Anyone play dungeons and dragons?

[Thingsthatgo]

My DS has just started showing an interest and has a gang of mates who are also keen. He has asked for some books for his birthday, but I have just seen that there are new editions coming out in September this year.
If I buy the players handbook will he need to get the new one when it's released? Or will the old one still be useable? ( I got stung with the cost of warhammer recently Every time we went to the shop to play there was something else to buy in order to be able to play).

Hi. My daughter is into D&D and it's such a minefield. There's so many different campaigns etc. I have no idea where to start so need to take my daughter shopping for the books etc.

I play and would definitely recommend the players handbook as the way to go. The current version is very well established and will still be useful even with new editions.

He’d also need at least one set of D&D dice which are quite cheap on places like Amazon.

any of the other books are more for if he wants to run the games as the DM (dungeon master).

@SciFiFan amazing! Thank you. I'll get the book and some dice for his birthday. As long as it isn't obsolete in September I'm happy!

I play D&D - when I can find someone to play with 😕. Indoctrinated my children into it as soon as I could! Most recently I've been playing online via Discord but it's much more fun playing in person.
Have you looked at online resources? This is good for beginners https://www.dndbeyond.com/how-to-play-dnd and the site is very useful for keeping track of character creation and advancement.
This is the player's handbook https://dnd.wizards.com/products/rpg_playershandbook - but it's not at all easy if you don't have someone in your game with previous experience to start playing with just the various rule books - they are overwhelming.
I haven't tried it but it might be worth buying the "starter set" advertised on D&D beyond.

These industries are designed to keep you in with new "editions" every year or so, but you don't necessarily have to play the latest editions to be able to enjoy a game.

We play a game of Warhammer 40k every month with some friends. The ultimate rule is the gentlemans' agreement. If you're not sure of a rule, agree on an approach and look it up later. We've been playing a mishmash of 8th, 9th and 10th edition rules, and still learning, doesn't take away from the fun at all!

If there are any game shops in your area, ask about events. Lots of shops will have groups set up that meet regularly, you might try FB as well, and some might even do introductory games for newbies.