Playing Dungeons and Dragons has been the single most helpful and emotionally healthy thing I've done in the pandemic. 1) It's given me worlds and stories to retreat to when I need an escape. It helps when I've struggled with mundane tasks like cooking or watering the garden.

2) You can solve problems, overcome enemies, and feel like you've actually accomplished something; even big, seemingly intractable problems. That can give you a much-needed sense of agency. I don't know about you, but I need that. Being a hero is actually therapeutic.

3) D&D has been the one way I've spent time with friends. I can't do in-person, and I'm struggling with virtual hangouts on top of hours of Zoom each week. Our sessions are virtual, but theres no Zoom fatigue, since we're looking at maps or dice rolls, mostly relying on audio.

Sometimes, a story gives us space to do what we can't in real life. D&D can be a way to process emotions. My players cried as they reunited the ghosts of two lovers thwarted by bigotry. Now, they're getting ready to celebrate a wedding between a player and his NPC boyfriend.

If you're interested in giving D&D a try, go for it! Find a group of people you get along well (this is fundamentally an interpersonal game), who ideally share your game-play preferences (storytelling? Combat? A mix?), start small (give a pre-made module a shot), experiment.

Tell me your D&D pandemic stories, friends!

I'm really excited for our upcoming wedding session. I've got a whole caper planned out, and we've got @Drew_Lab guest starring as the groom. It's going to be the perfect finale to the campaign we started last March.