Thinking with D&D: Cognitive Benefits
It's no surprise that all games require thinking. Even the simplest activities, created by children on the playground of a schoolyard, involve a set of rules which must be adhered to, requiring at least basal cognitive processes. The process of thinking in games is further complicated when strategy is thrown into the mix, be it an ultimate end goal of victory or a host of smaller obstacles to overcome. By nature, games are based on a level of applied analysis and strategy, and these intangible aspects ultimately determine the end goal (this consideration will exclude confounding variables of chance which impact results, for simplicity's sake).
On a list of games portrayed in media and popularized by discussion in society, Dungeons & Dragons surely ranks highly in terms of thinking, strategic and cognitive demands. Aside from the large rulebooks that govern gameplay, the sheer representational element of D&D constitutes a large bulk of these thinking demands. Although it takes place in a fantasy world, many of the situations in D&D mirror real-life problems. In essence, the fantasy world which players participate in is governed by the same laws which reality is, both in a philosophical and physical sense. This is to say that the same problems which characters in the D&D universe encounter are not so different from the ones their players are exposed to throughout their lives. Good things are beneficial, bad things have consequences, fire burns, and sharp objects hurt.
Because of these parallels, players share a level of empathy with the characters which they control in the game. Though it can be argued that empathy is not so much a thinking process as it is an aspect of human intuition, it also follows that this empathy
actually stimulates thinking. If a player finds their character presented with a situation that is intuitively detrimental, strategic thinking processes begin in order to avoid or overcome this obstacle.
These situations which require strategy and problem solving are a hallmark of D&D. The game is populated with battles and combat encounters, which require consideration of multiple variables when deciding a course of action. Enemies, terrain, resources, and even other players are taken into consideration with each action. Decisions are not isolated events, but rather individual pieces which contribute to an overall outcome further down the road. The rigors of these decision-making processes are intensified by the fantasy element of the game; magic, mythical beasts, and supernatural catastrophe all present situations unlike any in reality, and thus require a level of creative thinking above that of typical problems, which may be solved by logic and fact. Instead of existing as an irrelevant facet of a fantasy world, however, the very creativity which is utilized in the 'out-of-the-box' thinking in D&D can be applied to the real world. Characteristics and resources in the natural environment might be viewed in a new light, stimulated by the parallels drawn between the worlds of fantasy and reality.
With all of the cognitive processes and analysis that consitutes the bulk of the game, perhaps the world of D&D is not so different from our own world. Characters are faced with problems and struggles which they must overcome, and through these characters, players vicariously overcome them. By virtue of this act, D&D becomes something more than a game. It becomes a practice ground, a mirror of reality where participants can experience the act of problem solving, without any of the real-life consequences that accompany failure. Through participation in this fantasy world, players can enhance their problem-solving and multivariable analysis skills in a risk-free environment, and perhaps in so doing, use these newly honed skills to create a new world full of possibilities within their own lives.