Poster:Dangerous Journeys Poster

Developed in the 1970s by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, Dungeons & Dragons (or D & D) taught millions how to play role-playing games by plunging participants into imaginary worlds of magic and monsters. In the process, it made pretend play-long the province of young children-a respectable activity for older children and adults. Additionally, it inspired thousands of computer role-playing games that are played by hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Dungeons & Dragons' success at channeling people's natural tendency to role play inspired a whole new type of game-the role-playing game. Created both by TSR, Gygax's firm that published Dungeons & Dragons, and other companies, these games used the same approach as D & D. They asked players to gather together to role play their way through imaginary worlds under the direction of a game master, using dice as an aid to game play. Traveler took place in outer space, while Champions featured a comic book milieu. The role-playing game market flourished in the 1980s, sparked by the success of Dungeons and Dragons. Role-playing games are still popular, and Dungeons & Dragons, now made by Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast, has gone through numerous revisions over the years, including the introduction of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in 1978. Elements of Dungeons & Dragons have been adapted into other games such as the card games Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! that use such innovations of Dungeons & Dragons as hit points, experience levels, spell casting, and monsters.


Dungeons & Dragons stands as a rarity in the history of toys and games-the toy that truly changed not just the toy industry but the way we play. Thirty-five years ago it offered a new way for gamers to role play in fantasy worlds-today it looks more and more likely that the sort of role playing Dungeons & Dragons inspired will be the sorts of playing most people do in the future.