Over one in five American adults (23%) with online access have played a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Pathfinder, or GURPs. While 45% of men under 45 years old have played, less than 10% of men over 55 have played; 39% of women under 25 have played, compared to 25% of women 25 to 34, and 10% of women 55-64.

1. 23%
77%
Yes No
Sample Size: 964 (96% of Respondents)
Have you ever played a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG)
such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Pathfinder, or GURPs?

2. Have you ever played a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG)
such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Pathfinder, or GURPs?
Which of the following groups describes your current age?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Yes ⇑ 41 ⇑ 36 ⇑ 32 23 ⇓ 9 ⇓ 4
No ⇓ 59 ⇓ 64 ⇓ 68 77 ⇑ 91 ⇑ 96
Base n=111 n=180 n=206 n=181 n=127 n=159
Sample Size: 964 (96% of Respondents)
Nested Gender and Age
Male
18-24
Male
25-34
Male
35-44
Male
45-54
Male
55-64
Male
65+
Female
18-24
Female
25-34
Female
35-44
Female
45-54
Female
55-64
Female
65+
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Yes ⇑ 44 ⇑ 46 ⇑ 44 28 ⇓ 9 ⇓ 7 ⇑ 39 25 19 18 ⇓ 10 ⇓ 0
No ⇓ 56 ⇓ 54 ⇓ 56 72 ⇑ 91 ⇑ 93 ⇓ 61 75 81 82 ⇑ 90 ⇑ 100
Base n=55 n=91 n=104 n=90 n=64 n=81 n=56 n=89 n=102 n=91 n=63 n=78

3. Which tabletop roleplaying games have you played? - Top 10
62%
25%
23%
18%
17%
16%
15%
15%
13%
12%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Dungeons & Dragons
Star Wars RPG
Dragon Age
Advanced Fighting Fantasy
Star Trek Adventures
Dungeon World
Blades in the Dark
Pathfinder
Bubblegumshoe
Beyond the Wall
Sample Size: 234 (23% of Respondents)
Note: Respondents could select multiple options

4. 40%
32%
32%
26%
25%
24%
20%
20%
19%
9%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition
Original Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition
Basic Dungeons & Dragons
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons, v. 3.5
Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition
Basic/Expert Set Dungeons & Dragons
Don't recall
Other
None of the above
Sample Size: 144 (14% of Respondents)
Note: Respondents could select multiple options
Which editions of Dungeons & Dragons have you ever
played?

5. Which editions of Dungeons & Dragons have you ever
played?
Option Rank Response %
Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition 1 40%
Original Dungeons & Dragons 2 32%
Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition 3 32%
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition 4 26%
Basic Dungeons & Dragons 5 25%
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 6 24%
Dungeons & Dragons, v. 3.5 7 20%
Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition 8 20%
Basic/Expert Set Dungeons & Dragons 9 19%
Don't recall 10 9%
Sample Size: 144 (14% of Respondents)
Note: Respondents could select multiple options

6. Which editions of Dungeons & Dragons have you ever
played?
Do you have any children 25 or younger living in your
household?
Yes No
(%) (%)
Original Dungeons & Dragons 36 30
Basic Dungeons & Dragons 28 22
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 28 21
Basic/Expert Set Dungeons & Dragons 27 17
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition 30 23
Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition ⇑ 33 ⇓ 10
Dungeons & Dragons, v. 3.5 ⇑ 34 ⇓ 12
Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition ⇑ 46 ⇓ 19
Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition ⇑ 48 ⇓ 31
Don't recall ⇓ 3 ⇑ 14
Base n=67 n=77
Sample Size: 144 (14% of Respondents)

7. 2%
7%
58%
18%
6%
3%
5%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
1 - 4
5 - 9
10 - 19
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 99
Sample Size: 144 (14% of Respondents)
How old were you when you first played Dungeons &
Dragons?

8. When was the last time you played Dungeons & Dragons?
6%
33%
16%
14%
7%
24%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Today
In the past week
In the past month
In the past year
1-5 years ago
6 or more years ago
Sample Size: 144 (14% of Respondents)

9. What is preventing you from trying Dungeons & Dragons, 5th
edition?

10. What is preventing you from trying Dungeons & Dragons, 5th
edition?
Word Frequency Example Quote
Play 22 "I haven't played it since I had my kids. I was still in college the last
time I played and would have to learn a lot to start playing again. I just
don't have the amount of time that it takes to play."
Time 14 "I don't really like the game, I just went along with it for a boyfriend at
the time, back in late 1980s."
Interest 8 "I found other games that I am more interested in playing."
To play with 8 "I don't have anyone to play with and the rules seem to be too involved
as well as the material being too expensive."
Nothing 7 "Nothing don't have much time to play work too much."
One 7 "I like playing other kinds of games more as opposed to this one which
is more time consuming."
Game 6 "I just need to buy the game."
Money 4 "I don't have enough money for it."
Just 4 "I just haven’t been able to look into it or research."
Friends 4 "All my friends that played have had families and don't have time."

