Dungeons & Dragons Summer Camp (Ages 12-14, July 6 - July 10)

Game Kastle College Park is holding week-long sessions designed to teach kids how to play Dungeons & Dragons ® (D&D). First designed in 1974 and with an extensive revision for its fifth edition released in 2024, D&D is regularly billed as the “world’s most popular roleplaying game (RPG).” In this class, a small group of students will learn how to play and deepen their understanding of D&D with an experienced instructor. Spaces at D&D camp are extremely limited, so we encourage you to sign up today! This camp is intended for children ages 12-14.

Students will learn the RPG hobby by playing. They will create their own characters with help from the instructor, as well as select and paint a miniature to represent their character. The rest of the week will be spent on a multi-session adventure during which the campers will work together to achieve a common goal and tell a story together.

Game Kastle isn’t just an average hobby game store. Game Kastle offers hard-to-find items, an outstanding selection of amazing products, an impressive gaming space, daily scheduled events, and a staff that genuinely wants to help.

As a retailer, Game Kastle supplies customers with both newly released and evergreen titles. As an event space provider, Game Kastle hosts open play and tournaments to grow our amazing community. We have hosted summer gaming camps since 2022, and we are excited to expand our camp offerings year after year!

In an RPG, most players take on the role of a single character, narrating their actions in an imagined scenario. One player, often called the Gamemaster, designs the basic contours of the story and takes on the role of the other characters in the world. Some actions are just narrated, like walking across a room. When it’s unclear whether a player’s action would automatically succeed, like trying to pick a lock or disarm an opponent, players use dice to resolve the situation. RPGs combine elements of improv theater, storytelling in general, and statistics to create a group-built story that’s unique to the players involved.

Camp runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day. There will be a morning session, followed by lunch and free play of other games in the Game Kastle College Park demo library. After lunch and free play, campers will reconvene for an afternoon session of roleplay. There will be a snack in the middle of the afternoon session. Game Kastle College Park will provide a daily boxed lunch and snack to the students as part of their tuition.

● Monday – Learn to Play: with a practice session using a pre-generated character. Each camper gets exposed to the game so they can later make their own character.

● Tuesday – Bob Ross Day: Students will create their character today, both making selections for their character sheet and painting their mini. Students will start with a practice miniature to learn the basics of miniature painting and then move on to painting their character miniature.

● Wednesday – The Adventure Awaits: Campers have developed their characters, now it’s time to introduce them to each other and get the action going!

● Thursday – The Adventure Continues: Campers will continue their adventure. Towards the end of the afternoon, a major story break will occur and campers will have the opportunity to level-up their characters.

● Friday – The Adventure Concludes: Campers will finish their adventure with a meaningful face-off against a major villain.

Finding treasure is an integral part of the RPG experience. We want our camp to simulate that by giving each camper a loot packet! This will include:

• A copy of the D&D Player’s Handbook
• Multi-Sided Dice – the campers will each select a d4, d6, d8, d10, d100, d12, and d20 from our collection of loose dice to make their own custom dice set!
• Character sheet to keep track of their character
• Miniature for their character

Copious research has demonstrated that children who play RPGs build confidence, develop better critical thinking and coping skills, acquire an extended vocabulary, and develop an inherent understanding of statistics. Because they require a group of people to work together to achieve a desired outcome, RPGs are also useful for developing leadership and teamwork skills. RPGs serve as a vehicle for players to explore different perspectives in a safe environment, deepening their understanding of others as well as themselves. The Role-Playing Games Research website [https://w3.rpgresearch.com/] archives much of this research for public consumption.

Most importantly, RPGs provide an alternative avenue for entertainment from our screen-filled world. At GKCP, we encourage every student to read printed materials rather than digital, and to make use of paper and pencil for recording notes and tracking their characters’ progress in the game.

Michael J Walton, illustration, Tabletop EDU, November 26, 2025, https://www.tabletopedu.org/

At our day camp, we prioritize the health and satisfaction of every camper. Our lunches are provided by a local business that we work with, New York Deli. We have chosen New York Deli for their commitment to quality and variety, ensuring that our campers receive nutritious and delicious meals every day. We understand that each camper has unique dietary needs or preferences. Within the bounds of what New York Deli is able to accommodate, we are happy to tailor lunch options to suit each camper. Whether it is allergies, dietary restrictions, or personal preferences, we strive to provide a suitable meal for everyone.

Due to our contractual agreement with New York Deli, we are unable to make pricing adjustments to the meals provided. The cost of each meal is fixed, and while we can make accommodations within the menu, this does not affect the pricing structure. If you have specific dietary needs or preferences for your child, please reach out to us before the start of camp so that we can coordinate with New York Deli to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in working within these guidelines to provide the best possible dining experience for all campers.

Black Friday Weekend Registration: $500 through December 1

Early Bird Registration: $550 through December 31

Regular Registration: $650 through April 30

Late Registration: $750 beginning May 1

Game Kastle closely monitors the waitlist to gauge demand for a specific week of camp. Historically, we have been able to add extra sessions when demand is high enough. If this camp’s registration is full, we strongly encourage you to join the waitlist!

Game Kastle College Park invites parents and guardians to stay with their children during camp if they wish. The store provides public gaming space with seating for more than 70 people and responsible adults are welcome to work or play at that space while camp is in session. Because Game Kastle is not a professional childcare provider, we cannot legally take responsibility for your children and their safety while they are at camp. The instructor, Game Kastle College Park, and its employees take all reasonable measures to ensure the safety of all individuals that visit the store either to shop or to use our play space, including campers.

Refund requests made by April 30 will be honored in full, aside from any processing fees levied by Eventbrite. Refund requests made starting May 1 may be honored at Game Kastle College Park's discretion. In most cases we are unable to refund Eventbrite’s processing fees, which are included in the registration price.

As Game Kastle College Park’s summer camp program has grown, we’ve met the qualifications to be regulated as a legal summer camp by the Maryland Department of Health. Game Kastle is currently applying for that required certification. While we anticipate being certified, we will refund all tuition in the unlikely event that we are not certified.

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