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The fifth thing that I love about Dungeons and Dragons is the rules. The game has an elaborate series of rules that is designed to provide structure to the odd little Dungeons and Dragons universe that exists only inside the mind of the players. There are rules for how to fight; how to cast spells; how to climb; how to break down doors; how long it takes to travel over rough ground in the dark while encumbered by the body of a slain comrade.

Of course, the rules are so complicated that none of us players fully understands them. Which is good in itself. There is nothing a boy likes more than to debate an ambiguous rule. That is why it is boys who sit on committees and not girls. It is why more boys than girls want to make up laws in parliament.

The fourth thing that I love about Dungeons and Dragons is the fact that all the payers in any game have their favourite seat. It is a bit like the system inside a molecule. Each player seems irresistibly drawn to sit in a particular place. If they failed to do so, I suspect that strange magnetic forces would come into play and drag the chairs in the room around until order was restored.

The third thing that I like about Dungeons and Dragons is The Wee Chat Beforehand. As the players assemble for the evening’s game, there always seems to be a few minute’s of faint embarrassment that we five grown men are gathering to indulge a frankly rather adolescent fantasy. And we feel obliged to have a little chat. “How’s the family.” “How’s work going?” “Has your sore throat cleared up.” All that sort of thing.

It is patently obvious during these conversations that no-one is really interested and that we are all bursting to get started, so that we can escape out of the world of sore throats and work and family obligation and into a world of fireballs and invisibility potions and heroic deeds.

It is a bit like “exchanging pleasantries” before a football game. It is a ritual to be followed, but it is not the game itself.