ABSTRACT
Early examples of independent game development occurred in board games, card games, and tabletop wargames, typically through selfpublication of works rejected by the major publishers of the time. Examples include the rst board and counter wargame (Charles Roberts’ Tactics [1954]), the early sf-like card game Nuclear War (1965) designed by Douglas Malewicki, the rst sciencectional board and counter wargame (Lensman [1969] designed by Philip Pritchard), and the rst pen and paper role playing game (Dungeons and Dragons [1974 Tactical Studies Rules] designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson). e 1970s saw a boom in science ction and fantasy wargames and role playing games, created by designers who initially were publishing their own games but quickly became successful enough to found companies that employed other designers and owned the rights to their work. Typically, such companies, including the American Simulations Publications Inc, Tactical Studies Rules, and Game Designers’ Workshop as well as the UK’s Games Workshop, developed and published their own material and distributed it through mail order and specialist shops, an approach pioneered in the 1960s by the rst board and counter wargame developer, Avalon Hill.
