Highlights Archives
Dungeons & Dragons' Wisconsin Roots
A little-known fact about that granddaddy of all role-playing games — Dungeons & Dragons — is that it was created right here in Wisconsin. It began in the basement of Gary Gygax's Lake Geneva home, where Gygax and war-gamer friend Dave Arneson decided to create their own medieval-era role-playing game. In a 2004 interview, Gygax spoke of those years, saying "I'm very fond of the medieval period, the Dark Ages in particular. We started playing in the period because I had found appropriate miniatures." The miniatures game became Chainmail, but the friends decided to also create a role-playing medieval-era game that did not use miniatures. When Gygax's wife noticed they were playing a dragons game in the basement, they decided to call it Dungeons & Dragons.
In 1972 Gygax and another friend Don Kaye formed a company, Tactical Studies Rules, to publish the game. They printed and hand-assembled 1,000 copies, which to everyone's surprise sold out in nine months. After Kaye's death in 1976, his widow sold his share of the business to Gygax who renamed it TSR Hobbies, Inc. By the end of the year Gygax had sold two-thirds of the business to the Blume family, and together they ran the company until 1985. Business boomed and by 1982 TSR Hobbies had made $20 million. In the early 1980s Gygax worked with CBS to create a D&D cartoon series that premiered on September 17, 1983, and dominated its time slot for the two years it ran. Gygax left TSR in 1985 after management disagreements and the company struggled on until 1997, when the Seattle-based firm Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) purchased it and closed the Lake Geneva office. Two years later Hasbro acquired WOTC, which continues to publish Dungeons & Dragons.
Gygax remained a prolific creator of role-playing games from his home in Lake Geneva. In 2004, however, he suffered two strokes and had a near heart attack when given the wrong medication. Today he considers himself in semi-retirement, but still has his friends over for game night on Thursdays and is active answering questions on gaming Web sites. He has asked that he be remembered "as the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else."
As part of its Toy Stories exhibit, the Wisconsin Historical Museum has invited Lory Aitken of Pegasus Games to talk about the evolution of role-playing games and lead the audience in a scenario. The program will be held at the museum on March 24, 2007, from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
When you visit, be sure to see the Toy Stories exhibit for a historical look at popular toys and games from the 1940s to the present day. They include such classics as Barbie, Etch-A-Sketch, Hot Wheels, Spirograph, Twister, Play-Doh, Tinkertoy, Scrabble, Lionel trains, and Cootie. Also included are toys with intriguing Wisconsin connections, such as the Sno-Coaster, Shrinky Dinks, Trivial Pursuit, Duncan yo-yos, and American Girl dolls. Vintage TV toy commercials add to the presentation, as do memories of favorite childhood toys as recalled by famous Wisconsinites. An interactive area permits visitors to play with classic toys and to record their own thoughts about favorite playthings.
:: Posted March 19, 2007
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