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Now, Wardhaugh has more than 50 players participating around the world. Some fly in from as far as England to binge-play sessions of the game. A TV-screen setup in the basement allows for remote play.

Wardhaugh, as the dungeon master, organizes and plans adventures for the players.

He’s also amassed an impressive collection of more than 20,000 hand-painted miniatures and life-like terrain pieces, allowing the fantasy epic to unfold with intense realism.

So how does he keep the game going after nearly 40 years?

“You have to tell a good story,” he said. “It’s all about the fact that the game doesn’t end, so people feel invested in it.”

The diversity of Wardhaugh’s game world also keeps the story fresh. Using his history background, he incorporates elements from different cultures and historical periods, and alternate fantasy worlds, into the encompassing campaign.

“I suppose that’s one of the reasons why it’s been able to last and continue is that there’s a sense of an unknown, expanding world that has so much depth to it.”

Wardhaugh spends a few hours a day working on the game, which he calls a “homebrew campaign” that follows his own set of rules, inspired by the creativity afforded by Dungeons and Dragons.