Creating a truly welcoming gaming space means prioritizing warmth and authenticity over a sterile environment. The magic of tabletop gaming lives in genuine human connection—the shared laughter and expressive faces. By fostering active listening and ensuring everyone feels seen and included, we build a community where friendships flourish.

My tabletop gaming journey began when I was 8 years old and my dad bought me a copy of Pokémon Blue Version for my Game Boy. While Pokémon Blue is not a tabletop game, it’s a video game, it quickly led to an obsession with all things Pokémon, including the collectible trading cards.

The year was 1978. As a nine-year-old kid, I unwrapped a Christmas gift that would shape the rest of my life: the red-boxed starter set for Dungeons & Dragons, accompanied by the boxed set of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. From that moment, I never looked back. This was the beginning of a lifelong passion for tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs).