I've been on these boards for a while now and am constantly amazed at how popular D&D appears to be amongst those in the military. It's just not an image I had conjured up in my head i.e. marines playing D&D - I find it hard to visualise.
I don't know why? I mean, servicemen are of course human, right? It's just that for what is supposed to be a geeky game, so many hard-ass marines play it. So I've got a few questions.
1) What do servicemen find so attractive about D&D?
2) What service are you in?
3) Is D&D's popularity in the military confined to US forces?
Thanks.
I'm going to comment, not because I'm in the service, however, I am a military brat.
When you're 10 and overseas and in a new place with new people and are confined to the military base where you're stationed at, saying "Do you play D&D" is a great icebreaker and a quick way to make friends.
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Like Lilith, I was a service brat. I first played D&D in the Rhein Confederation Wargames Society, which was a mix of dependents, servicemen, and civilian contractors for the DOD, so I've gamed quite often with soldiers and airmen.
If you take a look at the demographics, you should see the answer pretty quickly. The junior grades of the military services are populated (mostly) with 18-22 y.o. men with very demanding jobs looking for escape on their time off. A significant proportion of these folks are quite bright (well above the population average).
If this sounds like college students, it should. And college students are one of the core demographics for role-playing games.
BTW, I'd recommend you actually spend some time talking to a few servicemembers. I suspect it will be an eye-opening experience.
I’ll try to answer these as best I can, but I need to give some personal info first.
After referring to Mr. Sundseth’s post above, I offer this:
I’m a married white male. I’ll turn 50 at the end of August this year. I’ve been gaming (primarily D&D) for 30 years. I started playing while in the US Air Force (mid-70’s) and have been hooked ever since.
As to why “servicemen” find gaming so attractive:
1) As a pressure release, it helps relieve a lot of boredom. The people who play, generally, are not part of the “party-at-the-nightclub-at-every-opportunity” crowd. Also, they don’t tend to have other firmly seated hobbies left over from before their service time. Kids who have pre-service hobbies (and can continue these activities during service time) already have something on which to focus their time and energy and are less likely to game. Guys sitting around a dayroom on a day off need something to pass the time.
2) There is something terribly cathartic about RPG gaming, particularly D&D. Melee can relieve a lot of stress!
3) D&D is the most widely known and popular game making it the most likely to be the one to which people are exposed.
4) People find the game very educational in a lot of ways. The subject matters addressed (directly and indirectly) are legion and most military folks just can’t resist getting smart.
5) Gaming has a somewhat benighted reputation, having been slandered in all sorts of ways for years. The lack of basis for this slander is well known to we insiders. People experiencing the game long enough to understand that what they’ve heard about it isn’t true can undergo epiphanies of startling proportions. The strong tendency towards “lawfulness” in military personnel then sets them against the nay-sayers. It’s almost like a righteous retribution: “These guys says it’s bad but I’ve found that it isn’t, so I’ll play it just to spite those liars!” Military folks also tend to root for the underdog and on the public propaganda front gaming is a definite underdog.
I could go on…and on…and on… … … but…that should do for a nut-shell beginning.
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I started playing D&D when I was a kid, so whatever is attractive to an 11 y.o. boy is what attracted me to D&D.
I think it started with my dad getting me Tarzan comics when I was 3.
I was just in the Army National Guard so I never did any long active duty; it was a long time ago when there wasn't so much action going on. You could volunteer for duties in Bosnia or whatever and not get called up. I had a friend who was in regular U.S. Army when the Gulf War happened in 1990; the day the war started he and his buddies went down to volunteer to go and they weren't taking anyone else. He was mechanized infantry even!!! I was thinking about joining the Army back then and going to the gulf, but he told me not to bother; it'd be over before I finished Basic. Then I'd be stuck in the Army...
So my take is kinda useless in a lot of ways, seeing as I never did any active...BUT in the Army you......wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. Then, you HURRYHURRYHURRY. And wait. And wait. And then you.....wait.
So I imagine it's good for killing time. If you can't play you can read books and think up adventures and kill a lot of time.
As regards foreign armies,...I think Uri Kurlianchik who posts here sometimes was in the Israeli Defense Force. The soldier's life is a little piece of a universal constant.
