KITCHENER -- Fans of the popular role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons have moved online to keep playing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phil Froklage is used to sitting around a table with his friends to play the game, but they were forced to get creative this year.

"We experimented with doing it online a few times and found that we absolutely loved it," he said. "We were able to capture a lot of that magic, which was sharing some storytelling and imagination time together."

The team traded dice and a paper map for online software.

"He could physical places, in fact he had more control and more liberty in building these places than he would in real life where you need cardboard or a 3D printer," said player Victoria Parker.

Froklage said Dungeons and Dragons was a much-needed distraction during months of isolation and restrictions.

"I think that feeling is a really nice escape when everything is so restrictive, to go into an imaginary world where anything is permitted, it's very welcome," he said.

"It's been a life-saver in terms of staving off some of the COVID loneliness and isolation, because it's not just you catching up," Parker said. "It's you doing something that has goals, that gives you a serotonin boost whenever you achieve a goal."

Strangers are also connecting over the game through a weekly online meet up organized by the Kitchener Public Library.

"We thought that it would be a good way to have people come and socialize in a casual environment while everyone was stuck at home," said Elliott Whitson with the KPL. "We had a lot of people sign up just to learn how to play."

Whitson said the programming was popular and will continue into the new year.