The 1980s saw the peak of a moral panic over fantasy role-playing games such asDungeons and Dragons. A coalition of moral entrepreneurs that included representatives from the Christian Right, the field of psychology, and law enforcement claimed that these games were not only psychologically dangerous but an occult religion masquerading as a game.Dangerous Games explores both the history and the sociological significance of this panic.

Fantasy role-playing games do share several functions in common with religion. However, religion—as a socially constructed world of shared meaning—can also be compared to a fantasy role-playing game. In fact, the claims of the moral entrepreneurs, in which they presented themselves as heroes battling a dark conspiracy, often resembled the very games of imagination they condemned as evil. By attacking the imagination, they preserved the taken-for-granted status of their own socially constructed reality. Interpreted in this way, the panic over fantasy-role playing games yields new insights about how humans play and together construct and maintain meaningful worlds.

Laycock’s clear and accessible writing ensures thatDangerous Games will be required reading for those with an interest in religion, popular culture, and social behavior, both in the classroom and beyond.

The 1980s saw the peak of a moral panic over fantasy role-playing games such asDungeons and Dragons. A coalition of moral entrepreneurs that included representatives from the Christian Right, the field of psychology, and law enforcement claimed that these games were not only psychologically dangerous but an occult religion masquerading as a game.Dangerous Games explores both the history and the sociological significance of this panic.

Fantasy role-playing games do share several functions in common with religion. However, religion—as a socially constructed world of shared meaning—can also be compared to a fantasy role-playing game. In fact, the claims of the moral entrepreneurs, in which they presented themselves as heroes battling a dark conspiracy, often resembled the very games of imagination they condemned as evil. By attacking the imagination, they preserved the taken-for-granted status of their own socially constructed reality. Interpreted in this way, the panic over fantasy-role playing games yields new insights about how humans play and together construct and maintain meaningful worlds.

Laycock’s clear and accessible writing ensures thatDangerous Games will be required reading for those with an interest in religion, popular culture, and social behavior, both in the classroom and beyond.

Preface. "You Worship Gods from Books!"

Introduction. Fantasy and Reality

PART I. THE HISTORY OF THE PANIC
1. The Birth of Fantasy Role-Playing Games
2. Dungeons & Dragons as Religious Phenomenon
3. Pathways into Madness: 1979–1982
4. Satanic Panic: 1982–1991
5. A World of Darkness: 1991–2001

PART II. INTERPRETING THE PANIC
6. How Role-Playing Games Create Meaning
7. How the Imagination Became Dangerous
8. Rival Fantasies
Conclusion. Walking between Worlds

Notes
Bibliography
Index