I was introduced to table top role playing games (TTRPG) when I was 8 years old. I distinctly remember having my cousin tell my brother and me all about this fancy new game where you took on the role of an adventurer and killed monsters and found treasure. I mean, what's not to like?! This new role playing game was called Dungeons & Dragons, and I became a huge fan. My brother and I played it together, and recruited several of our friends to join us. We would take turns going to each other's houses on the weekends and staying up 'til the wee hours of the morning fighting orcs, evil giants and demons. Ah, it was a golden time of childhood that I look back upon quite fondly!
As time went on, however, I fell away from this super fun pastime. First because of the "Satanic Panic" of the early 1980s, and then because real life got in the way. I played a few times over the following decades, but several years ago I finally found my sweet spot for TTRPGs - playing by post! This is a type of RPG playing where you write up what you do during your turn and then post it to an online forum with other players. They respond in their own time, and slowly you play out the adventures. It used be "play by mail" back before the internet, but now-a-days it is mostly online, and in specific forums on specialized web sites.
I find this way of playing RPGs to be deeply satisfying. It is not easy nor convenient for me to meet up with an in-person group at regular intervals, and so this type of playing provides me with enough of a "game hit" to fulfill my RPG cravings. The downside is that the game moves at a much slower pace than it would in-person or via an online meet up. I can deal with that, though. However it does give me the opportunity to stretch my creative genes, as well as practice my writing skills.
I have tried a few online sites for playing by post, but now I exclusively play at the excellent RolePlay onLine site. It has a lot of players as well as game masters running their own games. Yes, I've had to be choosy about which games I join, and some of them stall and die regardless of what I do. But overall I have found that, like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it. By that I mean if you make a real effort to be part of the game and post on a regular basis then that helps the game survive and be fun. I have had good experiences being a GM and running my own games as well. And best of all: it allows me to do something that I love, and on a regular basis too!
If you have any interest in playing a TTRPG by post, then I encourage you to give it a try. It is certainly not for everybody, but can provide loads of fun for those who are interested.
PS: Years ago when I first got into play-by-post, I wrote a guest blog article for Tenkar's Tavern about my experiences with it, and how it made me an overall better gamer. Be sure to check it out if you are interested in this topic.
