Play is one of the primary ways humans practice life skills they will eventually need to succeed. It reinforces a state of learning, real-time processing, and retaining information, all of which are valuable later in life (Darvasi, 2019). Games of all types are one of the most common methods of play because they provide a structure for play. One type of game called role-playing games (RPGs), has grown in popularity over the past few decades. According to D’Amato (2019), role-playing games are “a type of game where players generate stories through shared imagination” (p. 13). In these games, players inhabit a role and interact with one another through shared imaginary spaces. These games all use specific systems to help give players goals, track important story information, and collaboratively build worlds for players. Most RPGs have a specialized role for one player to control story elements that are not actions taken by players. This role is known as the game manager (GM). 

Play through structured role-playing games has been identified as particularly beneficial to help develop social, collaborative, and team-building skills (Daniau, 2016). Research has shown that not only do group therapy and RPGs have similar structures, but there has also been success cultivating a more safe and open space through exploring and confronting personal issues through a fictional avatar (McConnaughey, 2015). In this setting, certified counselors act as GMs building worlds and leading long stories called campaigns for their participants to roleplay over many sessions as their own characters. Many GMs will take a pre-written story element called modules and use them as a starting point for their groups and build a campaign off of. In these groups, counselors acting as GMs will combine narrative and role-play therapies into a game where players work together to improve problem solving skills, increase distress-tolerance, and increase critical thinking skills through tabletop RPGs (Mendoze, 2020). 

However, although the demand for tabletop role-playing therapy is increasing, there is a lack of standardization and centralization of resources for this technique. The use of role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons in group therapy settings is growing in popularity, with groups like Game to Grow and the Self-Rescuing Princessing leading the movement. These groups, and many others, use tabletop therapy to help their students practice navigating and overcoming different social challenges. These professional groups have been successful in providing services to individual groups in their communities but have not been efficient in supporting the growing demand.