The Therapeutic Table: How Alex Roberts is Redefining Play as a Path to Healing

In the modern landscape of tabletop gaming, few designers have bridged the gap between mechanical innovation and emotional resonance as effectively as Alex Roberts. While she is celebrated by hobbyists for her Jenga-powered RPG Star Crossed and the globally acclaimed storytelling game For the Queen—the second edition of which was recently published by the powerhouse studio Darrington Press—Roberts maintains a parallel career as a professional counsellor. To the casual observer, these two worlds might appear worlds apart: one dedicated to the whimsical rigors of game design, the other to the delicate, clinical work of mental health. For Roberts, however, they are two sides of the same coin.

"Playing story games made me a better counsellor," Roberts asserts. "I obviously got into making games because it’s fun, but it’s taught me how to pay close attention and listen to people."

The Mechanics of Empathy: What is For the Queen?

At its core, For the Queen is a collaborative storytelling experience that eschews the traditional "player versus game" structure. Instead, the game invites participants to step into the roles of attendants to a matriarchal monarch. The gameplay is deceptively simple: players draw prompt cards from a deck and provide narrative answers, creating a shared history that tests their loyalty and forces them to grapple with their complex relationships with their ruler.

The genius of the game lies not in its winning conditions, but in its ability to prime participants for deep listening. Because the game requires players to build upon the narrative foundations laid by their peers, it mandates a level of attentiveness rarely found in high-stakes strategy games. "It is structured in such a way that people are primed to listen to each other," Roberts explains. "Players get into the mode of listening so they can answer follow-up questions."

The game’s themes are intentionally broad, touching upon power dynamics, authority, and the nuanced intersections of femininity. In the recently released second edition, Roberts has taken care to refine the experience. Beyond the visual overhaul, she has actively removed elements that disrupted the safety of the table. Specifically, she pointed to a prompt in the original deck that invited players to label one another as "ugly." Recognizing the negative visceral reaction this induced, she opted to excise it. "Being told they’re ugly hits people a certain way," she notes. "Keeping it in was not worth the bad times it caused."

A Chronology of Collaborative Design

Roberts’ approach to design has evolved alongside her clinical practice. Her work on For the Queen reflects years of observation regarding how humans interact in small, structured groups.

• Initial Conception: The original For the Queen was built on the premise of "the journey over the destination." It was designed to function as an icebreaker that could descend into profound emotional territory if the group so desired.
• The Second Edition Iteration: With the backing of Darrington Press, Roberts utilized the second edition to polish the "safety" mechanics—most notably the "pass" function.
• Refinement of Safety: Roberts observed through testing that the ability to opt-out of a prompt was not a disruption of play, but a pillar of it. She recounts a session with her sister—a notably quiet individual—who passed on roughly half the turns. Far from being alienated, her sister reported a high level of engagement and enjoyment. This underscored a vital lesson for Roberts: inclusivity in design means designing for the quietest voice at the table.

Supporting Data: The Science of "Empathetic Witnessing"

Roberts posits that the magic of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) lies in the phenomenon of "empathetic witnessing." In clinical settings, group therapy succeeds because participants feel heard by others with shared experiences. Roberts believes this same mechanism is at work during a session of For the Queen.

"The experience of being acknowledged and treated as a valuable human being that’s being listened to is powerful," she says. "Being able to say things that you’ve maybe never said before and have it be accepted as alright."

This perspective aligns with contemporary studies in psychology regarding the "rehearsal" nature of play. Therapeutic relationships—the bond between counselor and client—are often viewed as a rehearsal for navigating real-world relationships. Roberts argues that the TTRPG space provides an identical, albeit informal, laboratory. In a safe, fictional environment, players can experiment with expressing emotions—such as anger, grief, or vulnerability—that they might feel suppressed in their daily lives.

Official Responses and Philosophical Implications

The broader implications of Roberts’ work touch upon the historical evolution of "therapy." She is quick to remind critics and enthusiasts alike that the Western clinical model of one-on-one therapy is a relatively recent invention. For centuries, human beings have processed trauma and suffering through communal rituals, storytelling, and shared experiences.

"I like to remind people that ‘therapy’ as we know it hasn’t been around for that long, but people have always suffered and found ways to work with that suffering," Roberts observes. "One of the reasons why I do feel that games are therapeutic is that they don’t have to actively be therapy to provide some of the healing benefits."

Roberts’ philosophy challenges the stigma surrounding the "hyper-gendered" expression of emotions. Society often forces specific behavioral scripts onto individuals—men are encouraged to express anger, while women are steered toward sadness. Games like For the Queen allow players to subvert these expectations, providing "reparative experiences" that might have been missing during a player’s formative years.

However, Roberts is also careful to manage expectations. She warns that not every gaming table is a therapy session, nor should it be. "I think it has a lot to do with the culture of play at the table," she cautions. "It’s perfectly legitimate to not want to be in anybody’s therapy session."

The Future of Therapeutic Play

As the tabletop industry grows, the crossover between mental health and game design is becoming an increasingly vibrant field of study. Roberts’ own journey from an under-confident player to a celebrated designer serves as a blueprint for this intersection. She recalls her own early days of gaming, where receiving positive reinforcement from friends helped her build the self-esteem necessary to excel in her professional life.

For those looking to find these benefits, Roberts offers a simple, albeit crucial, piece of advice: "You don’t know when something profound is going to happen in a roleplaying game. My God, just play with people you like and trust."

The second edition of For the Queen serves not just as a game, but as an invitation. It is an invitation to sit, to listen, and to witness the humanity of those sitting across from you. In a world that often demands we be guarded, Roberts has created a space where we are allowed to be vulnerable, and in doing so, she has proven that the most powerful tool in any player’s inventory is, and has always been, empathy.

For the Queen: Second Edition is currently available for purchase through the official Critical Role store, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of accessible, emotionally intelligent game design.