Dangerous Games

Dangerous Games presents a detailed and multi-layered history of the social realities surrounding Role Playing Games (RPGs), analyzing a complex legacy of cultural and religious epistemologies, in order to argue that the corresponding moral panic over such games is itself a form of dangerous corrupted play. . . . Overall, Dangerous Games is an important read for students and scholars of contemporary history, religion, popular culture, and mythology. * Nova Religio * Dangerous Games is a necessary interjection into the conversation between fantasy role-playing and the hysteria over violent-themed play . . . [and] charges players to keep rolling on, and for those who question such games to reflect on what exactly they find so repugnant from an exploration of imagination and play. * Reading Religion * Worth reading for the detailed and nuanced history of fantasy role-playing games in and of itself, the book's supplementary focus on tragic events that were widely linked to role-playing games is engrossing. . . . But Laycock's greatest achievement is shooting a silver bullet straight into the heart of moral, media and satanic panics by positing that society's discomfort with role-playing games is rooted in a discomfort with imagination. * Times Higher Education * This book deserves a place in the library of any scholar of games as cultural texts-and especially those interested in religion and games. * American Journal of Play * This book will be useful for those who wish to explore the intersections of religion and popular culture. . . .clear and convincing. * Religious Studies Review *