A tabletop role-playing game is a collaborative storytelling experience where players (often called a “party”) create characters and describe their actions in a shared imaginary world, guided by a set of rules. One player, known as the Game Master (GM), narrates the setting, controls the world and its inhabitants, and responds to the players’ decisions. Dice or other random elements are often used to determine the outcomes of risky actions, and the story evolves based on the group’s creativity and choices.

The goal isn’t to win, the goal is to tell a compelling story and have fun doing it.

TTRPGs naturally provide therapeutic benefits, and when combined with targeted therapeutic techniques, those benefits can be significantly enhanced. Through gameplay, participants encounter a wide range of both real-world and fantastical situations. They might need to negotiate with a town official to make a good impression or defend themselves from a monster trying to steal their treasure.

No character is good at everything, so players must learn to trust, communicate, and rely on one another to achieve shared goals. This is where a TTRPG-based social skills group truly shines. Traditional social skills groups teach many of the same skills — communication, emotional regulation, planning, collaboration, perspective-taking, and even pretend play, but they often lack an organic environment in which to practice them.

A TTRPG setting naturally provides those opportunities. Participants practice new skills not only with their peers but also with the many non-player characters (NPCs) controlled by the GM. They receive immediate, in-context feedback when they succeed, and when they make mistakes.

Example in Action

Imagine a party of adventurers arriving in a new town and heading to the local inn to secure rooms for the night. When they approach the innkeeper, Player A is rude and demands a discounted rate. The innkeeper, unimpressed, responds by raising the price for Player A, or refusing to house the group altogether.

This interaction provides immediate, low-stakes feedback. Player A now has an opportunity to practice repairing the social misstep, or the rest of the group can step in and model a more appropriate way to engage with someone they hope to do business with.

There are several reasons this approach is so effective, but two stand out:

It’s Fun:
First and foremost, TTRPGs are enjoyable. When participants are immersed in a story and having fun, they often forget they’re in a therapeutic setting. This sense of play opens them up to deeper engagement and learning. Learners of all ages — children, adolescents, and adults — consistently cite enjoyment as a key factor in boosting motivation, enhancing engagement, and improving information retention (Ares & Gorrell, 2002; Lucardie, 2014).

It’s Low-Risk:
Because the setting is fictional, participants are more willing to take social risks they might avoid in real life. Research shows that simulation-based training leads to real-world learning: skills developed in simulated environments transfer to real-life contexts. Simulation is already a cornerstone of training in fields like medicine (Alinier et al., 2006; Cook et al., 2011; Okuda et al., 2008; Sturm et al., 2008), sports (Fadde & Zaichkowsky, 2018), and aviation (De Winter et al., 2012; Hays et al., 1992). In the same way, the social skills practiced in a TTRPG are highly generalizable beyond the game table.

TTRPGs offer a dynamic, engaging, and evidence-informed way to teach and practice social skills. They provide a safe environment for experimentation, meaningful feedback, and collaborative problem-solving — all wrapped up in an experience that participants look forward to each week. It’s therapy disguised as adventure, and that’s what makes it so powerful.