{{Infobox book | image = Dicing with Dragons (Book Cover).webp | author = Ian Livingstone | genre = Role-playing games | publisher = Routledge & Kegan Paul | pub_date = 1982 }}
{{Italic title}}{{Short description|1982 book by Ian Livingstone}} '''''Dicing with Dragons''''' is a book written by [[Ian Livingstone]] and published by [[Routledge & Kegan Paul]] in 1982 that explains what role-playing games are.
==Contents== ''Dicing with Dragons'' is an introduction to the then-new world of role-playing games.<ref name="WD38"/> Livingstone explains how role-playing games work, and includes a solo adventure, "Eye of the Dragon", as an example. Livingstone then details the major role-playing systems that dominated the market in 1982: * ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' * ''[[RuneQuest]]'' * ''[[Traveller (role-playing game)|Traveller]]'' * ''[[Tunnels & Trolls]]'' He also briefly describes 31 other role-playing games, including ''[[Boot Hill (role-playing game)|Boot Hill]]'', ''[[Bushido (role-playing game)|Bushido]]'', ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'', ''[[Gamma World]]'', ''[[Gangbusters (role-playing game)|Gangbusters]]'', and ''[[Top Secret (role-playing game)|Top Secret]]''.
There are also chapters on: * Accessories, including summaries of adventures for the role-playing games previously mentioned, and magazines and [[fanzines]] specializing in role-playing games * How to paint miniature figures * How to be a [[gamemaster]] * Computer systems and computer games that were available in 1982 * Descriptions of several live action games that would later evolve into [[Live action role-playing games]] (LARPs)
==Publication history== ''Dicing with Dragons'' was written by [[Ian Livingstone]], with illustrations by [[Russ Nicholson]], and was published by [[Routledge & Kegan Paul]] (U.K.) and by the [[New American Library]] in 1983, with a 2nd U.S. edition by [[Signet Books|Signet]] in 1986.<ref name="HW">{{cite book|last=Schick |first=Lawrence|title=Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games|publisher=Prometheus Books |year=1991|isbn=0-87975-653-5 |page=364}}</ref>
Geraldine Cooke, an editor at [[Puffin Books]], was looking to revive the firm's moribund science fiction, fantasy and horror collection. A friend told her about a new store in [[Hammersmith]] called [[Games Workshop]] that specialized in role-playing games. After meeting with the owners, [[Steve Jackson (British game designer)|Steve Jackson]] and Ian Livingstone, she asked them to write a book exploring the role-playing industry. The book they gave her instead was an actual role-playing adventure called ''[[Warlock of Firetop Mountain]]'', eventually published under the [[Puffin Books]] imprint, the first of many very popular ''[[Fighting Fantasy]]'' books.<ref>{{cite book | last =Green | first =Jonathan | title =You Are the Hero | publisher =Snowbooks Ltd. | date =2014 | pages =21 | isbn =9781909679405}}</ref>
Ian Livingstone did write the originally requested book about role-playing, ''Dicing with Dragons'', but it was published in the U.K. by [[Routledge & Kegan Paul]] in 1982, not Penguin.
The illustrations, almost all of them square, were created by [[Russ Nicholson]]. The artist later explained that Jackson and Livingstone had requested the square format for ''Warlock of Firetop Mountain'', and Livingstone wanted the same format used in this book.<ref>{{cite web | url =https://russnicholson.blogspot.com/2012/04/dicing-with-dragons.html | title =Dicing with Dragons | last =Nicholson | first =Russ | date =2012-04-07 | website =The Gallery: Art of Russ Nicholson | access-date =2020-06-17}}</ref>
In 1983, ''Dicing with Dragons'' was published in the United States by [[Plume (publisher)|Plume]], an imprint of [[New American Library]].<ref>{{cite web | url =https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/46447/dicing-dragons | title =Dicing with Dragons | website =RPG Geek | publisher =Skotos Tech Inc. | access-date =2020-06-17}}</ref>
In 1986, an Italian translation, ''Giocare a dadi col drago'', was published by Milanese publisher [[Longanesi]]; the Italian edition included a new preface written by Giampaolo Dossena.<ref>{{cite web | url =https://gamebooks.org/dicing.htm | title =Dicing with Dragons: Italian Translation | last =Katz | first =Demian | date =2003 | website =gamebooks.org | access-date =2020-06-17}}</ref>
==Reception== In the February 1983 edition of ''[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]'' (Issue #38), [[Marcus L. Rowland|M L Rowland]] was impressed by ''Dicing with Dragons'', calling it "probably the most complete summary of the role-playing hobby available, and well worth buying for its appendices alone." Rowland concluded with a strong recommendation, giving the book an excellent rating of 9 out of 10.<ref name="WD38">{{cite magazine | last =Rowland | first =M L | author-link=Marcus L. Rowland | title =Open Box | magazine =[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]] | issue =38 | pages =12–13 | publisher =[[Games Workshop]] | date = February 1983 }}</ref>
In the April 1983 edition of ''[[Imagine (AD&D magazine)|Imagine]]'' (Issue 1), [[David Pringle|Dave Pringle]] commented that "In addition to covering all the familiar RPG ground, this book contains a useful chapter on computer games. Recommended."<ref name="Imagine1">{{cite journal | last = Pringle|first = Dave|author-link = David Pringle| title =Book Review | type = review | journal = [[Imagine (AD&D magazine)|Imagine]] | issue = 1| pages =16 | publisher = TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd. |date=April 1983}}</ref>
In a 2014 retrospective review, [[Pornokitsch]] stated that "Livingstone's ''Dicing with Dragons'' is interesting ''because'' it is so dated – a peek at the formative years of role playing games."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pornokitsch.com/2014/09/review-dicing-with-dragons-shared-fantasy.html|title = Underground Reading: Dicing with Dragons and Shared Fantasy|publisher=Pornokitsch}}</ref>
==Reviews== *''[[Fantasy Review]]'', October 1984<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?283715|title=Publication: Fantasy Review, October 1984|website=isfdb.org}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Books about role-playing games]]