Book Review - Game Wizards

 

Game Wizards

by Jon Peterson

For decades the true story behind the creation, rise and fall of the original Dungeons and Dragons run, and the company TSR, has been second hand stories, random stories and speculation. Lot's of contradictions, tall tales that have been around since the early 90's and just a lot of unsorted information. This is the authors attempt to pull all of that together into a cohesive history. And he succeeds. 

Now I will state that this book is for those who want a really deep look into the early years of the roleplaying hobby with a focus being on two people; Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. So if you want a quick easy read without a lot of niche details this isn't the book for you. 

But if you like that intricate detail (as I do) then this is the book for you. Complete with a large sources and acknowledgement section and a full index. 

This work covers a very specific area of time. From early meeting of the main people in 1973 up until the point where Gary Gygax loses ownership and control of TSR in 1985. Giving each year it's own chapter with a humorous little 'score keeper' at the end of each. Where as 'Slaying the Dragon' (another great book) gives a full history of the game almost to current day this one is hyper focused on this specific early era. 

It gives a bit of a peak into things that I never knew about. Like the fight for attendance size and importance between GenCon and Origins. The amount of coverage amateur press, and company, trade magazine gave to things going on at the time. With various folks stirring the pot or spilling the tea on things that were happening. Even a treasure trove of information from an in-house newsletter distributed to employees of TSR. 

Using all this entertaining information to help smooth out the sheer amount of information on sales, stocks, and all that boring stuff. So you rarely get bogged down and feel like you're trying to soak in a few years worth of corporate spreadsheet data. Along with mentions of other major companies at the time also had their own downfalls during the same period. 

So if you like a well researched historical approach to the game that defined our hobby and the company that rose to amazing heights only to fall so far. Then this book is for you. I gave a solid two thumbs up and recommend it highly. 

Try to find a copy through your local game shop or independently owned book shop. Ask if they can special order it in for you.

If that's not an option you can find it over on Bookshop dot org or over on Amazon.