Warning: Spoilers ahead for season three of "Riverdale.""Gryphons and Gargoyles" (G&G) is a dangerous game on "Riverdale."The role-playing game, similar to "Dungeons and Dragons," is behind five deaths so farRIP Dilton, Ben, Principal Featherhead, Warden Norton, and Joaquinand it's sure to affect more residents as the third season of the hit CW show progresses.Betty and Jughead are working to uncover the mystery surrounding the game, and viewers are trying to do the same.Here's what we know so far.How is the game affecting Riverdale'The first introduction to the game comes when Jughead tries to ask Ben and Dilton what they are playing at Pop's Diner during the premiere.Dilton tries to answer, but all he gets out is "Gryphons and..." before Ben tells him to shut up.Later, when Jughead is preparing to go toArchie's trial, Dilton knocks on Jug's door in a panic."Ben and I thought it was just a game, a stupid role-playing game, but it's not," he says. "It's so much more. He's real."When Jughead asks who, Dilton eventually responds with, "The Gargoyle King."Jughead finds a paper covered in weird symbols and what looks to be a stick creature in his home. The symbols lead him to the woods where he finds Ben and Dilton unresponsive and kneeling in front of an altar with symbols carved into their backs. Dilton dies in the park due to cyanide consumption after mixing the poison with Fresh-Aid. After recovering in the hospital, Ben then leaps to his death out of the hospital window mentioning that he isn't afraid to "ascend" like Dilton was.Betty and Jughead learn that Ethel is also playing the game. When they confront her, she reveals that Dilton had a secret bunker in the woods. Betty and Jughead later find the bunker and discover that the poisoned chalice Ben and Dilton drank from was part of "G&G."Betty and Jughead go to Ethel to ask more questions, and Jughead asks what the "kingdom" means. He also inquires about the rulebook, which Ethel refers to as the "scripture."She tells him that he "isn't worthy of the king's scripture," so he asks if she can show him. When Jughead goes to the bunker and meets Ethel, she is dressed in her Princess Etheline gown. She has him choose a character, and he picks the Hellcaster."Good choice," she says. "That was Ben's avatar. I was supposed to ascend with him but then he betrayed me and finished the game with Dilton instead."After getting through part of the game, Ethel presents Jughead with two chalices. When he incredulously asks if one of them is poisoned, she says it's "gargoyle blood." He drinks it to get the manual and is fine. But before she hands it over to him, she makes him kiss her because it's all part of the "scripture."Ethel then drinks from the other chalice and starts to get ill. He saves her life by getting her to the hospital. She denies being suicidal and then threatens Jughead if he spills the secrets."I told him you were worthy enough to spread his gospel," she tells him.How do they play the game'In the bunker, Betty and Jug find coins with the Gargoyle King on them, drawings of the king, and various knick-knacks from the game.The game consists of a die and quests that the players must complete. Sometimes, they dress up in costumes to match their characters. Along with the game master's book, there's a small game board, characters to choose from, and quest cards used to control the game.On the flashback episode, it's made clear that the game master designs the quests and incorporates them into the real world.Read more: 'Riverdale' fans finally know what the parents' big secret is and there's a murder involvedThe Gargoyle King himself is a terrifying creature who seems to be behind the rules of the game.Jughead has a theory.Someone, possibly Ethel, distributed a manual to every student's locker at Riverdale High."By next weekend, almost every student at Riverdale High would be playing "Gryphons and Gargoyles," and the real game was just beginning," Jughead says.Jughead starts to play andbecomes a level three-game master and leads his players on quests. When Betty goes to tell him about their parents secret, he tells her that he is working to ascend and meet the Gargoyle King.He says that their parents playing the game means that his theory is correct: "We have been playing this game for a lot longer than we know and off board."He says the gang fights and struggles they have had to deal with are all just part of the game. He also points out an interesting fact about the game's location."Eldervair, the realm of 'Gryphons and Gargoyles' is an anagram for Riverdale," he said. "The whole game is an analog for Riverdale. The game only exists in Riverdale, that's why we couldn't find it on the web. It's all connected. It's all one big narrative that's still being written and played."When Jughead and Archie find themselves in the town of Athens, Jughead finds a group of kids playing "G&G." That means the game is expanding more than they could have anticipated.The series is implying that Hiram Lodge may be involved, but it could be another red herring. All we really know is that "G&G" isn't going away any time soon.Read all of our "Riverdale" coverage here."Riverdale" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.VisitINSIDER's homepagefor more.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: The true story behind the name 'Black Friday' is much darker than you may have thought
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