How do you play Dungeons & Dragons?

There is no 'board' per se. All you need is some sort of grid you can use for a battleboard - while battlemats that can be drawn on with erasable markers are preferred, they are hardly required. Even a checkboard or two will do in a pinch. Another possibility is a large flip-chart style presentation board (you can find them at office supply stores, some even come with grids pre-printed.)

Other things needed (besides the rulebooks) are tokens to indicate monsters and PCs - while actual minis are aesthetically pleasing, anything will do (coins, cardboard squares, etc.) You'll also need at least one set of polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20), altho at least one set per person is better. (These can be found in most game shops and a set usually runs $5-8. If money is severely tight, a workable short-term substitute is to use a deck of cards: strip out the face cards...an ace =1, 2-10 as per the rank; black cards as is, red cards add 10 to the value.)

Other than that, nothing more is required except imagination. However, if whoever is the initial GM is inexperienced, might want a premade adventure or two to start with - not only will it let you jump right in, but it will allow the GM to see how adventures are put together as well as how to blend combat and skill challenges as well as other possible PC/NPC interactions. (WotC has a few available for free download, with dozens more available if you join the WPN/RPGA.)

It also would be helpful if at least one person downloads the Character Builder software from the Wizards' site - even if you don't pay for an Insider membership, the demo version is available for free and covers characters up to level 3. This is an excellent tool for inexperienced players to see how the various race, stat and feat choices affect the class and power choices (not to mention insure they adhere to the rules correctly).

I suggest getting the starter kit that Wizards of the Coast sell. It's inexpensive and contains what you need to get you started. Alternatively, you can try the link below for free, and print out what you need (except the dice).

You need at least one set of polyhedral dice, someone to be the Dungeon Master, and an adventure (see the link). My advice is to play your characters like movie heroes, larger than life - and as DM, let the players do most of what they want to do.

relies upon on what you clasify enjoying as. I used to do the previous Pen&Paper until I maxed out my character, Amenin, and issues purely became uninteresting. presently I oftentimes do communicate board/text fabric based Freestyle and the computer video games including Neverwinter Nights and Boulder's Gate.