A young mother waiting for her sailor husband to return from abroad.
c. 1846 colorized

Unanswerable questions sent into The Dragon Magazine sometime in the 80s or 90s. I dunno if I have the time to fully explore TTRPG genetic and eugenic intellectual influences right now...

Part of my research is delving into medievalism in early TTRPGs. Players and developers looked to published histories, not just fantasy fiction, to build their worlds.

Here, Roger Daggs is possibly making reference to Boswell's Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality c. 1981

The fun part of studying zines is finding the cultural connections tabletop RPGs have with other fan circles and fandoms.

Here, a zinester is reporting on the 1990 LA ConFurence and explains what furries are to the older and more mainstream RPG players who read and contribute to the zine.

TSR straight up sold a pin-up calendar in the 1990s, by the way

The Chad Sorcerer v. the Virgin Wolf Fighter c. 1990

Origins of modern memes.

I'm here to have fun, look at silly things, and find other history and gaming scholars & nerds.

I'm also working on an oral history project to support my research and looking for potential narrators. Feel free to reach out about it!

I emerge from shapeless void to tell you all about myself!

Hello! I am a PhD Candidate analyzing race, sex, and gender in early tabletop gaming culture. I'm doing my best to focus on players over developers to understand how and why people played these games despite their problematic imagery!