Role Playing Games or RPG is competitions wherein players play roles of characters in an imaginary setting. The earliest forms of RPG was played on table top format and after a short while, it started to be played for real (physically) and through the computer (electronically). Current studies show that playing RPG, especially the earliest game, Dungeons and Dragons, is beneficial to a lot of people because it encourages reading, imagination, social interaction, creativity, team work, etc. In addition, it enhances people’s problem solving skills.


 

In Dungeons and Dragons, for instance, players need to at least read about the game rules and the characters that they are going to play. To be able to play their chosen roles effectively, the players need to use their imagination and creativity to succeed. And when the chosen format puts the character in a team, players need to be able to socialize, coordinate with team mates and become good team players.
 

While RPG and Dungeons and Dragons, in particular, remains very popular this days, it had a lot challenges from the public, some of which exit to this very day. RPG was labeled by some as satanic and something that encourages violence, witch craft, pornography and even murder.
 

One case worthy of mention is a young intelligent boy who went missing. Relatives thought that the boy disappeared because of RPG’s witchcraft influence. It turned out that the boy had trouble with his mom who demanded higher grades to play free board games online. The student tried to kill himself and when the poison that he took failed to kill him, he hid in a friend’s house. The boy eventually succeeded in killing himself after a year. Later on, it was established the boy rarely played RPG. Despite that, close relatives continued to talk ill of Dungeons and Dragons.
 

Similar cases abound but RPG and its millions of players will continue, at least for now.