How old were you when you started playing D&D?

[philreed]

Encountered when I was 9. Played when I was 11. Started playing weekly (or more!) when I was 14.

 

[Boojum]

6 for me. My dad had played in grad school, and had his 1e books lying around. Attracted by the pictures (I had made my parents read LotR aloud to me the previous year and was really interested in fantasy), I picked them up and started reading them. This eventually led to my dad running a game that only lasted for a couple sessions in which I played an entire party of adventurers in the Keep of the Purple Baron. For a long time after tha, I didn't actually play, but read the books constantly, took them to school to read at recess, rolled up characters and had them fight all the monsters in the books, and basically amused myself endlessly with them until I was able to get into a real game much later.

 

[ptolemy18]

As a companion to the poll on *when* you started D&D.

How old were you when you started playing D&D?

Quasqueton

This poll doesn't go low enough!

I was six years old. It was 1980.

My parents let me get the D&D "Basic Set" for my birthday, but when I opened it up, I didn't understand the concept (I was expecting a board game, like the later DUNGEON) so I was totally confused and disappointed.

But then I somehow found someone to DM me on a game (I think a babysitter was the DM for me and my fellow 1st-grader) and I was eternally damned -- I mean, blessed -- to a lifetime of role-playing.

Jason

 

[Turhan]

32 years old.
A friend hooked me on computer games one autumn (Wing Commander), then on DnD the next spring.
Who knows why it took so long. Maybe because I'd never heardo of DnD until then.

 

[qstor]

I was 11. I started with the box with the blue *ish* border with the dragon on the cover, from around 1978.

Mike

 

[derbacher]

1975. I was 14. If It had come out earlier and I had heard about it, I would have started then! Bought it myself and learned by doing, I was responsible for corrupting.. er.. introducing a lot of my high school to this in the 70's. (And I still have the white box set, completely decrepit but still readable!)

Bought all the "Basic" editions, and as much 1E AD&D material as I could lay my hands on (around 15 books, I think). Skipped 2nd Edition completely, and I'm now hooked on 3.x (yes, I bought them both! doh!)

 

[megamania]

Folks tried to get me into Champions back when I was 14 but I didn't break down to play anything until I was 20. Did I ever miss out!!!!

 

[MonsterMash]

9.

That distribution is definitely skewed young. Hook 'em early is apparently a good long-term business strategy, given that the EN World population probably represents a sample of more hard-core gamers with -- I'd guess -- a higher-than-average gaming budget.

Which implies a new slogan: "D&D. Like crack, only legal!"

Not if Jack Chick has his way!

 

[Animus]

I was looking for a poll like this and thankfully Mr. EN himself pointed me to it.

To answer the question, 1987, 7th grade, 13 years old.

 

[WayneLigon]

17. Of course, D&D didn't exist when I was much younger than that...