Dungeon Lore I: Brawl in Braunstein [S2F1]

In this season's Flashlight episodes, we're taking a deep dive into the history of Dungeons and Dragons. Whether you love it, hate it, or are grimly resigned to playing it because everybody already knows the rules, the long history of D&D parallels the history of modern TTRPGs. We're starting out in the 1960s and working forward to the present day.

This week, we try to talk about the wargames of the pre-D&D era. Along the way, we end up exposing our lack of knowledge of 1790s Prussia, discussing the travails of tavern ownership, and announcing a wholly fictitious live podcast tour. It's our first time back in the studio one-on-one in a while, and as a result we get a little silly.

Here are some links that we used in research for the episode:

• This guide to running a Braunstein RPG is an excellent and comprehensive resource with links to plenty of other resources.
• This article from Ben Robbins (the creator of Microscope!) adds some more flavour to David Wesley’s history with tabletop games.
• The first and second volume of Strategos explore the really deep history of wargames, which were the precursor to TTRPGs.

Also, in this episode, Reilly asks Jake about the history about student loans, and Jake doesn't have a good answer. Jake, who writes the show notes, is still mortified about this. Here's a very long and detailed history of student loans.

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What is Campaign Spotlight?

This show explores the creativity and originality of home tabletop games. Every two weeks we interview a GM to hear about the unique world they've built and the story they've told for their players. Between these interviews we take a deeper dive into the history of tabletop gaming.