Thom reviewed Playing at the World by Jon Peterson
Review of 'Playing at the World' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This book is a complete history of what became Dungeons & Dragons, tracing the path from wargames to postal games and playing roles. Extensive references connect what was happening in Europe and America. Very interesting, but contains a LOT of material - not an easy read.
The author is described as a "Dungeons & Dragons historian" - how cool is that job title? While the subtitle is accurate - this book does delve into simulating wars and fantastic adventures, from chess to role-playing games, this book is more properly an ultra-complete history of what led up to the role-playing games we know today.
It is really interesting to consider how much the postal aspects of wargames led to emphasis of role over armies and territory. I've heard pieces of this story before, but never with the added focus on British and German games. As mentioned earlier, this book is dense …
This book is a complete history of what became Dungeons & Dragons, tracing the path from wargames to postal games and playing roles. Extensive references connect what was happening in Europe and America. Very interesting, but contains a LOT of material - not an easy read.
The author is described as a "Dungeons & Dragons historian" - how cool is that job title? While the subtitle is accurate - this book does delve into simulating wars and fantastic adventures, from chess to role-playing games, this book is more properly an ultra-complete history of what led up to the role-playing games we know today.
It is really interesting to consider how much the postal aspects of wargames led to emphasis of role over armies and territory. I've heard pieces of this story before, but never with the added focus on British and German games. As mentioned earlier, this book is dense with information - I had to check it out from the library twice to finish it. At some point I will buy one for my reference shelf, and I look forward to reading more from this author.