Today I'll have friends over for our 8th session of Agemonia, out of an estimated 20 sessions to play through the whole campaign. And although this is a board game, and not a pen & paper role-playing game, there are a lot of similarities. There is no DM, and thus the story is a lot less free form and more linear and scripted. But we still get the tactical combat, story, and character progression as if we would play D&D.

Similarly, with two of the people I used to play D&D with and my wife, we are now playing other campaign board games. Currently that is Familiar Tales. That is less involved in the gameplay and character progression, but provides an app in which the story is told by professional voice actors. Agemonia has an app too, but it only serves to read some of the longer story texts, while the story that happens by discovering story points on the map isn't voiced. You could play Agemonia without the app, as the text is also available in a story book. Familiar Tales needs the app and doesn't have a book, which at least has the advantage that the box is a lot smaller and lighter.

Personally I like Agemonia more, as Familiar Tales is a bit too light on gameplay for my tastes. But both games offer maps which a group of characters can explore. There are story points on the map, so you get a role-playing-like experience of things happening due to your actions, and you having to react to those events. And both games are of the kind where you get together a group repeatedly to play through the scenarios of a campaign. Which is a marked difference from my Wednesday board game nights, where any game played is just for that one evening, and groups to play form on the spot and aren't pre-planned.

While I wouldn't say no if somebody invited me to play D&D, I am in no hurry to organize a game of my own. Organizing a game would probably mean having to play the DM, and that is a lot of work. It is also a lot of cost, especially if I would have to buy yet another edition of D&D. I think I am happy enough with the substitute experience of my campaign board games.