Carter Kucier â23, staff writer
At the very start of fall 2022, a brand new club was founded here at LVC: a club specifically for all things tabletop gaming. From Dungeons and Dragons, to all different trading card games, to casual everyday board games and much more, they aim to cover it all.
Tabletop gaming has seen a recent rise in popularity with the release of âStranger Thingsâ, the Netflix original show that focuses on a group of young kids growing up in the 80s and taking on terrifying adventures of their own, similar to the DnD games the main characters are often shown playing together.
Upon the clubâs formation, the founders were told that LVC had a similar club at one time, however it had faded out quite a while ago. For a long time, engaging in tabletop gaming was largely considered âuncoolâ in the social world. People playing Dungeons and Dragons or something similar to it have many times been portrayed in the media as unpopular, ugly, unliked, creepy, or worse.Â
Nowadays, largely in part due to âStranger Thingsâ and other popular media changing their tune about what kind of people play tabletop games, the social attitude in general is starting to change as well. Itâs no longer widely agreed upon that tabletop gaming is âuncoolâ or socially unacceptable behavior. The people on screen playing those games are shown as heroes, relatable human beings, cool, etc., instead of the social rejects and outcasts they once were.Â
LVCâs club, Dutchmen Tabletop Gaming, hopes to provide a safe place for people to engage with their hobbies, as well as a safe and welcoming place for people new to the world of table-top gaming to dive in with the support of like-minded peers.Â
The club requires members to just bring themselves, the willingness to learn, and a positive attitude towards the material at hand and their fellow members. Nobody is required to have previous knowledge or supplies, as the club wants members to leave with new information and experiences they can take with them after college and off LVCâs campus. The goal is that they will share what they learn here with others, and through the club table-top gaming will continue to draw in new and interested people.
Dutchmen Tabletop Gaming is just getting started, having successfully held several meetings currently. They just began their first learnerâs Dungeons and Dragons session recently as well. Interested persons can find them on Instagram, @dutchmenttg.lvc, or they can reach out to dutchmenttc@lvc.edu for information on joining and the clubâs official discord.