The Power of Tabletop Exercises: What Dungeons & Dragons Can Teach Us About Cybersecurity

This past weekend, I ran a Dungeons & Dragons session where my players had to outmaneuver relentless pursuers, make split-second decisions, and adapt to unexpected twists. Ironically, it wasn’t all that different from a cybersecurity tabletop exercise.

Both test the same critical skills:
🔥 Decision-making under pressure → When the Iron Cloaks closed in, my players had to assess risks and act fast. The same goes for security teams facing an incident—do you isolate a system? Engage legal? Notify leadership? The clock is ticking.

⚔️ Adapting to the unknown → No plan survives first contact with the enemy—whether that’s an advanced persistent threat (APT) or a warrior fueled by dark magic. Cyber incidents evolve, and teams need to flex their problem-solving muscles in real time.

🛡️ Teamwork wins battles → A lone hero doesn’t save the day—coordinated effort does. A strong security team, like an adventuring party, relies on trust, clear roles, and communication. If your IR team isn’t aligned before an attack, it’s already too late.

📖 Lessons learned = future resilience → Every mistake in a tabletop exercise is a chance to improve before facing the real thing. Whether in a game or a SOC, the goal is to learn, refine, and be better prepared next time.

Tabletop exercises bring risk to life in a way that slideshows never will. They help teams think, react, and refine their approach before reality forces them to.

“Tabletop exercises bring risk to life in a way that slideshows never will.”

If your organization isn’t running realistic, engaging, and iterative tabletop exercises, you’re missing one of the best ways to build resilience before disaster strikes.

Let’s make our security teams as battle-ready as a well-prepared adventuring party.

🔍 How does your team train for incident response? Let’s discuss. Reach out to us at in**@******ec.com today.