Book description
Explore the conceptual origins of wargames and role-playing games in this unprecedented history of simulating the real and the impossible. From a vast survey of primary sources ranging from eighteenth-century strategists to modern hobbyists, Playing at the World distills the story of how gamers first decided fictional battles with boards…
- Coming soon!
Why read it?
1 author picked Playing at the World as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Peterson is the foremost historian on the history of Dungeons and Dragons.
To research this book, he tracked down countless documents from the early history of the game––including things like greeting cards from game creator Gary Gygax. But this book doesn’t just cover D&D. It traces the history of simulation games from chess through nineteenth-century military training exercises and finally into the emergence of fantasy role-playing games.
This is the definitive source on the history of these games.
From Joseph's list on the history of fantasy role-playing games.
If you love Playing at the World...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like Playing at the World?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 56 books like Playing at the World.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,366
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Playing at the World, you might also like...
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
Coyote Weather
Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.
Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…
