History of role-playing games

This article is about the history of tabletop role-playing games. For the history of role-playing video games, see History of role-playing video games.
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See also: Timeline of tabletop role-playing games

The history of role-playing games began when disparate traditions of historical reenactment, improvisational theatre, and parlour games combined with the rulesets of fantasy wargames in the 1970s to give rise to tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs).[1] Multiple TTRPGs were produced between the 1970s and early 1990s. In the 1990s, TTRPGs faced a decline in popularity. Indie role-playing game design communities arose on the internet in the early 2000s and introduced new ideas. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, TTRPGs experienced renewed popularity due to videoconferencing,[2][3] the rise of actual play,[4][5] and online marketplaces.

  1. ^ "Where we've been and where we're going". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29.: "Generation 1" games
  2. ^ Allison, Peter Ray (2021-04-21). "Tabletop roleplaying has given players comfort, connection and control in a world that's taken them away". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  3. ^ "How COVID helped tabletop RPGs go mainstream". www.gameshub.com. 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  4. ^ DeVille, Chris (2017-11-16). "The rise of D&D liveplay is changing how fans approach roleplaying". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  5. ^ Whitten, Sarah (2020-03-14). "How Critical Role helped spark a Dungeons & Dragons renaissance". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-09-29.