OD&D is 50 years old!

[waysoftheearth]

Happy New Year All!

OD&D's 50th birthday year is here

[phantomtim]

Happy New Year!

[Finarvyn]

Do we know the exact date? I think "January 1974" is often quoted, but I'm not sure if Jon or other researchers have pinned the date down to something more specific.

[tdenmark]

Dec 31, 2023 21:22:05 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

Do we know the exact date? I think "January 1974" is often quoted, but I'm not sure if Jon or other researchers have pinned the date down to something more specific.

"Dungeons & Dragons" was first published on January 26, 1974.

[rredmond]

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!
‘Tis all good things!

[Deleted]

Happy New Year!!! Twenty five more to go and at 83 I'll won't have to worry about copyright violations!
Bet 2024 looks to be a good year!

[Greyharp]

Dec 31, 2023 21:51:45 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

Dec 31, 2023 21:22:05 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

Do we know the exact date? I think "January 1974" is often quoted, but I'm not sure if Jon or other researchers have pinned the date down to something more specific.

"Dungeons & Dragons" was first published on January 26, 1974.

Well that will be easy for us Aussies to remember, it's Australia Day, our controversial national holiday.

[Finarvyn]

I almost hate to ask, as it may dredge up some bad Aussie feelings, but how can a holiday called "Australia Day" be controversial?

[rredmond]

You and I might guess that it’s similar to United States history. And Indigenous Americans having an issue with history books saying Columbus “discovered” America.

I know a little bit of Australian history from Irish rebel songs, , and think there was a similar set up upon the arrival of white Europeans.

[waysoftheearth]

Yes. It's a matter of national recognition of/reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of the land.

Ponderous as progress on those important issues may be, let that not detract from the positive possibilities of a New Year and of OD&D's 50th birthday

[geoffrey]

Gary and Dave are awesome. Thanks, gents! My only regret is that I haven't been playing for 50 years.

[Starbeard]

I think Jon has posted the suggestion of "the last Saturday in January," since the 26th was a Saturday in 1974.

Whatever the case, what are you all doing this January, and this year? I haven't quite decided yet.

[Otto Harkaman]

Jan 1, 2024 19:22:18 GMT -6 geoffrey said:

My only regret is that I haven't been playing for 50 years.

Me too

[DungeonDevil]

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do to celebrate. I may create a random d% table.

[Parzival]

TODAY IS THE DAY!

The original Dungeons & Dragons game was officially released on Jan 26, 1974. So Happy Birthday, D&D!

[atlantean]

I got my first D&D rules in 1976.  Wish I coulda started a little earlier.

[Malchor]

Dec 31, 2023 17:53:06 GMT -6 waysoftheearth said:

Happy New Year All!

OD&D's 50th birthday year is here

And the Lunar New Year, will bring...wait for it...the Year of the Dragon!

[Malchor]

Dec 31, 2023 21:22:05 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

Do we know the exact date? I think "January 1974" is often quoted, but I'm not sure if Jon or other researchers have pinned the date down to something more specific.

There was a thread here where I posited something based on the date picked for the copyright, figuring it was like someone who's exact birthday is unknown and a date is picked, that becomes the official date. Sadly, that post caused unanticipated drama. 

That date would be Jan 30, 1974, with the registration under that date filled out by hand by Brian Blume and notarized on July 12, 1976. For me, that is the date.

[Malchor]

Dec 31, 2023 21:51:45 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

Dec 31, 2023 21:22:05 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

Do we know the exact date? I think "January 1974" is often quoted, but I'm not sure if Jon or other researchers have pinned the date down to something more specific.

"Dungeons & Dragons" was first published on January 26, 1974.

Based on?

[Zenopus]

It's a misinterpretation of Jon Peterson's suggested date for celebrating the 40th anniversary in 2014. He said then that there was no concrete evidence of the exact date in late January, so suggested the last Sunday based on when Gygax played at his house. This year that would be today the 28th rather than the 26th.

playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/when-dungeons-dragons-turns-40.html

See also this later post, where he provides evidence that one of the volumes didn't come back from the printers until the second week in February:

playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2021/10/game-wizards-d-development-timeline.html

[asaki]

I don't know how much this means, but the Hobby Shop Dungeon page, run by Ernie Gygax, posted a birthday message on the 26th: www.facebook.com/hobbyshopdungeon/posts/pfbid02ZvWNEs31Pz69h4gebTdtt91k8jBkJZLVXovSWjA2KGCUmjfs3LmAuwNFHKcLFPw6l

Fifty years ago to the day, on January 26, 1974, the woodgrain boxed set of the original version of the Dungeons & Dragons "rules for fantastic medieval wargames campaigns playable with paper and pencils and miniatures figures" was released in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, United States of America.

