From Blankets to Dice: How Adults Relearn to Play at the Game Table——A Transitional Space Analysis Based on Call of Cthulhu

Abstract

Drawing on Winnicott's theory of transitional space, this study examines how tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs) provide a unique psychological space for adults confronting developmental challenges. Taking Call of Cthulhu (COC) as an extreme case, and drawing on analysis of its rulebook and community practices, this study identifies a three-tier structure within the TRPG psychological mechanism. First, the Game Master (GM), ritualized community contracts (e.g., Session 0), and rule design together constitute a stable and predictable holding environment. Second, role character sheets and dice function as transitional objects, enabling players to engage in emotional projection, identity experimentation, and narrative reconstruction. Third, COC's unique Sanity (SAN) mechanism gamifies the primal anxiety of "self-disintegration," thereby offering an extreme test case for examining the boundaries of transitional space. This study suggests that TRPGs, through their transitional psychological boundaries, enable adults to experience extreme psychological situations within the safety of structured rules, thereby repairing and rebuilding their capacity for play and restoring a balance between reality and fantasy.