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Game Wizards Spiral-Bound | 2021-10-12

Jon Peterson

$23.69 - Free Shipping
Discover the colorful history of the table-top RPG phenomenon, Dungeons & Dragons, as a D&D expert examines its surprising successes, setbacks, and controversies.

"The battle over Dungeons & Dragons was the ultimate geek war." --Wired

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.
Publisher: MIT Press
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 400 pages
ISBN-10: 0262542951
Item Weight: 1.0 lbs
Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.0 inches
"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).