When Did You Start Playing D+D?

[Tetsubo]

Wow. I didn't realize that there were so many of us Old Timers here on the boards... I started back in 1978. I've been collecting RPG's ever since. I've got like 50' of book shelf space dedicated to them. I really need to catalog them one of these days...

 

[Glyfair]

Fall of '78. I had just started college. I came across a flyer advertising "Bilbo's Birthday Party" - the annual recruiting bash for the university's Tolkien society. And already being a big Tolkien fan, I of course went. And there were a lot of D&D players, wargamers, SCA members, SF fans etc. there.

Heh. Friends of mine who owned the local gaming store started holding Bilbo's Birthday Party in 1981 (both main owners were huge Tolkein fans). They've run it every year since then, and it's become a week long event.

It's a very nice event because Bilbo's Birthday is in late September. Since we are in a college town, it's nicely spaced to get the attention of college students after they've had a few weeks of settling in.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

I began in 1972 with the drafting of the first pass at the game. Anyone else here play that 50-typewritten-pages-draft or the revised and expanded one of 150 pp, done in the spring of 1973?

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Melkor]

I began in 1972 with the drafting of the first pass at the game. Anyone else here play that 50-typewritten-pages-draft or the revised and expanded one of 150 pp, done in the spring of 1973?

Cheers,
Gary

No such luck Gary....but that's probably because I wasn't born until 1974.

If you happen to have any extra copies of that laying around, I'd be happy to playtest the game for you!

 

[Col_Pladoh]

No such luck Gary....but that's probably because I wasn't born until 1974.

If you happen to have any extra copies of that laying around, I'd be happy to playtest the game for you!

Heh...

Indeed I was fishing for someone who did play amd kept a copy of either of those mss. and might send me a photocopy of their photocopy. Mine have long been lost :\

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Mycanid]

Now Gary - that's not fair! Don't think there are many other Ennie's that saw that.....

I began in 1979.

 

[A'koss]

Started in the Summer of '80... and must say I'm pleasantly surprised to see so many playing before that (I feel.... a little less old now. ).

I got the OD&D booklets and the BD&D box set the same year.

 

[Warlock75]

I started in the summer of 1986 with the Basic Set by Frank Menzter. I discovered D&D through the Endless Quest books first though. Dungeon of Dread...Return to Brookmere...Revolt of the Dwarves...and (for those here that might remember Alpha Dawn) Villians of Volturnus.

 

[GrendelKhan]

In 1981 with the basic red box set.

 

[Wik]

1988. I was 5. We had just moved to Toronto, and my dad was pretty desperate for a group (he was one of those 1974 people... had eight brothers, and any game that required the group to work together was something the mother encouraged, so they were kind of "pushed" towards D&D). Anyways, he decided to help me roll up a character, an elven ranger I based entirely off Link from Legend of Zelda... I named him "Nelf" (which stood, by the way, for "neutral elf"... why a name has to "stand" for something, I'll never know).

Anyways, the two of us ran through the solo adventure designer found in the DMG, with my elven ranger and his human ranger pretty much taking out any monster we found. It was fun, even if all it ever consisted of was dice rolling.

My first real "Campaign" was in grade six, which would've been in... I dunno, 1994? 95? Isle of Dread, baby.

Edit: Ha. I should've guessed Gygax would do his best to ruin the poll. Should someone put in a "1972" option, to, y'know, keep the whole thing accurate?