A minor correction, Troll Lord Games produces Castles & Crusades, the game.
To Josh's point, in my own opinion, it is superior to D&D (especially the modern drivel Wizards of The Coast produces) and yes, can absolutely be played for free as long as you have dice or a dice roller app, pencils and paper.
Earlier printings (not editions) are available in PDF and even if you were to bring those PDFs to my table and I were using the Reforged printings, they're still compatible save for some terminology changes which were needed to get away from Wizards of The Coast's Open Gaming License.
Also, there are the Codeces like Codex Nordica, Codex Germania, Codex Classicum, etc. which explore ancient lore of all types. It's treated with respect and a certain reverence but the real reason why I look at tabletop games such as these is because, Castles & Crusades, Ragnarok: Fate of The Norns and even games like Runecairn give us a teaching tool for history, both good and bad. Immersing children into history makes them more interested and will encourage them to study further, making that world very real in their minds. They'll be able to retain the events in history (Such as a game of WWII: Operation Whitebox or WWII: Operation B/X) and have a real leg-up on other students.
As well, these games can teach math and probability, problem-solving, reading and reading comprehension, writing, story structure, dialogue, etc. These are skills that are sorely-needed these days.
While I often try to keep Tabletop Gaming and my own spiritual life separate, there is a degree of intersection that, when utilized in a healthy way, can very much benefit the spiritual.
For those of you who would like to try Castles & Crusades and Amazing Adventures, go to this page and scroll down to the bottom. You should see four PDFs at a cost of zero. Then look for the Bag of Holding section and everything you'll ever need to play those two games is yours absolutely free.
A minor correction, Troll Lord Games produces Castles & Crusades, the game.
To Josh's point, in my own opinion, it is superior to D&D (especially the modern drivel Wizards of The Coast produces) and yes, can absolutely be played for free as long as you have dice or a dice roller app, pencils and paper.
Earlier printings (not editions) are available in PDF and even if you were to bring those PDFs to my table and I were using the Reforged printings, they're still compatible save for some terminology changes which were needed to get away from Wizards of The Coast's Open Gaming License.
Also, there are the Codeces like Codex Nordica, Codex Germania, Codex Classicum, etc. which explore ancient lore of all types. It's treated with respect and a certain reverence but the real reason why I look at tabletop games such as these is because, Castles & Crusades, Ragnarok: Fate of The Norns and even games like Runecairn give us a teaching tool for history, both good and bad. Immersing children into history makes them more interested and will encourage them to study further, making that world very real in their minds. They'll be able to retain the events in history (Such as a game of WWII: Operation Whitebox or WWII: Operation B/X) and have a real leg-up on other students.
As well, these games can teach math and probability, problem-solving, reading and reading comprehension, writing, story structure, dialogue, etc. These are skills that are sorely-needed these days.
While I often try to keep Tabletop Gaming and my own spiritual life separate, there is a degree of intersection that, when utilized in a healthy way, can very much benefit the spiritual.
For those of you who would like to try Castles & Crusades and Amazing Adventures, go to this page and scroll down to the bottom. You should see four PDFs at a cost of zero. Then look for the Bag of Holding section and everything you'll ever need to play those two games is yours absolutely free.
https://trolllord.com/product-category/featured-product/