Fifty games over fifty years
January was my birthday month. I had my midlife crisis back in my late 20s returning to civilian life after I left the military. Every year I get a skull tattoo to mark the years that I’m kicking diabetes ass and I make a playlist of 21 songs that I’m currently feeling. This year I will also make a playlist of the 50 most important songs and a list of the 50 most important games in my life thus far. Lucky for you, I’ve already got that list of 50 games completed. I think that song list will be a longer project!
The envelope, please!
In no real order, but first, because it was the first RPG game I played #1 is (surprise, surprise!) Dungeons and Dragons, B/X Moldvay edition. I moved to a new school for the gifted and talented kids in sixth grade. I would ride the public bus from Jersey City over to North Bergen every morning. Norman, Dallas, Michelle, and Anthony invited me into their D&D game. We played during lunch, after school, and sometimes I’d make it out there on some Saturdays to play. This was the early 80s, Jersey City, NJ. I was a food stamp and welfare kid, I know about government cheese, milk, and King Vitamin cereal. When I couldn’t bus it there, I walked -that’s what D&D meant to me. My school friends never knew what my home life was like. My first ever character was the thief. He died when Tenser’s Floating Disk expired dropping gold coins and treasure on me. It was fantastic and I quickly made a new character, Thief Jr!
A.B.X (After BX)
D&D lead to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and me taking over the DM duties from Dallas. Those adventures centered around a paladin character’s quests for his holy warhorse and sword.
I explored many, many other games before coming back to D&D 3ed and all the renewed energy that came with it. I ran a campaign with folks I worked with for the longest stretch. I skipped D&D 4ed, but I have GMed and am playing some 5ed games. I’ve also written some stuff for Paizo’s Pathfinder.
D&D Today
Today I run my Mad lands west marches game using Old School Essentials D&D. Based on the Moldvay edition. It’s got the basics I like and I’ve got a couple of house rules I like to use. I’ve got no beef with D&D. The Critical Role show isn’t for me, but I’m glad they’re at the party. They bring much-needed attention to a hobby I started out closet-gaming in. I do roll my eyes at the idea of ‘decolonizing’ D&D — Decolonization means I (and other cultures) don’t get to exist. I feel like we forget these are games and everything ain’t for everybody -I don’t like Okra, Harry Potter, or ST: TNG and it’s fine if you do. D&D, like it or not, is a solid touchstone in our hobby, and in American culture. I took an RV Road trip back during the week leading up to the election getting called for Biden. At my different stops from Kansas City through Oklahoma, Texas, and into New Mexico -folks could have talked with me about a lot of different topics. Games, and then D&D were the common subjects once we got past the pleasantries. Looking back over 50 years of gaming, I wouldn’t change where it fits in my life.
YMMV.
