When was the Golden Age of Dragon magazine?

[Anson Caralya]

Issues 67 through 72, with Gygax at the height of his powers (and Easley as well). An issue of Dragon then was like a quality new hardcover now in terms of impact. OK, it also happens to be when I started reading it, but I'm sure I'm looking at this objectively...

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

(which isn't one of my purchase criteria, but IMHO the cover art did get increasingly bland around that time - where are my animated chess games? where are the covers I felt like framing on a wall?).

I agree with this so much. I'd still buy Dragon if it had art like the old days. The cluttered covers just annoy me so much. But according to Eric Mona they tried an uncluttered cover and it didn't do as well that issue so that isn't going to happen again. I'm not sure if one issue is a valid data set but what the heck. I mean what gaming magazine is the competition to draw the buyers away with its louder cover?


Didn't help that the piece of art was weak...oh well.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

When was "the Golden Age" of Dragon magazine to you?

When it was still widely assumed that the game was NOT about the rules you used, but what you actually did WITH the rules you used. That's a pretty indefiinite standard so I couldn't possibly finger it to a given time period - but I am forced to assert that it is not recent. This is not to say that the current Dragon is NOT useful, or is somehow INHERENTLY inferior, only that it seems to me that there was a time when articles better reflected my PERSONALLY preferred view of the game.

Put it this way - there are plenty of articles listing new feats, classes, prestige classes, monsters, spells, items etc. but I cannot recall the last time I saw an article attempting to explain WHY I should use/not use any of them, or HOW I could use them to better run the game or the character I might have in mind. E.g., "THIS seleection of Prestige Classes created a great campaign for me - here's why." or "Why THESE spells will make a more interesting character to play than THOSE." or that most heretical of notions "Just because it's RAW or official doesn't mean that it's the best solution."

Thinking about that last paragraph I think what I want is that in addition to articles providing DATA for me to use I also want OPINION, examples of experimentation that worked or that failed, that sort of thing... or maybe I'm just too cranky right now.

 

[billd91]

For me, the golden age is somewhere around the 30s and 40s to the early 100s. Then it hits a trough for a while though with some good individual issues. I think it's improving considerably, but I don't think I'd put it above a "Silver Age" now. Dungeon, by comparison, is definitely in a golden age now as far as I'm concerned.

I miss the days when everything in Dragon seemed new, there were mini-games included, other games were covered, and Wormy was in the back.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

The Dragon Magazine CD-ROM archive is just amazingly wonderful. I think it may be my best RPG resource. When I got it off Ebay It had 2 copies of disc 4 so I didn't have the issues over 234. I didn't really care.

 

[jester47]

60-100 and the Mona/Jacobs takeover.

 

[Glyfair]

I mean what gaming magazine is the competition to draw the buyers away with its louder cover?

It's not competing against other gaming magazines (not much). It's competeting against other gaming products. They are also competing against apathy (picking it up and looking at it, or just leaving it sit there).

 

[Silver Moon]

Issue#39 to #100. It was a first edition phenomenon that took place under Kim Mohan.

Have to agree with this. I began getting the magazine with issue #48. I picked up some earlier issues (in the 20 to 35 range) not long after that, and they actually weren't as good. After issue #100 it wasn't quite as good either, although there were a few years in the mid-200 range that were pretty good too.

 

[zoroaster100]

I think the Golden Age is now, since they started doing the Demonomicon articles and articles on different faiths of core Greyhawk deities.

 

[Uder]

Shortly after issue 40, on through into the early 100's. It was nearly as good as the magazine is now, and it has the added advantage of nostalgia.