Building a Table Where Everyone Belongs: The Story of Dungeons Not Dating Founder Rachel Dove

Transforming personal adversity into a force for collective good is one of the most courageous acts a person can undertake. That spirit defines Rachel Dove’s journey, a Colorado-based founder who turned her own search for connection into Dungeons Not Dating, a platform designed to help Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) players find stable, values-driven gaming communities.

Dove is an entrepreneur, storyteller, and advocate for inclusive gaming spaces whose journey began in financial services and evolved into tech and community design. After leaving the corporate world, she trained in software development and launched a platform that helps tabletop role-playing enthusiasts find compatible groups and meaningful friendships.

Her app connects D&D players through shared values, play styles, and interests, bringing narrative-driven design to the heart of gaming communities. Dove’s commitment to fostering belonging through play is rooted in personal experiences with community, identity, and reconciliation.

Raised by a single mother in a tightly knit community, Dove grew up in a household where material resources were limited but mutual support was abundant. These early lessons in care and reciprocity shaped her values and continue to inform her work. As a young adult, she chose to live more openly, a decision that led to estrangement from her original community.

Years later, when she returned to care for her mother during her final stage of life, the relationship softened, and they found a place of reconciliation. “Coming back to care for my mom was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” Dove says. “It changed how I think about home, and it gave me a deeper drive to create spaces where people feel seen, supported, and safe to be themselves.”

In the years between those moments, Dove built a career in corporate finance, where she developed leadership and partnership skills and found ways to create community within the workplace. Even amid professional success, she kept searching for environments that felt like a true fit.

That search ended with an invitation to a tabletop role-playing session. “I showed up just curious, but ended up staying for a long campaign that gave me something I hadn’t realized I was missing: creative connection and a real sense of belonging,” Dove says. The difficulty of finding compatible players and the anxiety of joining unfamiliar groups became the problem she wanted to solve.

Dungeons Not Dating is the answer she built from that experience. The mobile app aims to connect tabletop role-playing enthusiasts by prioritizing character-first profiles, shared values, and play preferences. By emphasizing low-pressure introductions and creative self-expression, the app lets users present a character and play style, not just surface-level traits, and begin forming a party through in-app messaging. Dove says, “It’s about choosing the kind of story the player wants to be part of.” That sense of agency is central to how the platform works.

Beyond practical matchmaking, the platform’s philosophy draws on the benefits people may find in role-play. Research suggests that role-playing games (RPGs) offer structured, low-stakes environments that support emotional and social development. These games provide opportunities to practice communication, explore identity, and build connections through collaborative storytelling. Moreover, they may support individuals experiencing anxiety, social isolation, or depressive symptoms.

Dungeons Not Dating is designed to lower barriers to engagement by clarifying group norms and expectations, making these benefits more accessible. “I’m excited about the potential to connect people not just through play but also to mental health resources that use play-based approaches. It feels like a natural extension of the community-building that’s already happening on the platform,” Dove says.

Her approach to community-driven design earned national recognition when she placed second on “The Blox Season 17,” a reality competition show where entrepreneurs participate in a bootcamp to accelerate their businesses. Her strong finish spotlighted her leadership and mission to make tabletop gaming more inclusive and accessible.

For Rachel Dove, gaming is a bridge where people can lead with values and build friendships that extend beyond the session. Dungeons Not Dating reflects a personal arc that transformed searching for a fit into creating one, and it continues to evolve as she brings storytelling, product design, and community care into the same space.

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