Tabletop RPG games consist of a small group of players working together to create a cooperative narrative. These types of games are led by a player designated as the game master (nomenclature varies depending on the type of game played). The GM’s role is to create the setting and present the players with various situations, conflicts, puzzles and problems to solve. The players’ job is to work together, usually to defeat the bad guys, and to interact not as themselves, but as the characters they have created for the game.

This type of role playing instantly lends itself thinking about not what an individual would do in a situation, but what the “character” would do and why. This type of thinking encourages perspective taking on the part of the player and also highlights the difference between responding to the things we experience versus reacting to them.

Tabletop RPG systems use a structured set of rules that create confines for whether players are successful or unsuccessful in a given situation.  Characters are designed to have individual strengths and weakness that impact player’s likelihood of success or failure at agiver activity (talking someone into spilling an importance secret, climbing a difficult rock face to escape a perilous situation, etc.) Gaming sessions inevitably lead to disappointments and frustrations  that players must manage and cope with in the moment. The social aspect of the game supports players in helping each other both in the game and around the table.