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Designers & Dragons: The '70s

A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry

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About this listen

Designers & Dragons: The ’70s is a comprehensive picture of the beginnings of the RPG industry. This second edition expands the original single book into a series of four, and we’ve added over 50,000 new words to this volume alone. Learn about the colorful history of TSR and the wave of D&D inspired games (and gaming companies) to follow, and dip your toes into war gaming trivia. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2013 Shannon Appelcline (P)2020 Last Word Audio Social Sciences

Critic reviews

2015 Gold ENnie Award Winner - Best RPG Related Product

"I could have easily finished everything in one go…and is, by definition, a must-buy for every role-player out there." (RPG.net)

"The book is impeccably researched and highly detailed, and author Shannon Appelcline has a knack for turning the history of each company and its people into a compelling narrative." (teleread.com)
All stars
Most relevant
The numerous interesting stories about the RPG hobby and industry. Great to have old stories confirmed, clarified, or revealed to be untrue, I learned lots of new things. For those that want a detailed overview, then I recommend this. I appreciate the information being placed into specific company histories with linked recommendations at the chapter end to make for a great approach. It also makes it easier to find information later, as opposed to being like say a history put in to a story/biography style. A high rating because it delivers on its goal and what I wanted. Clear audio, good pacing, a great performance.

Informative and detailed history of RPGs

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Surely there's a better way to render the story of such a dynamic hobby than as a series of bullet points, delivered in a lifeless monotone? I had to give up after about an hour as it felt like I was listening to Alexa reciting our shopping list back to us.

Where were the anecdotes, the exciting recollections of early games and breakthrough discoveries? Instead, all I heard was "this happened, then this happened, then this happened" with all the gusto and excitement of a maths text book.

This had come highly recommended and I must say I found it a major disappointment and a wasted opportunity to tell an important story about the growth of one of the most important hobbies in the 21st Century.

A Missed Opportunity

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