Dungeons, dragons and draft: How a fantasy game went from geeky to mainstream

It's a Sunday afternoon and a bar in Halifax's north end is packed with dozens of people pretending to be goblins.

More than 40 people are here to play the fantasy role-playing game called Dungeons & Dragons — while sipping on a brew.

The bar has affectionately called the event "Dungeons & Flagons." (A flagon is a large container in which drinks are served.)

"Dragons and beer pair really well together," said Patrick King, a bartender at Good Robot Brewing Company.

"People can be a bit shy when getting into role-playing and into character. A little bit of beer sometimes helps," he said.

Dungeons & Dragons (or D&D) is a pen and paper storytelling game, featuring dwarves, elves and orcs.

"People create a world with adventure and characters," he explained.

"You can make it as elaborate as you want. Generally there's a story and a villain, and you must band together as a party and try take down the villain, or save the town, or rescue the damsel or prince," he said.

From fringe to hip

King says he's been playing the game since he was in junior high school, but it's only been in the last few years that it's become really popular.

"It was a fringe thing originally," he said.

"It was demonized just like comic books and rock and roll before it," he said, adding that the "nerdy" stereotype to the game is disappearing.

"It's kind of come to the fore and people are less shy about it, I think. It's becoming more acceptable and mainstream, and a bit hip," he said.

Dungeons & Dragons has been around since the 1970s, but in the last few years has gained in popularity, thanks to the growing interest in fantasy and popular TV shows like Stranger Things.

The most recent Dungeons & Dragons book made it on to the New York Times best-seller list for non-fiction, and Paramount recently announced it will be making a movie based on the game.

D&D 'taken off' says collectable card shop owner

Rachel Carter, owner of the Deck Box, a collectable card shop in Halifax, says more people are coming into her store asking about the game and buying the special dice used to play it.

"It's definitely going mainstream," she said. "It's a game that has taken off a lot in the last couple of years. I think a lot of pop culture with fantasy movies ... have made it a lot more accessible to more people."

Player Omar Bhimji says he played the game as a kid, but found a new love for the game when his 10-year-old son got interested.

"When he was younger, he used to pull books off the shelves and look at the pictures. He found some of my old Dungeons & Dragons books and his interest in it just kind of grew from there," he said.

Bhimji admits he was "definitely not" cool for playing the game as a kid, so it's exciting to see a bar packed with adults so excited about it.

"In times when the news isn't so great and people's outlook is a little bit bleaker, it's a great way to feel fun and invigorated for a short amount of the time without having to think about what's going on in the real world," he said.