What are the Most Popular Tabletop Role Playing Games?

Now with more variety than ever, tabletop role-playing games got their start in 1974, with the iconic original, Dungeons and Dragons. Now in its 5th Edition, D&D is played globally by millions. 

This granddaddy of role-playing games is ground zero for those that came after it, giving birth to online and video RPGs and a galaxy of apps. So, let’s start our review of the most popular tabletop role-playing games with the one that started it all.

Dungeons and Dragons

With all the competition, what keeps D&D on top? The launch of the 5th Edition of the game in 2014 saw a leap in merchandise sales in the double digits which has continued until today. With the release of the Netflix series Stranger Things, D&D’s popularity has gone through the roof. 

By introducing iconic characters to the mainstream audience, such as Vecna, (a personality in D&D with a very different history and motivations than the character in the series), Dungeons and Dragons became even more popular.  Characters from D&D - like the Demogorgon, Prince of Demons - and themes from the game are transformed to create the show’s unique narrative.

D&D campaigns are directed by a Dungeon Master who creates the environment, the characters, the elaborate rules, and even the elements of the story being played out. This richly complex fantasy role-playing game is enjoying a tremendous renaissance and if you haven’t played it yet, where have you been? Dice sets are used for D&D, so choose one that fires the vivid imagination you’ll need to play!

Blades in the Dark

Criminal fantasy played out in the lawless town of Duskvojl takes you to dark, unsavory places, with Blades in the Dark. Navigate this criminal wonderland’s gothic, industrial streets with your personal crew of brigands, locking horns (and blades) with rival crews, vengeful spirits, the Bluecoats (cops), and the city’s powerful elites.

Make the clandestine deals that catapult you to the top of the thug-o-sphere. Take on elaborate heists that endanger your life but offer tremendous wealth. Not for the faint of heart, this TTRPG is for those willing to be their worst selves to get their mitts on that money.

Cyberpunk

Another exceptional TTRPG that is seeing a grand resurgence due to the (rocky) release of a video game adaptation and a Netflix anime, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Set in a world controlled by the Megacorporations, this gritty, Blade Runner-esque dystopia is full of hackers, gangs, and cybernetic augments for your character. 

Much like D&D, the game is run by a person known as the game master. Actions and outcomes are determined by dice rolls. Instead of fighting trolls and evil wizards with spells and swords, you’ll be using smart guns and hacking software.

Flabbergasted

A TTRPG for our unequal times, Flabbergasted casts players back to the Roaring 1920s as they skirt the world of the wealthy, either trying to become part of it or to disrupt it. While you’d think the game would encourage all the champagne-swilling behaviors associated with the 1%, the dynamic is one of lighthearted mockery.

Class and class consciousness are highlighted in this TTRPG. In the course of the game, players are empowered to be the fly in the ointment of extreme wealth, revealing its absurdity and bursting the bubble in which it exists.

Set in the city of Peccadillo (the name means “minor sin”), players either seek to avoid scandal and embarrassment or to actively cultivate both. This game both pokes fun and provokes thought, revealing timeless truths about the yawning chasm between the uber-rich and everyone else.