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1) What do servicemen find so attractive about D&D?2) What service are you in?
3) Is D&D's popularity in the military confined to US forces?
1) It's a relatively portable game that can easily be stored and transported. Bring 3 books and a small bag of dice and you can play anywhere. It's also a game of action and adventure (albeit imagined), the same kind of thing that drives many people to join the military in the first place. Military guys also tend to be a lot less self-conscious and open to new experiences (a generalization I know, but true in my experience) than their civilian counterparts.
2) I'm in the Navy although the majority of my early career was spent attached to the Marine Corps as a medic.
3) I'm not sure I understand the question. If you mean, 'do soldiers/sailors/marines play outside the continental US?', then yes. When I deployed to Iraq I brought some of my stuff and played with a couple guys out there. I found it somewhat surreal that I would be thinking about D&D in between (and occasionally during) combat flights.
I played RPGs before my short service in the Bundeswehr (15 months compulsory military service) , so I just took the hobby with me. I remember playing MERP while on a military exercise, mainly because it was booooring sitting there and waiting for something to happen (medical service - with 12 men having to care for one soldier with flu and one with a sprained ankle).
So, I think it is relief from boredom in peace times and stress relief while in action. As someone pointed out, if you are not in action, military life (especially at low ranks) can be very boring. Luckliy, I never was in action, so I can´t tell about this.
Stefan
1) What do servicemen find so attractive about D&D?
Can't really say for this one... I've always been a gamer and fan of RPGs...
2) What service are you in?
Navy SeaBees (Naval Mobile Construction Battalion)
3) Is D&D's popularity in the military confined to US forces?
Again, can't say. Next to most of the guys who post here, I'm still "new" to D&D. Haven't played long enough to branch out to many others save for the guys I know already.
And in regards to what Heathansson said...
"Hurry up and wait..."
-Kurocyn
As for me, it began when I was younger, in high school. Playing while I was in the Army was just natural...I wanted to keep playing. Im sure it't similar with most of the other people, they just keep playing it.
I also wonder if it is specifically D&D which is popular among servicemen...are there any Vampire or CoC groups in military?
I also wonder if it is specifically D&D which is popular among servicemen...are there any Vampire or CoC groups in military?
D&D is the most available through the military exchanges (no big surprise), so it tends to be the most popular. Other systems are around and you can usually find a group that's either playing or willing to try if you look.
Doug Sundseth and Lawgiver hit the nail on the head as to why service members play D&D. If you aren't a hardcore drinker or sports fanatic, D&D is a great social activity. Some of the aspects of the game (understanding different cultures, perseverence in the face of adversity, tactics and teamwork) are also skills that are useful for the military member.
Anyway, active-duty Air Force, currently overseas, been playing since I was 13.
Just repeating what a number of others have said: Portability, Name recognition, and loads of time spent waiting or "off duty" 7k miles from home. Boredom is one of the most often overlooked facts of military life. 90% of the time you are bored, 9.5% you are eagerly involved in something, and maybe that last .5% qualifies as "action" which usually translates to adrenaline rushes and statements of "Holy Sh*t!!! Did you see that?"
Army, 99- present, spent too much time in the sandbox.
My brother is an officer in the Canadian Army. He plays D&D but he keeps a low profile. He told me that among the officer it's not well seen.
There are a lot of soldiers playing and he told me that he's trying to join one of there game. It's a bit silly but he as to keep it a secret from is boss !?!
My brother is an officer in the Canadian Army. He plays D&D but he keeps a low profile. He told me that among the officer it's not well seen.
There are a lot of soldiers playing and he told me that he's trying to join one of there game. It's a bit silly but he as to keep it a secret from is boss !?!
Commissioned officers are held to different standards than enlisted service members. Anything outside of "normal" (usually defined conservatively) is frowned on. Also, there's the issue of maintaining a professional distance between the officer and enlisted corps. Fraternization is often as much about perceptions as about reality and repeatedly spending several hours socially with the soldiers can be seen in a negative light (the onus is on the officer to maintain the distance).
