Is Dungeons and Dragons "mainstream" now? (Nope.)

[Megalosaro]

The game has always been popular, and is probably the most influential game of the last century.... but it has also been underground.

5th edition has been super successful. I think it's the most played edition. Critical Role and other streams are numerous and there is no shortage of youtube shoes (shout out to mah boy Matt Colville).

10 years ago I had a hard time finding anyone to play with. Now I have a god damned wait list. I can't handle more than 4 players. But the moment people hear I dm, I get interrogated.

This is pretty near imho.

 

[Platy]

Not even close.

It is still by far the most underground thing that get lots of references everywhere.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Lol, no. Not even close.
Many nerd / geek properties have made it into the mainstream in the 21st century (Marvel, DC, etc) but most people don't know shit about D&D. It has almost no mainstream relevance outside of America's borders.

 

[j_rocca42]

Absolutely not

 

[MoeDabs]

Not even remotely close to mainstream. Thanks for the laugh though!

 

[.JayZii]

Not at all. It is past the youth corrupting satanic panic phase, though.

 

[jstripes]

Nothing has changed with its popularity. Nowadays fans just have unfettered access to non-local fans, and can find local fans they didn't know existed.

In other words, social media.

 

[sleepwalkcapsules]

It's certainly at an peak interest moment. But not anywhere near mainstream.

 

[thekillermuffin]

Absolutely not. While most everyone knows what D&D is and many have benefitted from things that have been influenced by it, straight up D&D is still incredibly nerdy to the general population.

I say this as someone who plays regularly.

 

[Mattakuevan]

Haha what. No. Its considered especially geeky even among geeks.

 

[Moff]

there is no multiverse out there where D&D is mainstream

 

[HvySky]

I mean, it's probably moreso now than it was originally, but nah.

 

[CrunchyB]

lol no.

I think it was more popular in the early 90s. It's mostly played by old farts like me

 

[Skellig Gra]

I needed a good laugh. It may be more popular but it's not even close.

 

[Slayven]

Mainstream? Do nerds even still play it?

 

[Fancolors]

Nah. It's still harder to get into it than most entertainment.

 

[PSqueak]

Mainstream as in most people know there is a thing called Dungeons and Dragons, but not as in "everybody plays it".

 

[Fireblend]

No but I did start playing this year - more of a side effect of the popularity of board games rising IMO, which is something that's happening for sure.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

The idea of DnD has become more mainstream, or at least accepted, as much as anything that heavy in nerd culture can be. 20 years ago or so it used to be even other nerds would side-eye you for for being open about it but now, like cosplay, there are enough attractive and cool people embracing it that people get less judgey.

Now actually playing DnD? Hell no.

 

[John Kowalski]

I would wager more people watch anime than play D&D.

 

[kswiston]

I would wager more people watch anime than play D&D.

Obviously. Unless you are restricting this to the United States.

EDIT: Even then, yes.

 

[Saganator]

Not even close and I doubt it will ever be mainstream. It's at least out of the hysteria phase from the 80's and early 90's. I remember my dad telling me to stay away from D&D because of the stupid satanic panic surrounding it.

 

[FrontalMonk]

D&D may not be mainstream, but it is more mainstream now than it has ever been. Personally I'd credit the successes of 3rd and 5th edition launches for being successful at listening to fans while setting the accessibility bar low (incredibly so for 5th) along with the ever emerging presence of what I'd call "geek chic", this whole idea that geekdom is more mainstream than ever before. You can debate whether that is a good thing or not til the cows come home (and there's plenty to discuss in the geek community that will take a very long time to ever unpack properly) but the effect has been undeniable. I've been a diehard grognard for almost 20 years and my parents have never understood, but I'll bet you every dollar I own they know those Big Bang Theory bits about it.

I know that for me personally, when I mention D&D to someone I don't know terribly well, like a coworker for example, they'll scoff a bit, then I'll tell them what went down in the last couple sessions and they'll be like "wait, so how does that work? is it a computer program? how do you get to figure out who does what?" and before you know it they're like "damn. I ought to check that out." It may help that I work in IT.

 

[Megalosaro]

No but I did start playing this year - more of a side effect of the popularity of board games rising IMO, which is something that's happening for sure.

True. We are in a board game.

I would wager more people watch anime than play D&D.