[Malchor]

Jan 28, 2024 12:33:55 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

It's a misinterpretation of Jon Peterson's suggested date for celebrating the 40th anniversary in 2014. He said then that there was no concrete evidence of the exact date in late January, so suggested the last Sunday based on when Gygax played at his house. This year that would be today the 28th rather than the 26th.

playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/when-dungeons-dragons-turns-40.html

See also this later post, where he provides evidence that one of the volumes didn't come back from the printers until the second week in February:

playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2021/10/game-wizards-d-development-timeline.html

Jon and I are in agreement there is no telling when that exact date was in 1974. I also mostly agree on the weekend things, only expanding it to Friday, Saturday or Sunday as close enough and for convenience sack for people.

Since it is unlikely people would agree on a criteria, or if they did, there would be multiple dates to pick from, for me, if it is the legally registered date that is closest to the event and by someone directly involved. Thus the copyright registration in this case is more relevant than the trademark registration.

[tdenmark]

Jan 28, 2024 10:21:12 GMT -6 Malchor said:

Dec 31, 2023 21:51:45 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

"Dungeons & Dragons" was first published on January 26, 1974.

Based on?

I got ahold of a 1974 calendar and threw a dart at it.

Seriously though, as has been discussed here it was a generally agreed to date by Ernie Gygax, Jon Peterson, and others. Though apparently Peterson didn't exactly mean the 26th.

[Starbeard]

Jan 28, 2024 12:33:55 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

It's a misinterpretation of Jon Peterson's suggested date for celebrating the 40th anniversary in 2014. He said then that there was no concrete evidence of the exact date in late January, so suggested the last Sunday based on when Gygax played at his house. This year that would be today the 28th rather than the 26th.

playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/when-dungeons-dragons-turns-40.html

See also this later post, where he provides evidence that one of the volumes didn't come back from the printers until the second week in February:

playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2021/10/game-wizards-d-development-timeline.html

Thanks for posting this, at least some people on this board are conscientious enough to bother reading things again before commenting.

Honestly I think a moving date within the first two months of the year is most in keeping with the spirit of D&D. I base this on the fact that there have only been seven known game sessions in D&D's history that were played on their intended dates, without at least one rescheduling.

[Starbeard]

In the end I didn't manage a game this weekend and won't next weekend, either way. I did manage to finish Rhialto the Marvellous on Saturday, which was the first time I had read it. I'll consider that commemoration enough, and I'll be happy if I can get a game of OD&D in this year.

[Finarvyn]

We didn't play OD&D, but on Friday the 26th my son was DM for another session of the "Rise of the Drow" 5E campaign that he has been running for several months. He got a 3D printer from his mom and I for Christmas, and he had printed out a bunch of mushroom landscape to add to the atmosphere. Passing the torch from one generation to another is certainly a great tribute to 50 years of the game.

And while he runs 5E in theory, he loves to "wing it" OD&D style for a lot of rulings so I have taught him well in that regard. If someone tries something creative and reaches for the rulebook to see if it's allowed he will jump in with something like, "no, no, let's have you make a DEX roll for that..."

[Malchor]

Jan 29, 2024 5:11:36 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

We didn't play OD&D, but on Friday the 26th my son was DM for another session of the "Rise of the Drow" 5E campaign that he has been running for several months. He got a 3D printer from his mom and I for Christmas, and he had printed out a bunch of mushroom landscape to add to the atmosphere. Passing the torch from one generation to another is certainly a great tribute to 50 years of the game.

And while he runs 5E in theory, he loves to "wing it" OD&D style for a lot of rulings so I have taught him well in that regard. If someone tries something creative and reaches for the rulebook to see if it's allowed he will jump in with something like, "no, no, let's have you make a DEX roll for that..."

Ended up with quiet the celebration: Thursday DM OD&D, Friday played in Faraway Lands, Saturday DM'd an outdoor adventure and a dungeon dive for two groups, Sunday EPT. We had cake on Saturday as part of the latter game too. Other than Saturday, was not planned and just worked out into a multi-day thing.

[Starbeard]

Malchor, that sounds like a truly enviable weekend!

[Malchor]

Jan 29, 2024 11:28:26 GMT -6 Starbeard said:

Malchor , that sounds like a truly enviable weekend!

Definitely feel blessed to have had the opportunity.

[clownboss]

I got here again to pay my respects to the hobby. It's a monumentous release, and 50 years later it still captures all of our imaginations. I'm also trying to cook something. Hopefully this won't be the last you'll see of me. Happy 50th.