The mechanics of the game were pretty involved. Usually, you have a Dungeon Master—or DM—set the stage, and then they guide the players through a massive fantasy adventure. In the gaming world, it's basically a dungeon crawl.
Players roll dice to determine how the story unfolds or the outcome of a battle. You've got your D20s, D8s, D6s, D4s—all sorts of polyhedral dice.
As the game goes on, you can grind mobs to level up your combat stats or snag loot dropped by monsters to make yourself even stronger.
Plus, every character class has its own unique skill set. Take the Dragon, for instance—it can breathe fire and roast opponents even from behind cover. Then you have the Elven Ranger, dealing ranged damage with a bow and arrow.
Basically, it's a massive multiplayer online game, just without the computer code.
Guided by the DM, players can slay monsters, level up, loot gear, and raid dungeons.
---
After a few rounds of these mini-scenarios, Georgie and Dan—playing the forces of Good—kept getting their butts kicked in the great battle between light and dark. This happened even though Dan was technically pulling double duty as the DM.
In fact, the DM is allowed to tweak the difficulty for a specific side based on personal preference—like boosting a monster's attack power or spawning a horde of enemies during a random event.
But clearly, Mike and Sheldon, playing the Evil faction, weren't fazed by Dan's attempts to rig the game.
"Yes! The Demon triumphs again!" After a few rounds of exploration, Sheldon was fully immersed in his character.
Watching his Demon character crush Georgie's Hero once again, Sheldon let out a cheer.
---
Watching her youngest son get that excited made Mary's brow furrow deeper and deeper. Finally, after another game wrapped up, she shot Mike a look, signaling him to step aside for a chat.
"Mike, it's not that I don't like winning..." Mary stammered, trying to organize her thoughts. "But do you think you could let Georgie and his team win one?"
"Why?" Mike asked. He had just started to get the hang of it and was enjoying the winning streak.
"You represent evil... sorry, Mike, I don't mean you specifically... I just mean that the side of Good is supposed to win..." Mary was rambling now, her words coming out in a jumble.
As a devout Christian, Mary couldn't stand seeing demons win, not even in a board game. And if she had it her way, she really didn't want her little boy playing as a demon in the first place.
In her eyes, this could have a negative influence on Sheldon's young, impressionable soul.
To Mike, however, it was just a game; it had nothing to do with actual good or evil. He felt Mary was being way too sensitive.
Just as Mike was about to push back, Meemaw, who had wandered over and overheard the conversation, chimed in.
She shook her head. "Mary, you're worrying too much. Even if Shelly wins, he's not gonna turn into an actual demon."
"No, Shelly is too young. He doesn't understand what he's doing." Clearly, Mary wasn't ready to let it go.
Seeing how worked up Mary was getting, Mike gave a slight shake of his head. "Alright, I know what to do."
---
Returning to the living room, Mike suggested they swap roles.
Sheldon didn't mind at all. The last few skirmishes had been too easy, and he was looking for a challenge.
Dan, however, was great at reading the room and had already noticed Mary's sour expression. He wrongly assumed she just didn't want them playing games in the house at all.
So, Dan was already plotting his exit strategy from the Cooper household. He didn't really care about swapping characters.
Georgie, on the other hand, was thrilled to get the Dragon card. He wanted to dominate the board just like Mike had. Thinking about crushing everyone made him grin.
However, that grin didn't last long.
In the scenarios that followed, Mike and Sheldon—now on the side of Good—proceeded to absolutely wreck the Evil faction over and over again.
During the process, the smile slowly faded from Georgie's face and transferred over to Sheldon's.
"Excellent! The Hero is invincible!" Sheldon, holding the Hero card, barely managed to fight off Georgie's Dragon.
Helping the side of Good secure a lead made Sheldon cheer happily.
---
"Okay, getting late. I gotta head out." Dan, who had been checked out for the last few rounds, saw his chance and packed up the board game.
Sheldon wanted to play a little longer, but after checking the sky outside, he nodded. "That's a shame. We should play again when you have time."
Sheldon had gotten his fill of gaming for the afternoon, so he didn't try to keep Dan there.
"Ye-Yeah, sure..." Dan replied without an ounce of sincerity. avoiding Mary's gaze as he practically bolted out of the Cooper house.
He had already decided he was never bringing his games here again.
---
"See, Mary? I told you it was just a game," Meemaw said to Mary once everything had cleared out.
After all, Sheldon had won the later rounds playing as the Hero. That proved he wasn't attached to being the villain. A game is just a game.
"I'm still not sure..." Mary frowned.
Although seeing Sheldon stop playing the Demon had calmed her down a bit, the image of him cheering after a demonic victory was stuck in her head.
She actually felt that, for a split second, some evil force had taken hold of her son.
Once that thought took root, Mary couldn't find any peace. She was still dwelling on it when her husband came home that evening.
"George, listen to me. Something terrible happened this afternoon..." Seizing a moment before dinner, Mary pulled her tired husband aside.
She recounted the entire afternoon involving Sheldon in vivid detail.
George, exhausted from a long day at work, listened to his wife and gave a dismissive reply. "Mary, you're worrying for nothing. Look at him, Shelly is fine."
At the dinner table, Sheldon was sitting quietly as usual. Next to him, Missy was happily clinging to Mike. The little girl hadn't seen Mike in a week and was busy showing him how much she missed him.
"Forget it. You wouldn't understand anyway. I'll handle it myself." Mary figured since her husband wasn't as devout, he couldn't understand her anxiety.
She decided it was best to solve this problem on her own.
"Suit yourself." George shook his head and dropped it.
---
After dinner, Mary found a quiet corner and called Pastor Jeff.
On the other end of the line, Pastor Jeff was in the middle of a romantic candlelight dinner for two.
Thanks to Meemaw's pep talk earlier, Pastor Jeff had worked up the courage to pursue the female traffic cop. after getting to know each other, they realized their personalities and ages were a perfect match, and things were moving fast.
Caught up in the romance, the two middle-aged lovebirds had moved from the dining table to the sofa, tangled up in each other's arms.
Just as they were about to take things to the next level, Pastor Jeff's phone rang.
"Ignore it... let's keep going..."
Pastor Jeff managed to ignore the first ring. But just as they reached the critical moment again, the phone started ringing off the hook.
"Hang on..." Summoning an incredible amount of willpower, Pastor Jeff answered the phone.