Beyond the Tabletop: How Alex Roberts is Bridging the Gap Between Game Design and Mental Health

In the vibrant world of tabletop gaming, Alex Roberts is a name synonymous with innovation and emotional resonance. Best known for the Jenga-powered RPG Star Crossed and the runaway success For the Queen—the second edition of which has recently been published by Critical Role’s Darrington Press—Roberts has carved out a niche for games that prioritize human connection over traditional mechanics. However, Roberts occupies a unique duality: while she designs games that foster intimacy, she simultaneously operates a professional counseling service.

For Roberts, these two worlds are not disparate interests but rather two sides of the same coin. Her design philosophy is fundamentally rooted in the clinical principles of active listening, empathy, and the creation of safe, structured environments. By viewing the tabletop as a "rehearsal space" for real-world interactions, Roberts is redefining how we think about the intersection of play, catharsis, and mental wellbeing.

The Architecture of Connection: A Look at For the Queen

At its core, For the Queen is a collaborative storytelling experience. Unlike competitive tabletop games that pit players against one another or a central system, For the Queen is a cooperative narrative engine. Players assume the roles of attendants to a matriarchal monarch, embarking on a journey that tests their loyalty, morality, and understanding of power.

The game mechanics are deceptively simple: players take turns drawing and answering prompt cards from a deck. These prompts act as narrative catalysts, forcing players to confront complex emotional scenarios. It is not a game about winning; it is a game about the journey, the exploration of character dynamics, and, most importantly, the act of listening.

"The structure of the game is designed to prime players to listen to each other," Roberts explains. "When you know you are responsible for answering a follow-up or building upon a fellow player’s narrative, you enter a specific mode of deep attention. You aren’t just waiting for your turn; you are witnessing someone else’s creative expression."

This focus on collective storytelling has made For the Queen a standout title in the indie RPG scene. By centering the experience on communal dialogue, the game creates a space where players are not just playing a character—they are engaging in a shared vulnerability.

A Chronology of Intent: From Counseling to Design

The path that led Roberts to this synthesis of game design and psychology was organic, though punctuated by deliberate choices. Her career in counseling began with a desire to understand human suffering and resilience. As she deepened her clinical practice, she began to notice that the games she played in her personal time—specifically story-driven RPGs—mirrored the emotional work she was doing in her office.

The Evolution of the Craft

• Early Explorations: Roberts began by exploring how tabletop mechanics could simulate emotional tension. Games like Star Crossed served as a proof-of-concept, using a physical tower (Jenga) to represent the literal instability of an unspoken romantic tension.
• The Original For the Queen: Upon its initial release, the game garnered immediate praise for its accessibility and emotional depth. Roberts watched as players across the globe used the game to explore themes of power, femininity, and identity.
• The Clinical Refinement: Through her counseling work, Roberts began to identify which mechanics encouraged healing and which could inadvertently cause distress. This realization informed the development of the second edition.
• The Second Edition (2024): With the support of Darrington Press, Roberts refined the deck. This involved not only updating the visual aesthetic but, more crucially, editing the prompt cards to ensure the game remained a "safe" space for players to explore their emotions without being subjected to unnecessary toxicity.

The Science of the Table: Supporting Data and Observations

While game design is often viewed through the lens of entertainment, the therapeutic potential of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) has become an increasing subject of interest for psychologists and social workers.

Research into "Roleplaying as Therapy" suggests that the "magic circle"—the space within a game where the normal rules of society are suspended—allows individuals to engage in "reparative experiences." According to Roberts, these are moments where a person is finally allowed to express an emotion that was suppressed in their real life, often because they lacked a safe environment to do so during their formative years.

The Power of the "Pass"

A critical element of Roberts’ design is the inclusion of a "pass" mechanic. In many social games, the pressure to perform can be anxiety-inducing. In For the Queen, Roberts insists that players be given the agency to opt out of any prompt. This isn’t just about avoiding "difficult" themes; it is about respecting the player’s boundaries.

"My sister is a quieter player, and she passed on nearly half the turns in one of our sessions," Roberts recalls. "It was fascinating because she was still fully engaged, still enjoying the narrative, and still feeling like a valuable member of the table. Design should account for those players who process by listening rather than speaking."

Official Responses and Iteration: Removing Harmful Tropes

The transition to a second edition provided Roberts the opportunity to address feedback from the community. A significant change involved the removal of prompts that players found unnecessarily aggressive or harmful.

"Being told you’re ‘ugly’ in a game prompt hits people in a specific, visceral way," Roberts says. "When I saw that this particular card was consistently causing more damage than productive narrative tension, I knew it had to go. It wasn’t worth the bad experiences it was creating. The goal is to facilitate a space where people feel acknowledged as valuable human beings, not a space where they are being disparaged."

This iterative process—where the designer listens to the player base as closely as the players listen to each other—is a hallmark of Roberts’ approach. It acknowledges that games are not static artifacts, but living ecosystems that impact the mental state of those who inhabit them.

The Implications: Is Every Game Therapy?

A common misconception is that if a game is "therapeutic," it must be "therapy." Roberts is quick to clarify this distinction. "One of the reasons I believe games are therapeutic is that they don’t have to actively be therapy to provide healing benefits," she notes.

The "Rehearsal" Effect

In clinical psychology, the relationship between the patient and the therapist is often described as a "rehearsal for other relationships." Roberts argues that the TTRPG table functions in a similar capacity.

• Practicing Vulnerability: Players can experiment with expressing anger, sadness, or joy in a controlled environment.
• Subverting Expectations: By roleplaying characters that challenge gendered stereotypes—such as a stoic, non-verbal female monarch or an emotionally expressive male attendant—players can begin to dismantle these constraints in their own lives.
• Empathetic Witnessing: Much like group therapy, the act of being "empathetically witnessed" by others with a shared experience is profoundly powerful.

However, Roberts offers a cautionary note. The therapeutic benefit is entirely dependent on the "culture of play" at the table. "You don’t want to be in someone’s therapy session if you didn’t sign up for it," she warns. "The healing potential of these games is unlocked only when there is trust, respect, and a mutual understanding between the people sitting at the table."

Conclusion: The Future of Play

Alex Roberts’ work stands at a unique intersection. By treating game design as a form of social architecture, she is helping to destigmatize the idea that games are "just for fun." While fun is certainly a component, the deeper value lies in the capacity for games to act as a container for the human experience.

As the tabletop industry continues to grow, the influence of designers like Roberts ensures that the focus remains on the people sitting at the table. Whether through the simple act of drawing a card or the profound act of sharing a story, games like For the Queen remind us that we are all, in our own ways, looking for a space to be heard.

For those looking to explore this, Roberts’ advice remains simple: "Just play with people you like and trust. You never know when something profound is going to happen."