“We started talking about the different games that we liked to play and how we would like to spend more time playing board games and stuff like that. With social media and everything, I felt like I was too online, ”said Toon, co-founder and CEO of Dice Alliance.

Dice Alliance, a nonprofit organization based in Western Kentucky, was formed about two years ago to allow adults to meet new people and build friendships around a common interest in gaming. company and tabletop like Dungeons and Dragons. Soon the group’s mission expanded to give a helping hand to students in the area and provide an activity for students to meet other students and adult mentors with similar gaming interests.

When Toon visited his grandparents after school, he and his grandparents would play classic board games like Sorry, Aggravation, and Chinese Checkers. He learned to understand how board games can bring the young and old together. Toon said other members of the Dice Alliance remember how their parents, grandparents and teachers introduced them to board games and role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. The group decided to take advantage of these experiences and pass on the legacy of the game to young people today.

Dice Alliance started after-school play sessions with middle school and high school students at independent schools in Mayfield about two years ago to help students befriend people they might not have interacted with. otherwise. Ahead of the COVID-19 restrictions, Toon said up to 30 children have come to after-school play sessions to participate in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, where players take on the role of fantastic characters and work together to complete a quest or play. to board games with other students.

Toon has stated that Dungeons and Dragons is a hit with many of the students that Dice Alliance serves.

“A lot of them really enjoyed it because it’s an escape from reality the same way a video game is, except when you play Dungeons and Dragons you can see the smiles on your faces. friends, ”Toon said.

Toon said the Dice Alliance serves a variety of students. Some students come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and don’t have as many opportunities in life, and Toon said the Dice Alliance will be there to support these kids and let them know someone is in their corner. Toon said there is a mix of personalities as well and has seen shy, bookish, gifted and talented students and athletic students have positive interactions while playing these games together.

The group has been recognized as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization since March 2020.

Toon has said he would eventually like to give scholarships to some students and hand out dice and Christmas gifts to his members to show them that they have a bunch of people invested in their success. If Dice Alliance raises enough funds, Toon said he would also like the organization to set up a permanent space to operate, host play sessions, serve food, and bring in tutors. Toon described the potential space as a “one stop shop for success”.

“What we really want to do is invest in our future, which is our youth. We want to make sure we give them every chance to succeed, ”said Toon.

In addition to its extracurricular gaming sessions, Dice Alliance still hosts events for adult gamers. It hosts a gaming event on Saturday, where people can bring in classic and new board games, card games, join the group’s Dungeons and Dragons campaign, or play games brought in by other visitors. Players and those looking to learn new games can drop by the Folsomdale Masonic Lodge in Hickory this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and meet with the members of the Dice Alliance.