I've known several officers who play D&D, and they almost always play in different groups than the enlisted. Aircrew members were about the only exception, but then the distance between officer and enlisted on an aircrew is usually less in other aspects, as well.
3) I'm not sure I understand the question. If you mean, 'do soldiers/sailors/marines play outside the continental US?', then yes. When I deployed to Iraq I brought some of my stuff and played with a couple guys out there. I found it somewhat surreal that I would be thinking about D&D in between (and occasionally during) combat flights.
Sorry, I meant US servicemen or do you know of, say, British Marines who play?
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I've been on these boards for a while now and am constantly amazed at how popular D&D appears to be amongst those in the military. It's just not an image I had conjured up in my head i.e. marines playing D&D - I find it hard to visualise.
I don't know why? I mean, servicemen are of course human, right? It's just that for what is supposed to be a geeky game, so many hard-ass marines play it. So I've got a few questions.
I didn't read all the posts, so I may be repeating what others have already said...
1) What do servicemen find so attractive about D&D?
We role-play in the military ALL THE TIME. Without getting into a lengthy discussion, we actually have manuals of our own on military role-playing, sets of rules that make the D&D manuals look puny: literally, the Army manual for battle simulations (nondigital sims, and we play computer-based "warfighter" sims all the time!) is four thousand pages long! The details are tremendous, from calculating time and distance given variables of weight, environmental conditions, fatigue, etc; to how many Soldiers are likely to be wounded and exactly how given literally hundreds of variables--instead of rolling dice, we have tables. Whenever we train (which for the Active Force is all the time), we create elaborate, realistic scenarios, including geopolitical situations, characters, historical events--the works, for battle against fictional hostile countries such as the "Peoples Republic of Kalodovia." Our modules for a single simulation can be hundreds of pages, with made-up maps, battleplans, and everything else you could imagine. First we play it out at the table, literally; this is called MDMP, or "Military Decision-Making Process," then we go LARP! I could go on all day; but the gaming (we say 'battle simulation' or 'SIMEX' (simulation exercise)) is done from the very top all the way down to the lowest enlisted man. It's only logical that our Soldiers would be RPG fans in their off-time as well.
2) What service are you in?
US Army, 9 years.
3) Is D&D's popularity in the military confined to US forces?
I've met British, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and Greek servicemen who know of and play D&D or some other commercial role-playing game. I will say that among the ranks RPGs and D&D in particular is common to the Enlisted, and I could walk into any Day Room in any barracks on my post, and some of the men are probably playing D&D or CoC or WoD, et al...but Officers don't publicize their interest, and of course, you'll never find a lieutenant gaming with the specialists and privates; and you're way more likely to find an officer who feigns a complete lack of knowledge of RPGs than who even admits he EVER played, much less does so now...
Thanks.
I recently discharged from the IDF, so yes, non-American servicemen (experts and warriors?) also play :)
I played in the service; is cool; at any company rec center or at the community centers you can find posts on the bulletin board or see people playing and ask to join in; is great, you play with people from all different cultures and walks of life with lots of exciting ideas and backgrounds. I loved it, miss it a lot now that I have spent the last decade and a half gaming with the same people.
Also, its cheap to play; and enlisted peeps dont have a lot of excess money same as when your in high school and dont have much funds, that too is part of the draw. You have a nice place to play provided for you; you can get fairly inexpensive snacks and stuff from close by, and you meet a lot of people working your same schedules. Logistics are alot more problematical in civilian world.
Oh, was Army; Signal Corps; enlisted 6 years and yes, I took my dice and dmg to the field with me cause we would be out there a few months and there is usualy some time off and a place where you can play after hours so to speak.
I also wonder if it is specifically D&D which is popular among servicemen...are there any Vampire or CoC groups in military?
well, everything was popular that was available. In the service is where I was introduce to games other than D&D; like twightlight 2k; Champions, James Bond, Paladium, Villians and Vigilanties, Gurps, Star Frontiers; Traveller; I hadn't heard any of these games before and other service men brought them and we played them; you can play i a different group almost any night of the week as somebody will have that scheduled day off. Also, there are always peeps around playing tactical board games or cards like spades and pinocle (which is what most of the older guys play, lots of people carried decks of cards.