Domesticated Gamers: A Valentine Post

D&D Wedding Cake (Retroist)

"You are about to get bitchslapped!" an unfamiliar feminine voice exclaimed during our most recent Monday Night Gaming Group session (via Skype). And it was true, one of the PCs was about to experience a beat down at the hands of an angry king. This is the usual way we meet a gamer spouse...an unexpected and wickedly funny comment floating in through our headphones.

One of the best parts of our Monday night group is the audio window we each get into each other's lives...a window that gives us a glimpse beyond the virtual gaming table. We get funny comments, interruptions for homework questions, LEGOs being put together, the occasional "brb" for refereeing sibling squabbles or tucking kiddoes into bed, and Tim's dog, Bug, grunting and growling at his feet.

Our gaming group is amazingly committed to our Monday night sessions. Getting seven married guys with responsible jobs to make that commitment is remarkable. But the sounds coming through Skype of wives, kids, and dogs are reminders that gaming is just one part of our lives...and not the most important part. It is also reminder that we each have very tolerant people around us who give us the time and space to get together on a regular basis to do something we enjoy. It is a gift to me that my wife laughs with me (and often at me) while I game. How could she not laugh when she sees a stack of books, each prominently labeled with the word "GURPS?" My guess is that not everyone has that sort of support to play a dwarf and roll dice on a weekly basis.