When I started playing Dungeons and Dragons as a kid, I had one problem: I lived in a small town in Montana. Yes, that was my one problem that soon grew exponentially into all the wonderful problems I have today. However, if I had access to all the great ways to play D&D online that are available now, I may have had more fun. Click here for a wonderful listing and write-up of most of the best of those ways.

All of these systems allow one player to make a map and populate it with things. Players can make their own figures and place them on the map. Either the players or the hosting player can then move the figures around on the map.

All the systems have simulated dice-rolling. Often it's the best developed part of the engine, with fancy dice spinning around and them coming to a stop. Players seem to love rolling dice.

Somewhere I still have the character that my Dad rolled up. It was a Dwarf Cleric named Thagtagmulgallis. That's how my Dad first tried to say "thaumaturgist". I'll give him credit, he played for about 2 hours before he told me that it was silly.