Madison Public Library offers online Dungeons & Dragons service

To push back against the coronavirus pandemic’s social isolation, Madison Public Library is seeking to unite people with fun — tabletop and video games for home use and games to connect online using Discord, a digital community server.

Library Director Dee Culbertson said in a news release that there are a wealth of tabletop games for checkout and there are weekly online gaming opportunities for young people.

The library applied for and received content from Hasbro for D&D Beyond, an online service that enhances play of Dungeons and Dragons online, the release stated. In the game, players create their own characters, and library staff member Joe Phommavichit leads them through adventures together.

On Thursdays, the library offers Dungeons and Dragons for groups of middle and high school students, plus young adults via Discord, Phommavichit said.

“Playing Dungeons and Dragons over the Internet has been a great opportunity for the kids and I to continue using our problem-solving and imagination skills,” he said.

The library also recently expanded its board and tabletop game collection to meet the needs of families who are spending more time at home together because of COVID, Culbertson said.

“Families are looking for things to do together,” she added. “It’s fun to bring out an old favorite board game or for everyone to learn how to play a new one together. We have games for people of all ages.”

The library also recently added games for the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X.

“All our games and puzzles can be checked out with a library card in good standing,” Culbertson said.

To sign up to play Dungeons and Dragons online, go to madison-library.libcal.com/events and click on the Thursday program called “Experience Points” that fits the right age group, or call 440-428-2189.