Our What
What we do.
Gamechangers League offers social play opportunities for kids and young people. Our Dungeon Masters (Play Facilitators) create environments where kids feel safe to engage fully, and explore creativity, identity, and social interactions. Taking risks in a manageable way, where failure is just an interesting plot point, and the next step in an epic adventure.
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a game played through shared story telling. The Dungeon Master (DM) lays out a scenario, and the players must join together to pit their wits, and their battle axes against the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG). The players form a party of Ride or Die Adventurers, and win or lose, we do it together, with each of us bringing our unique abilities and strengths to the party.
Each player creates their own Player Character (PC), and reflects their own choices in strengths and weaknesses. Some kids want to play a character that reflects their own personality, others use their character as an opportunity to Role Play (RP) a character that has quite different abilities. A shy kid might want to role play as a Bard who is always the center of attention, or the class clown might portray the strong but silent epic hero.
Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPGs) put a structure around social play that allows the freedom of expression and creative play that kids crave, while also providing a clear set of rules and social expectations.
For kids who experience social anxiety, our small group setting, careful group placement, and expert Dungeon Masters provide the best possible environment for kids to relax, have fun, and feel successful.
Our Why
Building social skills, and feeling safe.
We believe that it is important to provide kids with a safe space, where they can express themselves and be creative without being judged, and where they can build social connections and social skills with a safety net. We want to leverage the frameworks that TTRPGs provide to do so. More and more research has emerged highlighting the psychological benefits of this kind of communal play, which is very convenient for us! We want to give youths a safe, reliable place to play these games and practice these skills with others around their age, with a vetted and carefully assigned adult to guide them.
In particular, we aim to accommodate neurodivergent and rainbow kids, since they are more likely to struggle socially and less likely to have a sense of psychological safety in their daily lives.
Our How
Some stuff about the how of it.
Using our very clever brains, and a snickers bar.
We give kids something fun and social to do with other kids, in person, using imagination and pen-and-paper! We enable kids to roleplay as mighty heroes and utilize their own creativity to solve fantastical problems, getting them to think about what they can do, rather than what the world does to them. We help kids feel like they have the agency to take action in their lives, and show them that they have the power in them to change the world!
Empowering to learn.
Although learning the rules (and there are lots of rules!) can seem like a barrier, young minds absorb information like sponges, and kids who discover the love of D&D frequently go from reluctant readers to absolute knowledge banks in a short space of time. But even when they don’t, our games allow kids to learn at their own pace, in an atmosphere of patience and support.
Limitations.
Our games are suitable for all kids, at all ability levels. We put a lot of consideration into matching up our teams, to make sure that every kid has the best chance of success. Because of this, there may be times when we can’t place a particular kid, but we will continue to endeavour to find a team where every kid feels like a hero.
Our Where
Gribblehirst Community Hub
Sandringham, Auckland
Gribblehirst Community Hub has been our home since we started in 2019. A lovely, welcoming community space, our games in Sandringham run on Sundays, and we operate a waitlist to take on new players.
Te Atatū Peninsula Community Centre
Te Atatū Peninsula, Auckland
On Tuesdays we offer after school games at Te Atatu Peninsula Community Centre.
Te Manawa
Westgate, Auckland
In 2024, we began running games at the lovely Te Manawa Community Centre in Westgate. This pilot program was generously funded by Auckland Council through Te Manawa.
Central Dunedin
Sessions run on Wednesdays, after school, at a public but not-advertised location! Enquire for more information.
School Groups
Auckland, Dunedin
Our in school groups have been ongoing since 2019. New enquiries welcome.
Online
Nationwide
We have just one online game running at the moment, and we can run more!
Our Team
Lara
Director, Dungeon Master
Auckland
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I have a lifelong love of games and learning, which inspired me to turn to games for teaching emotional regulation and social skills as a parent. My past roles in film, psychology and counselling all come to play at the table, building a circle of trust as I lead adventurers on immersive and thrilling adventures and into new realms.
