Dungeons and Dragons: 30 Years and Counting
Dungeons and Dragons, the paper-and-dice fantasy role-playing game enjoyed worldwide, turns 30 this year. Gamers across the globe will celebrate Saturday, Oct. 16, with a game day.
Who would have thought this game would go from a fad in the geek subculture to a respected cultural entity in its own right?
The game traces its origins to 1970, when war gamer Dave Arneson created a game with medieval adventurers exploring the dungeons of an old castle. Fellow gamer Gary Gygax played it at a convention and developed a series of supplemental rules to add more fantasy elements, such as dwarves, elves, wizards and monsters. Gygax suggested the two work together and create new rules. The project was called The Fantasy Game. It was published in 1974 under the name Dungeons and Dragons. The entire print run sold out within a year. The following year, TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) Hobbies Inc. was created, publishing not only Dungeons and Dragons, but also various supplements. Over the years, the game spawned new versions, streamlining the original concept.
I began playing in 1978 at the age of 12 and played steadily until the mid-90's. I love the game and credit it with teaching valuable lessons about storytelling. I was introduced to D&D through an article I read in the newspaper inviting people to attend a Dungeons and Dragons gaming session at Red Beard's Books in Marion Indiana. I was captivated. Here I witnessed a demonstration by the Oak Hill Dungeons and Dragons Society as they introduced a world of fantasy and high sorcery that I could enter. The group consisted of kids I knew from school, all 3 to 4 years older than me. I would soon join them and learn the game and it would become a big part of my life for next 15 + years.
Laurell K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter books, was a member of this group and a skilled Dungeon Master. I have fond memories of her campaigns. I think, like me, she honed her considerable writing talents in those late night gaming sessions.
Congratulations to D&D for having survived 30 years as the premiere role playing game. May it continue its reign long into the future and continue to inspire the young and young at heart.
Who would have thought this game would go from a fad in the geek subculture to a respected cultural entity in its own right?
The game traces its origins to 1970, when war gamer Dave Arneson created a game with medieval adventurers exploring the dungeons of an old castle. Fellow gamer Gary Gygax played it at a convention and developed a series of supplemental rules to add more fantasy elements, such as dwarves, elves, wizards and monsters. Gygax suggested the two work together and create new rules. The project was called The Fantasy Game. It was published in 1974 under the name Dungeons and Dragons. The entire print run sold out within a year. The following year, TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) Hobbies Inc. was created, publishing not only Dungeons and Dragons, but also various supplements. Over the years, the game spawned new versions, streamlining the original concept.
I began playing in 1978 at the age of 12 and played steadily until the mid-90's. I love the game and credit it with teaching valuable lessons about storytelling. I was introduced to D&D through an article I read in the newspaper inviting people to attend a Dungeons and Dragons gaming session at Red Beard's Books in Marion Indiana. I was captivated. Here I witnessed a demonstration by the Oak Hill Dungeons and Dragons Society as they introduced a world of fantasy and high sorcery that I could enter. The group consisted of kids I knew from school, all 3 to 4 years older than me. I would soon join them and learn the game and it would become a big part of my life for next 15 + years.
Laurell K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter books, was a member of this group and a skilled Dungeon Master. I have fond memories of her campaigns. I think, like me, she honed her considerable writing talents in those late night gaming sessions.
Congratulations to D&D for having survived 30 years as the premiere role playing game. May it continue its reign long into the future and continue to inspire the young and young at heart.
posted by Bob Freeman at 12:39 AM
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