A review of The Twenty-Sided Tavern, Fringe 2022

I came dangerously close to not making the right decision on an email I got about a Fringe show I might like. I came close to dismissing it because I’d already bought my week of tickets and could neither afford nor squeeze any more in.

I’m glad I was wrong. I carved out time for The Twenty-Sided Tavern and was even able to do an interview with the GM on my gaming blog, and, more importantly, enjoyed the show. It’s easily worth the ticket price, and if it lures more people into my geeky hobby of tabletop gaming, then it’s priceless.

Importantly, you don’t need to know anything about Dungeons & Dragons to laugh with and have fun at The Twenty-Sided Tavern. The non-geeks behind me knew nothing and didn’t keep up with terms like “Saving Throw”, but they told me they had a great time.

Think of The Twenty-Sided Tavern as an improv show with either dice or audience participation determining what happens. Audience participation gave us a spicy transparent capybara as a monster to fight, and a mushroom man called Bob Cheese to meet. Your experience will be different.

Tech meets dragons

I appreciated the legal jokes about not being able to mention Dungeons & Dragons.

However, The Twenty-Sided Tavern most reminds me of Go 8-Bit and its evolution Wi-Fi Wars. That’s due to the technology and because tabletop RPGs, or watching an actual play (people actually playing the games) are second nature to me, but the interaction is still new.

The Twenty-Sided Tavern has people vote for options or press their phones rapidly, which means it’s not as sophisticated as the technology we had nearly 10 years ago with Go 8-Bit, which had the audience play whole games. However, it’s a different show style, and the Tavern felt (oddly) more immersive. I was mainly watching, occasionally directing in the Tavern. At Go 8-Bit, I was more concerned about my own performance. Different.

I’m sure this tech will develop, and I think it suits live action very well. If The Twenty-Sided Tavern team of gaming-actors go on to great success, I won’t be surprised, and it’ll be well deserved.

Overall

The Twenty-Sided Tavern is a must-watch for tabletop gamers. It’s fun; it’s a great way to enjoy the present and sample the future.

The charisma on display helps bring out the best from the audience, and you might even end up making friends.