“What do you think will happen to you when you go outside? The winds are howling, and remember, you are the size of a flea,” dungeon master Vince Brock reminds players gathered in the back room at Zimmie’s in Lewiston.

Brock, of Lewiston, has been playing the Medieval fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons for 35 years, long before some of the half dozen players gathered around a pair of tables sandwiched together were born. An eclectic mix, the group meets every Monday around 6 p.m. to play the game that can go well into the night, long after the store has closed.

The game is still wildly popular worldwide despite the emergence of video games. “We get together not only to play the game, but to socialize. We take a break from the real world and have fun. It’s a theater of minds,” Brock said.

Players create their own characters with various traits and powers, some more elaborate than others. The dungeon master creates a setting only limited to the players’ imagination, with obstacles and characters that can vary in size, power and abilities. Players ask questions and get hints from the dungeon master to try to figure out where to go and who to challenge.

Dice are used in duels to decide the outcome, but often strategy and cunning rules. In a recent game, Ashley Nadeau of Lewiston used her character Levinia, a “halfling” who is a thief and wizard, to steal a dragon’s gold while two others were battling the creature. “It’s cheap entertainment and you get to use your imagination, not just sit there and stare at a screen.”

A former cook in the Navy, she tells of huge games going on in the cafeteria of her ship, and was amazed that she could get into a game if she wanted to when on shore leave in Turkey.

The conversation bounces back and forth from the game to what’s going on in the world, in town and in players’ lives. Topics range from politics and world events to recent illnesses and what players had to eat. It’s a world where nostalgia is king and puns rule. Fantasy and adventure are the crux of the game, but good conversation and social interaction are king.