I would to. But anime fans are coming to dnd because of crit role

 

[Brinbe]

lol no. not even close

if anything it has even less mainstream relevance now

 

[ScatheZombie]

At my local game shop, D&D is less popular than (in order of current popularity of total regular players and sales):

Magic the Gathering
Warhammer 40K
Star Wars: X-Wing
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
Heroclix
Star Wars: Destiny
Pokemon
Star Wars: Armada
Final Fantasy TCG
Yu-Gi-Oh
World of Darkness LARP
Chess
Board Game Night
Vanguard

 

[border]

There's probably a bigger audience for funny YouTube videos of other people playing D&D than there is an audience for actual D&D.

 

[ShdwDrake]

It's not mainstream but it doesn't matter, its easy to find each other. Thank you internet for making DnD great again!

 

[sleepykyo]

Probably not. The streams and what not just make it easier to find others.

 

[marrec]

Geekdom in general is certainly "mainstream" now, and D&D has more cultural awareness than ever before, but it's still niche when compared to how many people participate in it compared to other geeky things.

In fact, I'd say that the gap between awareness and participation is probably greater than any other geek thing.

 

[SliceSabre]

Not in the least.

More people know what it is now true, but it is still a niche within a niche of 'nerd' things and is still considered something that is the epitome of 'nerd' by the general populace.

 

[kswiston]

In fact, I'd say that the gap between awareness and participation is probably greater than any other geek thing.

Maybe. I would imagine that Cosplay is pretty skewed when you compare the people actually dressing up to the people looking at their pics online.

DnD has a pretty big barrier to entry though. If you are curious about anime, you turn on Netflix. If you are curious about cRPGs, you spend $5-10 on one during a Steam sale. DnD requires you to find local people to play with.

 

[Megalosaro]

There is a new group that plays dnd.

Hipsters. I sre them pretty often at my game store

 

[adj_noun]

I wanna cast magic missile

I've never known anybody who played.

 

[Sylas]

At my local game shop, D&D is less popular than (in order of current popularity of total regular players and sales):

Magic the Gathering
Warhammer 40K
Star Wars: X-Wing
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
Heroclix
Star Wars: Destiny
Pokemon
Star Wars: Armada
Final Fantasy TCG
Yu-Gi-Oh
World of Darkness LARP
Chess
Board Game Night
Vanguard

Part of the thing with D&D that hurts it's playability at game shops is the fact that there's no collecting aspect. It's pretty hard to push since you can't just toss some cheap merch/booster packs at people and nab their interest that way. All you really have are minis and even then, they aren't really collectibles in the same way

Though the LARP and Chess being on that list is pretty rad. Interesting to see that LARP is more popular when it has a much higher barrier of entry!

There's probably a bigger audience for funny YouTube videos of other people playing D&D than there is an audience for actual D&D.

This makes sense since if you actually wanna play D&D you gotta find a DM that engages you on an interesting level. It's a really hard balance to strike and changing things on the fly for your players is tough. Sitting down and watching other people play is super easy. Finding a group you really click with isn't. God forbid you wind up in a group with a That Guy. It can ruin your experience for good.

 

[Ogodei]

Tabletop RPGs are way too involved to ever go mainstream, methinks. Even some of the more involved sports like golf are moderately "pick up and play" and have a game-time limit of about 5 hours or so.

 

[akileese]

The game has always been popular, and is probably the most influential game of the last century.... but it has also been underground.

5th edition has been super successful. I think it's the most played edition. Critical Role and other streams are numerous and there is no shortage of youtube shoes (shout out to mah boy Matt Colville).

10 years ago I had a hard time finding anyone to play with. Now I have a god damned wait list. I can't handle more than 4 players. But the moment people hear I dm, I get interrogated.

This is pretty near imho.

The barrier of entry has been lowered but it's nowhere near mainstream. You have to remember that with the way the internet is currently setup you can broadcast this stuff anywhere. Just because there are a lot of youtube videos doesn't mean it's mainstream though. In the age where you can play d&d with roll20 online, I'd argue it's as popular as it's ever been though.

 

[Professor Crate]

The general reaction, and questions, I get when I'm trying to get others to join my group points to not mainstream. Increase in popularity because of Critical Role and Stranger Things makes it seems like it.

 

[marrec]

Maybe. I would imagine that Cosplay is pretty skewed when you compare the people actually dressing up to the people looking at their pics online.

