Many of us slung the dice in high school, enjoying long games of Dungeons and Dragons in the garages or basements of our friends. The game was social, and it allowed us to argue about arcane rules as we pretended to slaughter the bad guys, all while giving us a reason to get together and imbibe various substances. As we get older, there is less time to game, and the old groups drift apart.

Luckily for us, Wizards of the Coast has devised a way to get us back into the sublime activity of tabletop role-playing. The company is helping comic book or gaming store owners and their friends host an ongoing adventure aimed at new players and those looking to get back into the habit. Every week a new one- to two-hour encounter is hosted at the comic or gaming store, making up a 12 week adventure. The name of the program is Dungeons and Dragons Encounters.

Here's how it works. Store employees who want to participate contact Wizards of the Coast, and the company provides everything. "You receive a kit of materials, and it has character sheets, it has the adventure content, and it has the basic ruleset... it has all the components you need to run the game," Wizards of the Coast said. "It's a one-encounter, hour-and-a-half setup where you can play if you don't have any of the books, or you don't have anyone to play with... it's really exploratory."

That's the key: players don't need to know the game, they don't need to own books, and they don't need to bring a group. The encounters are set up to be an easy way to join a game, even if you have never gamed before. Dungeons and Dragons can be an intimidating thing if you've never played, and this way anyone who is curious can join a game and see what all the fuss is about.

Around 1,000 stores are carrying the encounters right now, with more signing up as the program runs its course. "We have all of these retail partners that have people coming into their store and want a way to build community, and to get customers to connect with each other," we were told. "We also heard from people who used to play and want to get back into it."

For those who may be in an area where they don't have a gaming group, it's also a way to meet other people who like to game without having to leave their comfort zone since the games are hosted at the store. "It's kind of a neutral turf, you're not going to someone's house that you don't really know."

There are no downsides

This makes getting into Dungeons and Dragons much easier and less intimidating even if you're a first-time gamer. Retail stores get an excuse to run a newbie-friendly game and try to convert interested parties into paying customers. If someone finishes a season of these quick encounters and wants to pick up the source book and some dice to help their friends learn how to play... they're already in the right place.

The first season has already ended, and the next one is coming up. "Each season is around 12 weeks long, and it's a series of encounters that take you through an entire adventure." Season two will be an adventure set in Dark Sun, making the encounters something of a preview of the new Dark Sun content. Each season is a standalone story, so you can jump right into the next season if you didn't play in the original.

I'm an adult who still gets together with his friends once a month or so to play D&D, because it's a fun game that gives you a good excuse to be social. Our wives make desserts for us to eat, we order a pizza and mix some drinks, and we go adventuring; it's a wonderful way to play a game that doesn't require an Internet connection. If I wasn't fortunate enough to be around those who still liked to game, I would love to head to a comic store to try to find something like this in order to tap into the local community.

More and more gamers are getting their role-playing fix online; the easier it is for gamers to leave their house and find a good tabletop game, the higher the chance that real, in-person role-playing will survive. If you'd like to join a game, call your local comic or gaming store to see if they'll be hosting the encounters. If not, convince them to sign up.