Dungeons & Dragons and your local library. Oh my! Why Washington leaders are sending games to public libraries

It's perhaps no surprise that copies of Dungeons & Dragons are rolling out to libraries across Washington state. The Washington State Library falls under the purview of Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a frequent dungeon master.

Though, as a D&D player, Hobbs is known as "Happy Tracker Meow Meow," a bard for the Tabaxi college of lore. Also these days, he's playing a human evocation wizard, 17th level.

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“I have been a fan of tabletop games for most of my life, so I’m overjoyed to bring this opportunity to library patrons throughout Washington,” Secretary Hobbs said in a statement. “Dungeons & Dragons, and other role-playing games, provide players with fun and compelling ways, including therapeutic usages, to strategize and build relationships.”

Earlier this year, Wizards of the Coast (the producer of Dungeons & Dragons) donated 75 game kits to the Secretary of State's Office. Now, 50 libraries across the state will get at least one copy of the game, including public, tribal, and community college libraries.

“Libraries are valuable spaces for learning and gathering,” State Librarian Sara Jones said in a statement. “The expansion of tabletop role-playing game services will allow communities to explore topics in new, meaningful ways.”

The state has already started delivering the games. Richard E. Ostrander West Valley Community Library in Yakima was the first to get one.

Wizards of the Coast is based in Renton. It also produces Magic: The Gathering.

Dungeons & Dragons was first published in 1974 and quickly became an unstoppable force in tabletop gaming. It influenced pop culture in the 1980s and 1990s.

That's when a young Hobbs discovered the game, and has played it ever since (also, Starfinder, Pathfinder, Star Frontiers, and Top Secret Shadow Run).

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As the D&D kits roll out, the state is also offering a role-playing grant. Libraries can roll for initiative to help weave these types of games into their services. Nine libraries will get up to $2,000 for the effort.

A few have already received grant funding. Bellevue College Library is using the money to design its own game, using role-playing features as a sort of choose-your-own adventure journey to teach students how to use library resources.

Neill Public Library in Pullman already has a Dungeons & Dragons club. It will use grant money to design youth programs and make custom maps and models.

Mid-Columbia Libraries (which includes Kennewick and Pasco), will use the grant to provide the game for underserved youth in the area, as well as create a zine around the game.