Dungeons & Dragons: 5 Things You Might Not Know About This Mythical Game
A true pop culture phenomenon, Dungeons & Dragons is a role-playing game that everyone knows, at least by name... Since its creation half a century ago, this heroic fantasy game has constantly reinvented itself. Here are 5 things you might not know about the essential DnD.
1- Dungeons & Dragons celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024.
Even if you don't play it, you've surely heard the name Dungeons & Dragons. And for good reason: this cult game was the very first tabletop role-playing game.
To play, you just need to sit around a table and collectively imagine a story, using only dice, miniatures, and paper sheets as accessories. A game master is also needed to craft the scenario and run the session.
Dungeons & Dragons in its original version or DnD for short was created in 1974 by two Americans: Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. This board game celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024, but it is far from being forgotten!
2- In its early days, this game had a bad reputation.
The millions of role-players who play Dungeons and Dragons around the world often don't know it, but at its inception, this game had a really bad reputation.
In the 1970s, the fantasy genre was associated with counterculture. Much like metal music, this hobby attracted the ire of conservatives and American religious groups.
This game was accused of promoting witchcraft, and those who played it were seen by traditionalist Christians as "Satanists" who "summoned demons."
3- Today, there are more than 50 million role-players in the world.
Once reserved for geeks, role-playing games are making a comeback. It is estimated that more than 50 million people worldwide play role-playing games in general and Dungeons & Dragons in particular.
It must be said that mindsets have changed significantly. Fantasy is now a widely accepted genre, especially since the success of The Lord of the Rings in cinemas in the early 2000s.
Since the release of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, everyone knows what an elf or a goblin is. Even better, the public's enthusiasm for this type of universe has never waned, as evidenced by the phenomenal success of the Game of Thrones series worldwide.
4- This game has inspired countless adaptations.
Over the years, the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons has inspired countless spin-off products and adaptations. Different versions of game boxes and manuals for players have been published over the decades. To date, there are no fewer than 12 versions! But above all, this medieval fantasy universe populated by magical creatures has been adapted into derivative video games, about sixty in total.
Four adaptations have also made it to the big screen, in the 2000s and then in 2023, without ever achieving great box office success. Nevertheless, this game has entered popular culture through other fictions like Steven Spielberg's film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial where children are seen playing Dungeons & Dragons, as well as TV series like Stranger Things and The Big Bang Theory!
More recently, this role-playing game has inspired an animated series adaptation. Vox Machina has been broadcast since 2022 on Amazon Prime, and its third season is eagerly awaited by fans in the fall of 2024.
5- He is captivating a new generation of players.
Half a century after its creation, this heroic fantasy game is experiencing a new golden age, thanks in particular to Actual Play. This new trend involves filming a role-playing game session and broadcasting it online, live or recorded, on Twitch or YouTube.
It is often professional actors who broadcast their live role-playing game sessions on the Internet. One of the most well-known is Matthew Mercer, the game master of the Critical Role channel. In the United States, millions of people follow his channel every week. In France, the channel La Bonne Auberge, hosted by actor Lucien Maine, has nearly 60,000 subscribers, who are also players... or female players!
DnD's fantasized medieval world now attracts a new audience, younger and more female. This renewed interest can be partly explained by family initiation into role-playing games. In this new generation of players, parents sometimes played Dungeons & Dragons when they were teenagers themselves...