After becoming a parent in 2007, I began to recognise that my adorable kiddo was struggling with some of the same things that I had struggled with decades ago. I set out to learn all I could about learning differences and neurodivergent minds. When my own child started to show an interest in tabletop role playing games, I began to see the potential for teaching social skills, turn taking, conversational skills, and many other “soft” skills in a fun and safe environment.
In 2019 I began leading upper primary and intermediate kids through their first Dungeons and Dragons adventures, and really began to see the incredible transformational potential of a supported game environment, as well as the sheer joy the kids had in unleashing their powers in a fantasy setting. Word spread, and I began to get requests to run more and more games for kids all over Auckland.
In 2023 I graduated from a post-graduate certificate in “Leading Change for Good” at Academy Ex, focussing on my work with Gamechangers League. I am currently researching children’s understanding of psychological safety for a Masters of Organisational Change and Resilience, also at Academy Ex, and hope to graduate in 2025.
Alia
CFO, Admin, Snack Captain
Auckland
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Alia is parent to one of our Adventurers, and has bestowed upon us the benefit of her incredible organisational, financial, and administrative skills, so that we can get on with the job of telling stories.
Holly
Dungeon Master
Auckland
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In her previous life, Holly finished university with a degree in history and gender studies. Holly is a caring and creative DM, who values the relationships and quality of communication across her tables.
Geoff
Dungeon Master
Auckland
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Geoff was a classic gifted kid with undiagnosed ADHD, meandering through several disciplines before graduating with a degree in biotechnology. Always one to play by the rules, there is no need to mention that the rules are always open to interpretation. Geoff does a great job of pretending that everything is going to plan, whilst appearing to keep on top of the chaos gremlins.
Rhys
Dungeon Master
Auckland
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Rhys has studied a range of topics and has a Bsc in Psychology, is a Certified Swim Teacher, has a Post Dip in Conservation and Ecology, Certification in NLP and NS, STCW Certification, and a Skippers licence. The focus of their studies may have changed through the years, but practising to better engage their players and create more exciting stories at the table top has been a constant.
“I started at 15 years old playing D&D with their nerdy, neurodivergent (we later discovered), and queer (we later discovered) friends. Being invited to run D&D and create adventures in a purposeful and supportive way with incredible DMs for the next generation of wonderful nerds has been fantastic fun and I look forward to more.”
Zephyr
Dungeon Master
Auckland
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Zephyr was a strange kid, and is showing promising signs of becoming an even stranger adult. She’s been DMing for fellow weirdos since age 10, and telling bizarre stories even longer.
She’s accommodating, a good listener, and happy to celebrate in the quirks and ideas of her players, especially if it spells doom…
Mark
Dungeon Master
Online
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Mark was born to run Dungeons and Dragons, it just took him a couple of years to figure that out, after working on film and TV, being a professional horoscope writer, luggage handler, kitchen hand, puppeteer, usher, actor, and picking up a biology degree along the way.
He encourages his players to be weird, be themselves, and feel supported doing so.
Robin
Dungeon Master
Dunedin
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Robin is our first Dungeon Master in Dunedin. We are very excited to get to work with them to bring the Gamechangers culture to a new city.
Robin has been playing D&D since they were 16. It really helped them to learn skills and make friends as a neurodivergent person, and now they want to pass that on! They really love DMing and offering games with a lot of fun, and a small side of chaos. In their past life Robin studied nursing and worked in child care. Currently they also work with Otepoti Pride.
Nelis
Snack Captain
Auckland
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Nelis has a PhD. in Ecological Modelling, and even though he has a real job, he spends some of his spare time keeping up with the snack appetites of our Te Manawa and Te Atatū adventurers.
Nelis is a beautiful example of what can happen when kids are supported to follow their nerdy interests, and we are so lucky to have him around as a role model for future nerdlings!