Roll to Hit: An Unofficial History of Dungeons and Dragons

by Harry Slater

Roll to Hit: An Unofficial History of Dungeons and Dragons is a deep dive into the story behind the world's most popular tabletop roleplaying game. From its humble beginnings in a basement in a house in a small town in Wisconsin, through the Satanic Panic and the boom and bust of the 90s, all the way to a modern resurgence that has seen the game become a true pop-culture phenomenon, the book tells the tale of the people who have shaped D&D through every step of its development. But more than that, it's a story of leaps of imagination, of shocking circumstances and tragedies, of conflicts and comings-together both on the table and off. From HG Wells playing with toy soldiers to multi-million dollar movie deals, from early war simulations to crazy homebrew campaigns, the book explores the history of D&D and asks why, even after all this time, its name remains a shorthand for the tabletop roleplaying experience. As Dungeons & Dragons reaches its fiftieth birthday, and with the game is as popular as it's ever been, regular players, old school gamers and newcomers are going to find something here to excite and entice. After all, without them, without the players, there'd be no Dungeons & Dragons at all.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published August 30, 2025

Reviews

[John Teske · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting history of RPGs, noting many things I had heard, many I had not heard, and still other miscellaneous things about the industry.

I grew up not far from the Lake Geneva area on the north side of Milwaukee, and first heard of RPGs, D+D in particular, with the national infamy of varied cases. Being a teenager, that only increased my curiosity.

The boxed set with the red dragon on the cover (not the Moldvay set) was my introduction to the wider world of collaborative story telling. Initially, I had to read the rules 3-4 times until I remember finally grasping the idea that the DM presents the situation, and the players response, and their response is open ended. It was revolutionary.

I lived through all the debacles of the 90s, and remain a fan of Gary Gygax and his products. Certainly this book sheds light on the many other collaborators that helped Gary along the way, most of which I did not know. SOme of the take over details were new to me.

In any case, a fast read, because I lived through this, it was and is my main hobby, and I purchased many of the products discussed in the book.

It is amazing how time flies!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a few D&D books that talk about the development of the game and the people involved, the good and the bad things that happened. Yes, this book is nothing new but it does feel like it is written from the heart, by someone who loves the game and understands how it is the players that have made a difference, the community out there who are still playing, even with all the changes over the years, the missteps and mistakes made.
Well worth a read.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read like a first draft. Overuse of "we'll see about THAT later on in the book" and a fair bit of repetition, and not sure I understood the point of having a bunch of stock photos as the photo insert. How do you have a definitive history of DnD and nary a picture of Gary Gygax or Dave Arneson?

[Shannon Heaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was easy enough to follow along with, but the author started losing me with the last few chapters. I suppose if I had been an active player in the 80s and 90s, it would have helped.