Dungeons & Dragons is seeing an unexpected wave of popularity.

Dungeons & Dragons is seeing an unexpected wave of popularity. Could Stranger Things have something to do with it? Probably. But the renewed interest also started before the show, when, for instance, a youth program pitched the game as a way to engage kids with something beyond a screen—so analog appeal might be a factor at play as well. Players today might also be shedding the stigma of being described as “neckbeards” and socially-obtuse “shut-in[s]” because entertainment idolizes mythological stories, from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings and, yes, Stranger Things—making geek culture cooler than ever. (The New Yorker)