Playing Dungeons and Dragons for Effective Team-Building

Dungeons and Dragons is more popular now than ever. Once relegated to dark and dank basements, D&D is now a fixture in pop culture spaces and is seen as an integral aspect of geek culture. Many of the most popular YouTube channels and TV shows have featured the beloved tabletop role-playing game at one time or another.

However, many people don’t realize that D&D can be used for more than just entertainment. It can be used as a fantastic way to build rapport between employees. Essentially, Dungeons and Dragons makes for a great team-building exercise. 

We Play Dungeons and Dragons!

Dungeons and Dragons, like any other tabletop role-playing game, involves the creation of characters that players role-play as in a fantasy universe. How the players interact with the universe is facilitated by a player known as the Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Master is in charge of managing the story and the world, according to the players’ actions. 

A critical aspect of the game is how it deals with the enactment of skills. It uses random chance through rolled dice to account for probabilities of failure. Depending on how a character is designed, they will be more skilled at certain things and less skilled at others. 

D&D as a team-building exercise

The wonderful thing about Dungeons and Dragons is the many opportunities for self-reflection, as the players are required to play a role outside of themselves. It teaches players to empathize with other characters, including the other players characters.

It also teaches them to think on the spot and as a team, as parties of players often combine each other’s strengths and make up for their weaknesses to survive deadly and confusing situations. 

Individual goals and the common good

As part of the character creation process, each player gets to incorporate individual goals into their character’s backstory. Whether this is to protect the downtrodden from injustice or to steal a precious artefact from a dangerous castle, players must learn to manage these individual goals with team goals—much like in any shared activity. 

The great thing about Dungeons and Dragons is that no matter how well-laid the plans, something is likely to throw a wrench into them. Players must learn to adapt on the fly, while managing what is important to them and the group’s goals at large. 

Encouraging better social interactions and collaboration

The learning from Dungeons and Dragons doesn’t stop there. The game also teaches players how to improve their social interactions by making sure everyone at the table is having fun. 

As such, players must learn never to hamper someone else’s fun and enjoyment outside of the role-played universe. While this seems like a basic tenet of etiquette, the more this skill is hammered into the players, the better the synergy between them inside and outside the game. As players develop better chemistry, you can hope for a better social atmosphere in your workplace. 

In conclusion

Dungeons and Dragons is not only an effective team-building exercise; it is immensely enjoyable and relatively inexpensive. All it takes is some dice, a few books, paper, some pens, and a wide and limitless imagination to play. You can build rapport between your employees and give them something to look forward to on a regular basis. After all, geek culture can only benefit any workplace. 

If you’re hoping to develop skills as a geek, send us a message at Coaching for Geeks. We have what it takes to level you up and help you win at life.