The Origins of D&D, Explained

thegamer.com:

As its fiftieth anniversary approaches, Dungeons & Dragons is more popular than ever. The most famous tabletop RPG of all time came from humble beginnings, and despite the success it achieved within their lifetimes, its creators would likely be astounded at how much the game has grown in the last few years.

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The game's origin is something of a legend in itself among longtime players. Order yourself another round of ale, traveler, and never mind the dangerous-looking half-orc at the corner table - this is the story of how Dungeons & Dragons came to be.

Before adventurers were checking for traps and readying their crossbows for the next encounter, tabletop war games were already the big geeky hobby. Many of these games focused on recreating historical battles with dozens of painted miniatures representing the forces arrayed at Waterloo, Gettysburg, or whichever famous fracas the gamers chose.

The earliest modern tabletop war game, Little Wars, was written by none other than H.G. Wells and published in 1913. It is now available for free via Project Gutenberg (although its dismayingly sexist subtitle remains intact).

One such system, designed specifically to simulate medieval battles, was Chainmail, written by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren. The Lake Geneva, Wisconsin-based duo first published their rules in gaming magazines in 1970 before printing up copies to sell in hobby stores. Gygax was a leader in the local gaming community, having organized the first Gen Con (then called the Lake Geneva Wargames Convention) two years earlier and founded the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association, a wargaming club that met in his basement.

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