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Earliest Version of D&D On Display At Rochester Museum

Posted by timothy on from the we-didn't-have-dice-we-were-too-poor dept.

An anonymous reader writes "This weekend the National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY, will display the earliest known version of the game Dungeons & Dragons as a part of their new exhibit Game Time!. The document is on loan from the personal collection of games historian Jon Peterson (author of Playing at the World), who says the document 'captures the system at around the midpoint of development, with the core concepts of dungeon exploration and fantastic combat in place, but it lacks some features of the mature game and exhibits a few intriguing variations.' Some excerpts are up on Peterson's blog."

28 comments

  1. Don't forget... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...your copies of Chainmail and Outdoor Survival, every one!

  2. First english version? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought D&D was always in english.

    1. Re:First english version? by plover · · Score: 2

      I thought D&D was always in english.

      No, the original was written in Elvish :-)

      --
      John
    2. Re:First english version? by Jamu · · Score: 1

      Gedyr ah Emlyg?

      --
      Who ordered that?
  3. Still have then by arthurpaliden · · Score: 3

    Got my copies right after the game came out. Many happy hours. Simple rules plus great imaginations. There was nothing like it then or now.

    --
    Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
  4. Not to Hijack the thread ... by b3x · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The National Museum of Play as it is a great place to spend the day with your kids. There is a ton of stuff to do for younger kids ( 13) and there is often some cool exhibits for the older kids. If your in the area check it out.

    1. Re:Not to Hijack the thread ... by SJHillman · · Score: 1

      It was one of the first places my girlfriend took me to after I moved to Rochester. Pretty cool place. Although the collection of dolls is creepy. Actually, dolls in general are just creepy.

      Of course, I'm out of town visiting my parents when all this is going on now...

    2. Re:Not to Hijack the thread ... by Selivanow · · Score: 1

      They also have a selection of vintage arcade games you can play now. Museums have never been so much fun!

      --
      -- ...trying to make digital files uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. -Bruce Schneier
    3. Re:Not to Hijack the thread ... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      For the umpteenth time, they're not dolls, they're action figures!

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  5. Older versions are available by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Interesting. A friend of mine has a computer printout from Berkeley, listing the rules. It was printed long before the official boxed edition was even thought about. I may have to mention the National Museum of play to her, see if she is interested in digging it out and donating it.

  6. Old school DnD forums quite lively by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Check out http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/index.php For Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortal [BECMI] style D&D and many AD&D settings WotC disbanded. A thriving community, especially for Mystaraphiles.

    1. Re:Old school DnD forums quite lively by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hell, there's still a noticable presence in the old D&D newsgroups on Usenet (rec.games.frp.dnd)...

      And I'm off to a game this afternoon myself.

      Gygax should be proud; 40 years later and his (and Arneson's) creation is still going strong. Not only has it made millions of players happy, not only has it spawned an entire industry, but it set the foundation for practically all computer games out there (almost all of which use some variety of hitpoints, hit probability and armor resistance rules, which Dungeons & Dragons popularized).

  7. Ah the memories by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have some very fond memories of all-weekend gaming sessions (instead of studying).

    1. Re: Ah the memories by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      D&D is pretty popular in the prison systems too...

  8. My first role playing experience by Culture20 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This post was removed due to polyhedral Dice content standards violations.

  9. Half the links are slashdotted, any mirror by GoodNewsJimDotCom · · Score: 1

    I want to see if the copy my neighbor gave me is really the first edition ever.

    --
    God spoke to me
  10. Has it been scanned? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it is a one off copy, maybe a hi-res scan is needed to have a safety reference in case the original is lost?

  11. Cool stuff by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 0

    I have a friend who was a beta tester for a board game 20 years ago that was later published.

    He still has it -- the board, the cards, everything is all hand-drawn. Once the kinks of gameplay are worked out, and people decide it's actually fun, then they get pro graphics artists to crank it out for the printers.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  12. Re:FROST PISS!!!! by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 0

    I'll pay an extra 10,000 plat for an Icy Burst FUCKING FAGGOT dick.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
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  14. Yeah by TheSkepticalOptimist · · Score: 1

    But its in Rochester...

    --
    I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.