I'd been meaning to read this book for a long time, but when I went around to look for a paper copy, it was out of print. Then last year I saw that a second edition had come out, structured in two volumes rather than one. I read the first volume these last few weeks. Playing at the World is a very detailed account of the origins of D&D and, consequently, role-playing games. The first third of the book is devoted to the wargaming landscape in the lates 60s and early 70s in America, the second third focuses on the transition from Chainmail (Gygax's 1:1 scale wargame) to Gygax and Arneson's Dungeons & Dragons, and the last third looks at D&D's early success, evolution and imitators (basically how D&D begat RPGs). I found the first third overly detailed and not all that interesting, as it felt more like an in-depth academic exposé. Some of it feeds into the second and third parts which were more interesting to me, but not all that much. One line of thought that the book led me to was to realise that the fascination with early D&D is mostly mechanical, like a form of philology that would allow one to trace a mechanic back to its roots in wargaming. I really have very limited interest in that. What I find interesting is the sociological aspect of role-playing, and while that's briefly brushed upon, it's not a core focus of Playing at the World. I'm glad I read this first volume, but since the second focuses on specific mechanical aspects of the game, I don't think I'll read that. Obviously, this is for hardcore fans only, but of interest if you are one.
Comments
Post a Comment