interests and priorities led me to “shelve” my gaming for decades. But it wasn’t because I didn’t have fun and it certainly wasn’t because of any peer pressure related to the games and their firmly established place in “nerd culture” or the idea held by some that the hobby wasn’t “cool.” With that being said, it is admittedly nice to see the TTRPG hobby getting some love from the entertainment industry and the mainstream culture.
Having played these games in my youth, I began collecting books, box sets, and related accessories for a variety of TTRPGs with the intention of eventually getting back into actually playing. While I have yet to make good on my stated desire to once again run a game or join a game as a player, I feel that I am inching towards that day. And while I am of the opinion that nothing can quite take the place of playing with family and/or friends around the same table, the truth is that the new online offerings make it easier to find a game that works with one’s schedule and to play with family members and/or friends that live in distant communities around the world. Online TTRPGs also have the potential to make it possible to begin and to develop new friendships around a shared interest.
One of the truly great things about online TTRPGs, as I see it, is that there are also opportunities to try out the hobby in a convenient, inexpensive, low-commitment manner and to try out a new system or setting. I haven’t played Dungeons & Dragons or D&D since it’s earliest iterations. I have some Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition books, box sets, and accessories in my collection, but I haven’t done much more with them than to peruse them. But as Dungeons & Dragons is celebrating its 50th anniversary, perhaps I might want to join in the celebration. Perhaps you would like to join a game and see what all the fuss is about regarding D&D and other TTRPGs. Well, I am here to help you out with your dilemma.
StartPlaying offers the opportunity to play Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs online by joining a game run by a professional game masters (GMs) or dungeon masters (DMs). While I haven’t used this service, it certainly looks promising. The costs are reasonable when compared to other forms of recreational activities like seeing a movie, attending a concert, a play, or a sporting event, or playing in a recreational sports league or tournament. Below are links to a couple articles on learning to play D&D online via StartPlaying, as well as a link to the company’s website. I am seriously considering buying a seat for a game and getting off of the sidelines, as it were. I might even reach out to one or more family members and/or friends to see if they might be willing and able to join me online for one or more sessions.
If this sounds interesting to you, I strongly suggest that you check out the links below. Perhaps we will meet up in a game and join forces to complete some perilous quest, to avenge a wrong, to stop a great evil, or simply to make our mark on some fictional world and take our rightful places as legendary heroes. Shall we prevail? Perhaps we shall see, my friends.
“Get Matched With A Group And Learn To Play Dungeons & Dragons!”
“Learn To Play D&D Online
StartPlaying
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