11. 20%
80%
Yes No
Sample Size: 964 (96% of Respondents)
Have you ever read any gamebooks, such as Choose Your
Own Adventure, Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, or solitaire
RPG adventures such as the Tunnels & Trolls series?

12. Have you ever read any gamebooks, such as Choose Your
Own Adventure, Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, or solitaire
RPG adventures such as the Tunnels & Trolls series?
Which of the following groups describes your current age?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Yes ⇑ 30 ⇑ 34 ⇑ 39 18 ⇓ 4 ⇓ 3
No ⇓ 70 ⇓ 66 ⇓ 61 82 ⇑ 96 ⇑ 97
Base n=114 n=179 n=204 n=181 n=128 n=158
Sample Size: 964 (96% of Respondents)
Have you ever played a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D),
Pathfinder, or GURPs?
Yes No
(%) (%)
Yes ⇑ 56 ⇓ 12
No ⇓ 44 ⇑ 88
Base n=227 n=720

13. 20%
80%
Yes No
Sample Size: 942 (94% of Respondents)
Have you ever played any text adventures or interactive
fiction games on a computer, tablet or smartphone, such as
Choice of Games, Infocom, or Twine games?

14. Have you ever played any text adventures or interactive
fiction games on a computer, tablet or smartphone, such as
Choice of Games, Infocom, or Twine games?
Which of the following groups describes your current age?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Yes ⇑ 45 ⇑ 36 26 ⇓ 12 ⇓ 8 ⇓ 3
No ⇓ 55 ⇓ 64 74 ⇑ 88 ⇑ 92 ⇑ 97
Base n=110 n=179 n=204 n=174 n=126 n=149
Sample Size: 942 (94% of Respondents)
Have you ever played a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D),
Pathfinder, or GURPs?
Yes No
(%) (%)
Yes ⇑ 62 ⇓ 9
No ⇓ 38 ⇑ 91
Base n=226 n=698

15. We welcome any comments about RPGs, gamebooks, or
interactive fiction.

16. We welcome any comments about RPGs, gamebooks, or
interactive fiction.
Word Frequency Example Quote
None 85 "I have none as i'm not familiar with them."
Game 32 "I think they are super fun for people that love games that push your imagination further."
Play 31 "I played Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Hobbit on Commodore 64
as text based adventures. I preferred the Hobbit because the NPCs were not bound to a story
line and would interact in an open world manner."
Fun 29 "I've always wanted to play tabletop games and RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, they seem
like they'd be really fun, but I don't know anyone who plays and I also have no idea how to get
started with RPGs."
Good 27 "My biggest selling point for a good RPG is the feeling that my decisions have tangible impact
on the game world."
Love 26 "My favorite gamebooks have been the ones in the Goosebumps series, namely Escape From
Horrorland, and I read all of the interactive fiction entries on a great old website called I-
Mockery. I love books and games like that."
Interest 24 "I have never taken part of anything of this sort, but I would be very interested in doing all of
these things listed."
Comment 22 "I've never played them so I don't really have any comments about them."
Like 16 "I feel like they are a great way to escape normal life and honestly it can be a great way to
bond, they can be really fun and you can either kinda goof off and play or play seriously."

17. Methodology
This online survey had 1,000 respondents. It was fielded from April 22 to April 23, 2019.
The results presented in this report were weighted by the following variables:
• What is your gender?
• Which of the following groups describes your current age?
• Are you of Hispanic, Spanish or Latino descent?
• Which of the following best describes your ethnicity?
• What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed?

18. Crosstab Methodology
Crosstab Table Notes:
• Only crosstab tables with significant differences of at least 10 percentage points are
included here.
• If the difference is higher at a statistically significant level, the cell is marked with
the up - arrow symbol ⇑. If it is lower, the down-arrow symbol ⇓ is used.
• Columns with fewer than 30 responses (i.e. degrees of freedom) are ignored for
statistical significance comparisons.
• Crosstabs with no significant difference greater than 10 percentage points are not
presented.
• To fit onto a single slide, some crosstabs have had columns without differences
omitted. See the spreadsheet for the full crosstabs.
• Crosstabs show only unweighted results.
• See the accompanying spreadsheet for all tables.

19. Researchscape International
Researchscape International is a market-research consultancy
specializing in custom surveys. For questions about this or other
research, please contact us at +1-888-983-1675 x1 or visit our
website, http://www.researchscape.com/.