Last week, The Strong Museum of Play inducted Dungeons & Dragons into their National Toy Hall of Fame, partially due to its influence on the video game industry.
“More than any other game, Dungeons & Dragons paved the way for older children and adults to experience imaginative play,” said Curator Nic Ricketts. “It was groundbreaking. And it opened the door for other kinds of table games that borrow many of its unique mechanics. But most importantly, Dungeons & Dragons’ mechanics lent themselves to computer applications, and it had a direct impact on hugely successful electronic games like World of Warcraft.”
Originally published by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, the original Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks became the basis for all modern role-playing games and introduced millions of players to the game. New editions of Dungeons & Dragons are currently produced by Wizards of the Coast, and the 5th Edition of the game was released in 2014.
Dungeons & Dragons was joined by The Swing and Fisher-Price Little People in the National Toy Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016. The three toys beat out this year’s other finalists including Bubble Wrap, Care Bears, Clue, the Coloring Book, Nerf, Pinball, Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots, Transformers, and Uno.