DnD has a pretty big barrier to entry though. If you are curious about anime, you turn on Netflix. If you are curious about cRPGs, you spend $5-10 on one during a Steam sale. DnD requires you to find local people to play with.

You're right, cosplay is probably a bigger gap, didn't even consider that.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Part of the thing with D&D that hurts it's playability at game shops is the fact that there's no collecting aspect. It's pretty hard to push since you can't just toss some cheap merch/booster packs at people and nab their interest that way. All you really have are minis and even then, they aren't really collectibles in the same way

Though the LARP and Chess being on that list is pretty rad. Interesting to see that LARP is more popular when it has a much higher barrier of entry!

Never underestimate LARP fans. They may be rare but when they show up they run with a crew.

 

[Nairume]

I think it's certainly regained a lot of it's cultural penetration that it had before the satanic panic set in, but it's still not at the point to where it was at the one point it was big enough that it had its own cartoon.

But, that said, while mainstream isn't the right way to put it, it's probably in a much healthier state than it was in the late 90s (when TSR was going under and nobody knew if D&D would survive) or the early 2000s (when the p&p market crashed). D&D is getting referenced in more and more things (Stranger Things alone seems to have gotten a lot of people in/back into it). Also, you can now buy D&D stuff in places like Walmart and Target, meaning you don't have to brave a local game store (or go online) if you want to get into it.

Either way, something is different enough to transform both the industry and the playerbase, given games are being increasingly designed to be more inclusive and the playerbase is also starting to drop some of the things that we used to be mocked over in the past.

 

[Megalosaro]

Either way, something is different enough to transform both the industry and the playerbase, given games are being increasingly designed to be more inclusive and the playerbase is also starting to drop some of the things that we used to be mocked over in the past.

Yup. I've seen this too. It's exciting

 

[Mega]

The general reaction, and questions, I get when I'm trying to get others to join my group points to not mainstream. Increase in popularity because of Critical Role and Stranger Things makes it seems like it.

This. References in popular media that have generated renewed interest among old timers + some new people in the market for niche hobbies, but nothing that has panned out widely to general mainstream interest.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

It's certainly much bigger than it was in the 90s (when I got into it), but I wouldn't say "mainstream".

I think it's also true that people in general seem more open to the idea of "role playing". A lot of people I've played with or met in recent years were very new to it.

Like you OP, I've got too many people. My current group is 8 people. Granted, we've never had a session that everyone came to, but even then I've got several people who've pulled me aside at a party and asked if they could join.

 

[ScatheZombie]

Part of the thing with D&D that hurts it's playability at game shops is the fact that there's no collecting aspect. It's pretty hard to push since you can't just toss some cheap merch/booster packs at people and nab their interest that way. All you really have are minis and even then, they aren't really collectibles in the same way.

We also have a problem of player divide. There's two regular groups that play in the store. We have one group that's between ages 30-60+ and they play exclusively 3rd edition or older. And we have another group that's between ages ~12 and 40 and they play exclusively 5th edition.

These groups have absolutely no overlap because the 3rd edition folks are super-pretentious and heavy-roleplay and the 5th edition group is only here to play a quick game and throw some dice.

There probably isn't a bigger difference in game groups among any of our other events.

 

[crimzonflame]

Is MAGIC mainstream?

 

[Knuckle Sandwich]

No.

My wife likes Harmon Quest though so that's something.

 

[CrocMother]

There is a new group that plays dnd.

Hipsters. I sre them pretty often at my game store

*Raises hand

Just started playing a few months ago

 

[Megalosaro]

It's certainly much bigger than it was in the 90s (when I got into it), but I wouldn't say "mainstream".

I think it's also true that people in general seem more open to the idea of "role playing". A lot of people I've played with or met in recent years were very new to it.

Like you OP, I've got too many people. My current group is 8 people. Granted, we've never had a session that everyone came to, but even then I've got several people who've pulled me aside at a party and asked if they could join.

8 sounds impossible. How do you handle it

 

[Kyuur]

It's definitely at its high point; stuff like Stranger Things and Community expanded knowledge of it to mainstream, people look to cards, boardgames, etc as a retreat from less-social screen based activity. I think the only thing really stopping it is in the time and dollar (for those who want to legally each have their own handbooks etc) investment. I could see it exploding with some sort of lite version if it was marketed right.