Dungeons and Dragons Board Game
Dungeons and Dragons is one of the most popular fantasy games in history. Allowing players to create their own characters and determine their ability scores, races, character classes, alignments, powers, skills and feats, the game has inspired controversy, a loyal fan following, multimedia adaptations and a lasting influence on the fantasy genre.
History of the game
In the late 1960s, Gary Gygax, credited as the inventor of the game, expanded on the rules of an existing game called Chainmail, while he and his collaborators Dave Weseley and Dave Arneson changed it from a battle of armies to a battle between individuals. In addition, they added elements of fantasy, borrowing from such fantasy authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock and Lewis Carrol’s “Jabberwocky.” TSR, Inc. released the original version of Dungeons and Dragons in 1974; it came with three digest-sized books and six reference sheets full of tables and charts. Within five years, it had gone into its sixth printing. The second version, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, was released in 1989 after two years of work. It featured new rules and characters; a third version was released in 2000 by TSR’s successor in interest, Wizards of the Coast. It is now on its fourth edition.
Board game edition
The first official Dungeons and Dragons board game was a computer/board game hybrid released in 1980. Since then, 22 licensed games have come out with the Dungeons and Dragons trademark. Many people who are new to role-playing games use them as an introduction to RPGs, especially the basic game, which has the same essential rules.
Adaptations
Dungeons and Dragons has spawned several mass-media adaptations, including a cartoon show that ran on CBS from 1983 to 1985, a film adaptation released in 2000, novels, magazines and computer games. There was even a movie about the game itself. Dungeons and Dragons claims several celebrities among its fans, such as Robin Williams, Stephen Colbert, Tim Duncan and Moby.
Rooted in fantasy and mythology, Dungeons and Dragons has changed the way people play games and continues to enchant millions of gamers around the world.