Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) was first published as a game in 1974, created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Quick Scoop

  • The core design work on what became D&D took place in the early 1970s, evolving from miniature wargames and the fantasy-focused rules of the 1971 game Chainmail.
  • The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, often called “original D&D” or “OD&D,” was released in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), the small company co‑founded by Gary Gygax to publish the game.
  • Because development spanned several years, some fans say D&D was “created in the early 1970s” but the widely accepted answer to “when was DnD created” is its first publication year: 1974.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.