‘The Chonk Dice’, a huge D20 with signatures from DnD legends including the cast of Critical Role, raised $2,300 (£1,800) in a charity raffle at this year’s UK Games Expo. The charity Game Therapy UK will give the funds straight to Tactical Advance to Game, a programme “which supports veterans and current servicemen and women through therapeutic gaming”.
The massive DnD die was provided by indie RPG publisher Critical Kit, and was signed by a wide selection of gaming’s best and brightest prior to being raffled:
- Luke Gygax, a game designer and son of Gary Gygax, co-creator of DnD
- The Critical Role cast
- Sir Ian Livingstone, co-founder of Warhammer-maker Games Workshop, and responsible for DnD’s early import into Europe
- Board game YouTubers No Rolls Barred
- British DnD podcast Roll Britannia
Steve Cox, the chair of the Tactical Advance to Game (TAG) project, says “we extend our heartfelt thanks to the incredible groups and individuals who supported our fundraising raffle”. He adds that “this money will be instrumental in expanding our charity’s reach and purchasing additional equipment to enhance the gaming experiences for our participants”.
According to the TAG website, it “provides a community for military gamers to find games, run by military community members, to build social networks, and provide comradeship”. It’s currently running several online DnD campaigns and the Aliens RPG, which are free for veterans and service people to join. TAG also “supports GTUK’s therapeutic gaming projects supporting veterans mental health”.
Game Therapy UK as a whole promotes “therapeutic gaming” in the UK, including “evidence-based therapeutic gaming projects” that assist people’s “physical health, mental health”, or tackle “social disadvantage”. It also promotes research into therapeutic gaming, and education on how it works.
Wargamer’s resident psychiatrist, Dr. Joe Stammeijer, is a member of Game Therapy UK – check out his article on why DnD therapy works to learn more about it.