Level Up Your Life: The Power of Gamification in Coaching

Once upon a time, long ago in 1974 to be exact deep in the realm called the midwestern United States, a group of comrades joined forces to find a new way of connecting and overcoming the challenges of daily living. Together they created the game known as Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and forever changed the world of gaming (Team, 2014). Since then table top role-playing games (TRPG’s) have gained in popularity over the past decade. These games have been shown to promote self-discovery and improve participants self-assurance (Adams, 2013).  In addition, role-play games help participants recognize their strengths, abilities and maximize their potential to cope with the stressors of life (What Is Mental Health?, 2020).

 The popularity of these games and their benefits suggest they are deserving of scholarly attention and should be considered as a valid coaching tool to help people develop a better quality of living.

Factors that affect a person’s quality of life include, personality, life experiences, thoughts, social circumstances, reactions from both ourselves, others and the comparison of oneself to other people. The organization for mental health confirms, Mental vigor “includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices (What Is Mental Health?, 2020).” All of which are addressed during role-playing games.