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Game Wizards

The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons

Part of Game Histories

Author Jon Peterson
Ebook (EPUB)
The MIT Press
On sale Oct 12, 2021 | 400 Pages | 9780262366731
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Discover the colorful history of the table-top RPG phenomenon, Dungeons & Dragons, as a D&D expert examines its surprising successes, setbacks, and controversies.

When Dungeons & Dragons was first released to a small hobby community, it hardly seemed destined for mainstream success—and yet this arcane tabletop role-playing game became an unlikely pop culture phenomenon. In Game Wizards, Jon Peterson chronicles the rise of Dungeons & Dragons from hobbyist pastime to mass market sensation, from the initial collaboration to the later feud of its creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Inside you’ll learn about:

• Gygax and Arneson’s first meeting and their work toward the 1974 release
• The founding of TSR and its growth as a company
• Arneson’s acrimonious departure and subsequent challenges to TSR
• "Satanic Panic" accusations that plagued D&D—and boosted its popularity
• TSR’s reckless expansion and near-fatal corporate infighting
• And much more!

With Game Wizards, Peterson restores historical particulars long obscured by competing narratives spun by the one-time partners. That record amply demonstrates how the turbulent experience of creating something as momentous as Dungeons & Dragons can make people remember things a bit differently from the way they actually happened.
"The battle Over Dungeons & Dragons was the ultimate geek war."
—Wired

"In Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons, historian Jon Peterson hopes to lay to rest the rumors and speculation that have plagued the early history of D&D. At the center of this new book is the feud between co-creators Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax. His work relies on a treasure trove of firsthand interviews and primary documentation, as well as remnants from the lost archives of D&D’s original publisher, TSR."
—Polygon

"A deep dive into a significant controversy in the gaming world: who deserves credit for the meteoric rise of Dungeons & Dragons and blame for the subsequent avalanche of public spats, lawsuits, and business bungling...A good dungeon crawl... treasures abound for experienced adventurers."
—Kirkus Reviews
'Jon Peterson’s “Game Wizards” is an in-depth history – and I really do mean in-depth – of the creation of Dungeons and Dragons and in particular the ugly struggle for control of TSR. It’s vivid and incredibly well-researched, although this particular niche is… well, it’s very niche.'
—Tim Harford

"a lively and readable history of the game, its first owners, and their fumbling attempts to run a business."
—ZDNet

"Game Wizards makes a fascinating reading. We have never, ever seen such a level of detail and documentation regarding the inner workings of TSR down to board meetings and executives' plans and ideas. The book shines a really strong light on the 'secret history' of the company"
—Dungeon Master Magazine
Jon Peterson, a leading expert on Dungeons & Dragons and role-playing games, is the author of Playing at the World, Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana (a Hugo Award finalist), the New York Times bestseller Heroes' Feast, and The Elusive Shift: How Role-Playing Games Forged Their Identity (MIT Press).
Jon Peterson View titles by Jon Peterson
Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
I From a Club to a Company
Opening Moves 5
Gygax and Arneson 15
The $300 Idea 33
II Adventurers in Business
1975: Sage Street, Goodbye 55
1976: Stab 79
1977: The Great War 103
1978: Stolen Glory 125
III The Everfull Purse
1979: Treasure in the Steam Tunnels 151
1980: The Spotlight 175
1981: Identity Crisis 199
1982: Extravagance 223
IV Disjunction
1983: Splitting the Party 251
1984: Cursed 273
1985: The Ambush at Sheridan Springs 289
Epilogue: Endgame 313
Sources and Acknowledgments 319
Index 353

About

Discover the colorful history of the table-top RPG phenomenon, Dungeons & Dragons, as a D&D expert examines its surprising successes, setbacks, and controversies.

When Dungeons & Dragons was first released to a small hobby community, it hardly seemed destined for mainstream success—and yet this arcane tabletop role-playing game became an unlikely pop culture phenomenon. In Game Wizards, Jon Peterson chronicles the rise of Dungeons & Dragons from hobbyist pastime to mass market sensation, from the initial collaboration to the later feud of its creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Inside you’ll learn about:

• Gygax and Arneson’s first meeting and their work toward the 1974 release
• The founding of TSR and its growth as a company
• Arneson’s acrimonious departure and subsequent challenges to TSR
• "Satanic Panic" accusations that plagued D&D—and boosted its popularity
• TSR’s reckless expansion and near-fatal corporate infighting
• And much more!

With Game Wizards, Peterson restores historical particulars long obscured by competing narratives spun by the one-time partners. That record amply demonstrates how the turbulent experience of creating something as momentous as Dungeons & Dragons can make people remember things a bit differently from the way they actually happened.

Reviews

"The battle Over Dungeons & Dragons was the ultimate geek war."
—Wired

"In Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons, historian Jon Peterson hopes to lay to rest the rumors and speculation that have plagued the early history of D&D. At the center of this new book is the feud between co-creators Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax. His work relies on a treasure trove of firsthand interviews and primary documentation, as well as remnants from the lost archives of D&D’s original publisher, TSR."
—Polygon

"A deep dive into a significant controversy in the gaming world: who deserves credit for the meteoric rise of Dungeons & Dragons and blame for the subsequent avalanche of public spats, lawsuits, and business bungling...A good dungeon crawl... treasures abound for experienced adventurers."
—Kirkus Reviews
'Jon Peterson’s “Game Wizards” is an in-depth history – and I really do mean in-depth – of the creation of Dungeons and Dragons and in particular the ugly struggle for control of TSR. It’s vivid and incredibly well-researched, although this particular niche is… well, it’s very niche.'
—Tim Harford

"a lively and readable history of the game, its first owners, and their fumbling attempts to run a business."
—ZDNet

"Game Wizards makes a fascinating reading. We have never, ever seen such a level of detail and documentation regarding the inner workings of TSR down to board meetings and executives' plans and ideas. The book shines a really strong light on the 'secret history' of the company"
—Dungeon Master Magazine

Author

Jon Peterson, a leading expert on Dungeons & Dragons and role-playing games, is the author of Playing at the World, Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana (a Hugo Award finalist), the New York Times bestseller Heroes' Feast, and The Elusive Shift: How Role-Playing Games Forged Their Identity (MIT Press).
Jon Peterson View titles by Jon Peterson

Table of Contents

Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
I From a Club to a Company
Opening Moves 5
Gygax and Arneson 15
The $300 Idea 33
II Adventurers in Business
1975: Sage Street, Goodbye 55
1976: Stab 79
1977: The Great War 103
1978: Stolen Glory 125
III The Everfull Purse
1979: Treasure in the Steam Tunnels 151
1980: The Spotlight 175
1981: Identity Crisis 199
1982: Extravagance 223
IV Disjunction
1983: Splitting the Party 251
1984: Cursed 273
1985: The Ambush at Sheridan Springs 289
Epilogue: Endgame 313
Sources and Acknowledgments 319
Index 353

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