MEET YOUR NEW FAVORITE HOBBY D&D Is a Game for All Ages — Yours Included!
December 20th is International Games Day, and I am a fan of all types of games: board games, video games, card games, party games, and so even though I’m a little embarrassed to admit it; I’ll put it in writing: I love playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). You might recognize D&D as the game Mike and his friends play in the Netflix show “Stranger Things.” The show has contributed to a recent D&D craze, and my family has joined in the fun. We didn’t discover the game until just before the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. It was early March, and I was one of many parents hustling to the game store. The shelves were completely barren except for one small box: the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set. It was on sale for $15, so I picked it up, scanned the back of the box, and thought, “Why not? I’ll try it.” I brought the game home and taught my older kids how to play. We quickly fell into a COVID routine: Every evening after they finished their homeschool lessons, we broke out the D&D box and played the game together. We had a fantastic time, no one was more surprised than me! D&D is a tabletop roleplaying game. It’s essentially a storytelling game that includes random chance. Everyone creates a character, and then those characters navigate a story that all of the players make up together. If you want to make a particular move, sometimes you need to roll the dice to discover whether you succeed or fail. From there, the dungeon master (DM) weaves the result into the rest
of the story. The game is part chess, part bedtime story, and part whose-line-is-it-anyway.
I love everything about D&D: the complex rules, the creativity needed to make up stories on the fly, and the fact that my kids continually surprise me with their innovations. I usually play with my 10- and 12-year-old boys, but my teenage daughters sometimes join us. My wife has even played a few sessions! I’ve also found fellow adult “nerds” to game with, too. If you’re skeptical of D&D, I highly recommend giving it a try. If I love it, you might too. I also recommend the board game Splendor and the card games from GrandpaBecksGames.com. Invest in a few, and you won’t be bored this holiday season. Happy gaming!
– Michael Packard
TAKE A BREAK
NO-BAKE PEANUT BUTTER SNOWBALLS
Ingredients
Inspired by TheFoodieAffair.com
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp softened butter
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1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 lb white chocolate candy coating
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Directions
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. 2. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, and softened butter. Mix until evenly combined. 3. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on the lined cookie sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm. 4. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate candy coating in increments of 30 seconds, stirring occasionally until smooth. 5. In the same bowl, use skewers to dip peanut butter balls into the chocolate before placing them on a lined cookie sheet so they can harden. 6. Chill until ready and then serve!
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