Wizardry of the Table Top with Jody - Childish Things

I’ve often joked that the difference between men and boys boils down to body hair, bills, and the cost of his toys. I’m not sure that the truth is so far from that, to be honest.

If you’re in your mid 30’s or older, think back to your childhood and remember what your father was like. Did he play video games? He likely played the odd time in order to play with you, but the odds of you finding him up at 2 in the morning sitting in front of the TV with a joystick in hand were slim to none. Playing was the realm of children. There’s even a biblical quote, 1st Corinthians 13:11 that states: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”. While that can be interpreted a number of ways, the fact is that until Generation X, grown adults didn’t engage in play like we do now.

Much of this ‘play’ is simply a result of not letting go of the things we grew up with that brought us enjoyment. For some of us it’s video games. For others it’s Roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons. For others it’s tabletop games like Warhammer 40,000. The stigma of being an adult who plays games seems to be gone. I can’t fathom my father having his friends over to sit around a table and play Dungeons and Dragons, or to set up their armies on a table and pull out all of their painted miniatures to engage in battle. The thought of it is laughable, and that was the problem.

Life is short. Too short to avoid doing things that bring you joy, especially if the only reason for abstaining is stigma. Yes, being an adult is important. We need to pay our bills, be good parents, nurture our relationships with significant others, friends, and family, plan for retirement, etc. While doing that, though, we can pick up a controller (joysticks are so passé) and immerse ourselves in a video game, we can get together with a group of friends and explore dungeons as our favourite character, and we can set up a bunch of terrain on the dining room table and spread our painted miniatures out as we try to destroy our friend’s armies. It’s a great time to be an adult!


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