The Kids on Bikes RPG is a wildly popular tabletop roleplaying game inspired by the show Stranger Things. As more and more people hear about the game, especially from the world of Dungeons & Dragons, they have questions. What’s the Kids on Bikes RPG about? What age is appropriate for a Kids on Bikes game? What is the setting of Kids on Bikes? And, of course, how do you play Kids on Bikes? We’re a crew of professional Game Masters who run games like Kids on Bikes, XCrawl, and DND for tweens and teens, and we got to sit down with Jonathan Gilmour-Long, co-creator of Kids on Bikes, to hear more about how to play Kids on Bikes. 

Dungeons and Dragons is a key element of Stranger Things. The characters not only play D&D in the show, but the game impacts their relationships, how they see the world, and even what they call the monsters they encounter! There’s also just a lot of natural crossover between Stranger Things and DND. Both have a team of heroes who investigate strange happenings, fight both monsters and humans, and save the day. I got to chat with Jonathan Gilmour-Long, a game designer and Stranger-Things fan who co-created his own DND Stranger Things game called Kids on Bikes. Here’s his story, from exploring the woods and reading DND books as a teen in the 80s to designing games in the 2000s and beyond. 

We're officially in spooky season now, which a perfect time for a Halloween DND one shot! A spooky DND game is perfect for Halloween parties (or even just an excuse to get some friends together). And there are so many great resources out there: DND horror one shots, spooky DND campaigns, and a plethora of Halloween DND one shot ideas. Here are a few of our favorites we recommend for your DND Halloween game!

For players of all ages, there are a ton of benefits to Dungeons & Dragons (and games like it). But this is even more true for young players, who are in a prime stage to learn social emotional learning skills. Unfortunately, not all kids are ready to play D&D proper. They may be afraid of the dark or monsters. They may have a hard time sharing the spotlight, taking turns, and tolerating failure. They may not have the cognitive or mathematical skills to grasp the rules and make meaningful decisions in the game. My toddler, for one, doesn’t have the alphabet all the way down; there’s no way they could read a D&D character sheet! But, with some clever modifications, I was able to get them in a game. Here’s how I did it, with help from fellow Young Dragonslayers Dungeon Master and writer of TTRPGkids Steph Campbell.

Teachers, parents, and others are wondering how to teach biology in a fun way. The game of Dungeons & Dragons has already been used to teach social emotional learning, sign language, history, and more. Why not use D&D to teach biology and conservation? Mage Hand Press, creator of custom D&D content, teamed up with the Center for Biological Diversity, scientific advocate of endangered species, to create a totally unique monster manual. In this book, you won’t find orcs, goblins, or kobolds. Instead, each “monster” is inspired by a real-world extinct animal. The Book of Extinction has two versions for each entry. One is the actual creature from our world: its history, biology, and the circumstances leading to its extinction. The other is a creature with lore, magic, and abilities that are inspired by the real-world creature but more suited to the world of D&D. As a team of educators, parents, therapists, and youth workers bringing D&D to young players, we’re always looking out for awesome D&D resources for teachers, and we fell in love with this one immediately. We got to chat with Lucas Zellers, the lead writer for the Book of Extinction, about his journey from D&D player to honorary conservationist.

Teachers and parents alike are looking for ways to teach kids sign language. And while children’s sign language classes, sign language video tutorials, and family sign language lessons are all great ways to learn, it can be a challenge to get children invested. We’ve already seen how Dungeons & Dragons can be used to teach social emotional learning skills, and some teachers are even using D&D in the classroom – why not use D&D to teach sign language? We got the chance to speak to Rich Oxenham, who, after over a decade spent working with the Deaf community, tried to do just that, and co-created a family business along the way! Here’s what he had to say about his journey to teach sign language with Dungeons & Dragons.

With Halloween coming soon, many Dungeons & Dragons players are in the mood for one thing: spooks, scares, and skeletons (or your monster of choice). Fortunately, the game contains loads of fun monsters and creatures perfect for the season. But newcomers to the game can find sifting through all of the available materials intimidating; luckily, there are many adventures out there that have already been put together. We’ve selected three great starter adventures for beginning Dungeon Masters that may be just the thing to get a Halloween one-shot together this spooky season.

Hail and well met, future Dungeon Masters! You’re ready to dive into the world of facilitating your own Dungeons & Dragons games. Welcome to a realm where your imagination runs wild, and you can bring your wildest dreams (or nightmares) alive for your friends and family. But wait: before you start crafting epic quests and summoning mythical creatures, you might be wondering, "Where do I even begin?" Fear not, my fellow adventurer, because we've got your back.