People need to play to remain healthy. That is part of the philosophy of Chris Mack, a member of the Plant City Gamers Guild.

The guild consists of people who like to get together to play games, mostly role playing games. They currently meet at Aromatic Harmony on Reynolds Street in downtown Plant City, but they have plans to meet at Jason Sherotski’s house in January. The guild was started by Sherotski five months ago when he wanted to have a group of people in Plant City who enjoyed table top and role playing games as much as he did. Part of their desire to move is to be able to host more games with smaller groups.

Every other Monday, the group gets together to play Dungeons & Dragons. On alternating Mondays, they have Advanced Night and Beginners’ Night where people not familiar with the game can come learn how to play. The people who participate in the advanced games are between 19 and 46 years old. On Saturdays, the Guild hosts a family night where there are younger people who come to play.

Mack and Sherotski both stress that they want people to enjoy the game, so they do everything they can to make the experience a pleasant one for new people.

Sherotski says the D & D can seem daunting for new players, so he meets with each one “personally and individually” to help create a character and give guidance on the games. The group also makes sure to make games easier and slower so new players can learn all the rules.

According to Mack, “As they become more familiar with the mechanics of the game, the role-playing aspects come out, and it just becomes a mutual story telling hobby.”

He goes on to say that there is a newer edition where the rules are streamlined in order to make learning the game easier.

“It’s really a huge interest of ours to focus on bringing in new players because we want to show everyone how much fun it is doing this,” adds Sherotski.

The guild plays games other than Dungeons & Dragons as well. One game they play is a game that is a mixture of “Firefly” and “Star Wars.” They also play a game set in a dystopian future with cybernetic themes. They plan to open a night especially for Magic: The Gathering.

Mack was drawn to the games when he was in middle school in Wisconsin and there were a lot of cold days when he and his friends could not go outside. They decided to play games and he fell in love with the concept. He believes that to be healthy, people need to stimulate their minds in creative ways and that role playing games do just that.

He adds, “I grew up in small towns all over the west, and this gives you an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do otherwise.”

Sherotski started more with fantasy books, movies and video games. About three years ago, he met people who played the games and “it’s been [his] all-time favorite hobby ever since.”

Mack met his wife through role playing games and Sherotski’s first date with his current girlfriend was to a Dungeons & Dragons game.

You can find the guild at https://twitter.com/PlantCityGamers and https://www.facebook.com/PlantCityGamersGuild/.