08/18/2025
Looking for players for actual play. Do the algorithm things, but also make sure to click thru and give our friends DARC - Downtown Albuquerque Roleplaying Coalition some love - they're doing a lot of cool stuff!
We're cookin' up something fun! 😉 We won't be filming...yet.
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"Actual play" shows and podcasts are a form of entertainment where people record themselves playing tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), like Dungeons & Dragons, often with a focus on storytelling, character development, and performance. Here's a brief history:
Early 2000s – The Roots
Actual play content began informally, with fans sharing audio or written accounts of TTRPG sessions online (like forum play-by-posts or session recaps).
The medium wasn’t yet professional or widely known.
Mid-Late 2000s – First Shows
2008: Penny Arcade's Acquisitions Incorporated began releasing recorded D&D sessions with Wizards of the Coast, bringing attention to the idea of watching/listening to TTRPGs as entertainment.
Early podcasts like Fear the Boot and Happy Jacks RPG mixed talk-show formats with actual gameplay.
2010s – The Boom
2012: The Adventure Zone by the McElroy brothers launched, blending humor and heartfelt storytelling, becoming a massive hit.
2015: Critical Role debuted, featuring professional voice actors playing D&D. It rapidly grew into a phenomenon, setting the standard for high-quality actual play content.
Other successful shows emerged, like Friends at the Table, Dimension 20, and Glass Cannon Podcast, each with unique formats, tones, and game systems.
Late 2010s–2020s – Professionalization
Actual plays became more polished, with higher production values (e.g., sets, music, animation).
Streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube became major outlets, while podcasts remained strong.
Critical Role launched its own studio, and a TV adaptation (The Legend of Vox Machina) followed, further legitimizing the genre.
Today
Actual play is a major subculture in TTRPGs, with diverse creators, formats (live, edited, animated), and game systems.
They serve both as entertainment and a powerful marketing tool for RPG publishers.
In short: actual play shows started as niche fan content and have grown into a multi-media entertainment genre shaping the modern TTRPG landscape.
