DragonStrike Board Game Tutorial (1993)

You find an odd, VHS tape in the board game box... It smells of magic... You insert it in the VCR and press play...

Curated by Christopher Belz

Total Runtime: 0:33:02

(1993)

boardgamed&ddragonsdungeons & dragonselfgamegamingmagicmonstersrpgswordsthiefwarriorwizard

"It uses the most powerful information processor in the world: your brain."

DragonStrike was a 1993 adventure board game from TSR, Inc. based on the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

The DragonStrike Entertainment product, which included a 30-minute video explaining the concept of role-playing, was intended as an approach to gain new players,^[1] serving as an introduction to the D&D role-playing game, and used greatly simplified versions of the Basic D&D rules. The game came with several fold-out maps for use as the board, a number of plastic miniatures to represent the player characters and monsters, and various other game pieces. Also included were several pre-written quests available for play, including several single-player adventures.

Video tutorial

DragonStrike's most distinctive feature was the inclusion of a video tutorial on how to play the game. The method by which the players in the video play the game bears only a moderate resemblance to the actual game as described in the official rulebook. The video primarily used live actors, but was bolstered by then-cutting edge 3D graphics which were used to illustrate various magical effects and monsters, such as the game's titular dragon.

Collection - D&D Gamers

The horrifying truth about D&D played by all sorts of nice folks! (And some evil folks...) Never split the party!

Curated by Christopher Belz

Total Runtime: 1:09:17

Collectionalice cooperboogercelebritychevy chasecommercialcommunityd&ddungeons and dragonsfreaks and geeksgamegamershalf-drowjames francokensaimelkormexiconhrpgsatanthat '70s showvin diesel

Commercial: TSR's Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game from 1984. Features: shoulderpads on a bespectacled young woman, sweaters galore; ominous, baritone whispering from the omniscient narrator/DM and actual animation of dragon-slaying lightening bolts & treasure happy dwarfs signalling the all-clear to loot piles of gold! From Wikipedia: The 10th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons Collector's Set boxed set, published by TSR in 1984, included the rulebooks from theBasic, Expert, and Companion sets; modules AC2, AC3, B1, B2, and M1 Blizzard Pass; Player Character Record Sheets; and dice. This set was limited to a thousand copies, and was sold by mail and at GenCon 17.

"Freaks and Geeks" episode: "Discos and Dragons," starring James Franco and his dwarven fighter named Carlos the Dwarf.
"I just hope you guys are ready to face The Dancing Sword..."

Collection: Found genius mash-up, set to Joe Cocker's version of "With a Little Help from My Friends":
1) New Hampshire, 1981, "shot by Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, on Super 8 (back when he was about 15). This takes place on a Friday night in Lee, New Hampshire." An account of the Ethan Gilsdorf's D&D nights can be found in his book "Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms," his travel memoir investigation into fantasy and gaming subcultures.
2) Unknown Hispanic young adults drinking soda and eating pizza while playing D&D with books and die in the 2000s (?).

Vin Diesel explains his murderous, psychopathic, half-drow kensai witchhunter D&D character, Melkor, to Jimmy Kimmel.
Then Vin Diesel explains the art and improvisation magic of D&D to Hollywood producer guys on "Shootout" (with Peter Bart and Peter Guber), a TV show about filmmaking and acting from the 2000s.

"Dungeons and Dragons (way more fun than you would think)," AKA "D&D is Fun! I promise!" is that fascinatingly rare video of giggling young ladies in pajamas and cloaks drinking wine and playing D&D. (2011). The players: Kristina/Beatrix, Eia/Morgan, Liz/Cordelia, Tara/Joanna, Kayley/Randir, and The DM:Alexander.

Commercial: Dungeons & Dragons Labyrinth game (1980) by Mattel
"Open your mind...!"

Scenes from "Community's" episode called "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons." Featuring a drow elf in make-up, Hector the Well-Endowed, unpronounceable names, and a chaotic evil Chevy Chase.

Satanism: Unmasked - Dungeons & Dragons. A clip from a Christian anti-D&D show that explains how D&D can make kids kill in real life.

Home videos: "Yes, Girls Play D&D" (2009?) and "Yes, Girls (Stlll) Play D&D" (2011) by miraclefalcon.
Discussed: dice superstition, character histories and personalities, (unnecessary use of the word "gay" in the captions for some reason), character types and playing styles. Intended to show females playing and enjoying D&D together for the gaming and socializing fun.

That 70's Show end credits featuring the goth-rock musician Alice Cooper, Howard Hessemen ("Johnny Fever" from "WKRP in Cinncinati"), and Curtis Armstrong ("Booger" from Revenge of the Nerds).

