So how long have YOU been playing D&D?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Summer camp, 1979, 1E PHB, playing a freeformish game that I can only surmise was based on the cover of the PHB. Lots and lots of orcs and some tricks/traps.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I started in 1978 with the Holmes "blue book" basic set.

 

[Greylock]

Introduced to DnD around 1980 or so, and thought it was a game for kids. Didn't actually play until 1982. Late teen arrogance and all. Still playing.

 

[Harmon]

Either '79 or '80. Played for about three years then went to playing other systems. About three years ago (when 3e came out- when ever that was) our group made the jump from GURPs to D&D then to M&M, but still playing D&D 3.25e for the most part.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Played my first game in '77 or '78. Didn't actually buy any D&D stuff until AD&D came out. (Had run Runequest and played a bunch of other stuff, including a lot of homebrew mixes of various game parts. Our group decided to switch to either AD&D or Steve Jackson's The Fantasy Trip, whichever came out first. If only Steve had followed through on his publishing schedule...)

 

[Legildur]

Mmmm.... 1981, so only 25 years. Friend in Year 7 introduced me to the game with the Blackmoor rules books (black, grey, and white book covers???). Progressed to 1st Ed, Basic, Expert, 2nd Ed, 3.0E and finally 3.5E. Also some Call of Cthulu, Traveller, Runequest, and Middle Earth Role Playing in there.

 

[Larcen]

I started in 1978 with the Holmes "blue book" basic set.

Ditto. Dang, has it been that long?

 

[Ibram]

I started playing in 1998 i believe. 2nd edition at the ODU SCI-FI / Fantasy club

 

[Tharian]

I got my start in August of 1988. It was the month before high school for me and I picked up a 1st Ed Oriental Heroes book. A friend knew some basics about the game but really wanted to be a player so after a short bit of time (the next weekend, perhaps?) I picked up the DMG followed by the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide. Between the two, I had my characters (who were all part of the same ninja clan but didn't realize it) running through massive underground challenges with lots of undead and other kinds of creatures.

I normally made up maze-like dungeon crawls with little sense of rhyme or reason, but I think we all had a lot of fun back then.

I've been reading the books pretty much all the way through since then, but there was a dry spell of games there after I had to worry about moving out from the parent's place and eventually ending up several states away. Of late, I'm in a reasonably consistent game and am trying to get an AoWAP campaign going but have had only had one such session so far.

 

[Dracomeander]

I know there are others here who've been playing longer than I have. I got started with my cousin during Christmas break of 1975 and have been playing near continuously since summer of '76. Didn't start DMing until summer of '80.