Collection - D&D Game Played by Robot Chicken - Part 1

Roll for initiative! D&D gameplay run by professional DM + professional comedy guys = Fun!

Curated by Christopher Belz

Total Runtime: 0:57:52

Sun, Feb 1

4echris perkinsd&ddungeons & dragonsgamegameplaygamingmonstersrobot chickenrole-playing gamerpgwizards of the coastwotc

Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition, as run by a professional DM from Wizards of the Coast, and as played by several silly guys from Robot Chicken.

Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D^[1] or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997. It was derived from miniature wargames with a variation of the Chainmail game serving as the initial rule system.^[2] D&D's publication is widely regarded as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry.^[3]

D&D departs from traditional wargaming and assigns each player a specific character to play instead of a military formation. These characters embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master serves as the game's referee and storyteller, while also maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur and playing the role of the inhabitants. The characters form a party that interacts with the setting's inhabitants (and each other). Together they solve dilemmas, engage in battles and gather treasure and knowledge.^[3] In the process the characters earn experience points to become increasingly powerful over a series of sessions.

The early success of Dungeons & Dragons led to a proliferation of similar game systems. Despite this competition, D&D remains a market leader in the role-playing game industry.^[4] In 1977, the game was split into two versions: the relatively rules-light game system of Dungeons & Dragons and the more structured, rules-heavy game system of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(abbreviated as AD&D or ADnD).^[1]^[5] AD&D 2nd Edition was published in 1989. In 2000, the original version of the game was discontinued and the AD&D version was renamed Dungeons & Dragons with the release of its 3rd edition.^[6] These rules formed the basis of the d20 System that is available under the Open Game License for use by other publishers. Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5 was released in June 2003, with a 4th edition in June 2008.^[7]

As of 2006, Dungeons & Dragons remained the best-known^[8] and best-selling^[9]role-playing game, with an estimated 20 million people having played the game and more than US$1 billion in book and equipment sales.^[10] The game has been supplemented by many pre-made adventures as well as commercial campaign settings suitable for use by regular gaming groups. Dungeons & Dragons is known beyond the game for other D&D-branded products, references in popular culture and some of the controversies that have surrounded it, particularly a moral panic in the 1980s falsely linking it to Satanism and suicide.^[11] The game has won multiple awards and has been translated into many languages beyond the original English.

Movie - Mazes and Monsters (Steven Hilliard Stern, 1982)

D&D-esque gameplay triggers psychotic break for role-playing gamer (Tom Hanks!)

Curated by Christopher Belz

Total Runtime: 1:31:08

Tue, Dec 28

Movie80scultd&ddramahanksmakepeacemoral panicrpgssensationalismus

Mazes and Monsters is a 1982 made-for-TV movie directed by Steven Hilliard Sternabout a group of college students and their interest in a fictitious role-playing game(RPG) of the same name. The movie starred a 26-year-old Tom Hanks in his first major leading film role.^[1]

The film was adapted from a novel of the same name by Rona Jaffe. Jaffe had based her 1981 novel on inaccurate newspaper stories about the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III from Michigan State University in 1979. Media accounts differed substantially from Egbert's actual story. William Dear, the private investigator on the case, explained actual events and the reasons behind the media myth in his 1984 book The Dungeon Master. Jaffe wrote her novel at a breakneck pace in a matter of days because of a fear that another author might also be fictionalizing the Egbert investigation.

The working title for the film was Dungeons & Dragons, but CBS dropped it in favor of the novel's title, presumably to avoid lawsuits over use of the trademarked name.^[2]The film premiered on CBS in 1982. It stars Tom Hanks, Wendy Crewson, David Wallace and Chris Makepeace (Meatballs, My Bodyguard, Falcon and the Snowman). The movie is currently available on VHS tape and DVD.

Mazes and Monsters came out in the heyday of the RPG Dungeons & Dragons (the novel's title is a thinly veiled reference to the game) and was seen by some as a warning to parents about the dangers of RPGs. It came out at a time when Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) was being attacked by groups who alleged that it promotedSatanism and other forms of occult activities.

Like the book on which it is based, the film treats the playing of roleplaying games as indicative of deep neurotic needs. At least one protagonist is (or at least appears to be) suffering from schizophrenia (or some analogous condition) and in the end, the attainment of adulthood by other players is accompanied by the abandonment of role-playing games.^{[3]

1. ^ Kushner, David. "Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax". Wired.com. Retrieved 2008-10-16.}2. ^ IMDb Mazes and Monsters Release dates page
3. ^ Lowrey, Michael J. (as "Mike Lowery"). "Tales stranger than fantasy" [a review of the novel and of Hobgoblin]; Dragon #75, p. 741

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DragonStrike Board Game Tutorial (1993)