Dungeons & Dragons Codexery

TSR, Inc.

Original publisher of Dungeons & Dragons and pioneer of role-playing games.

TSR, Inc. was a game company that published the first modern role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons.[1] The company began as a partnership in 1973 and later reorganized as a corporation in 1975.[1][2]

Quick Facts

Fate
Acquired and discontinued
Successor
Wizards of the Coast
Founded
1973
Founder
Gary Gygax; Don Kaye
Defunct
1997
Headquarters
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, United States
Industry
Role-playing game publisher
Products
Dungeons & Dragons

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Tactical Studies Rules was formed in 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye with $2,400 for startup costs.[1] The partnership's first release was Cavaliers and Roundheads, a miniature game, not Dungeons & Dragons.[1] Don Kaye died on January 31, 1975, and his wife Donna Kaye took over his role temporarily.[2] The business reorganized as TSR Hobbies, Inc. in 1975, with Brian Blume becoming the largest shareholder.[2][3]

TSR Hobbies moved into the Dungeon Hobby Shop building in 1976.[4] The company split into four entities in 1983, including TSR, Inc. as the primary successor.[5] TSR released the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in 1987 and AD&D 2nd edition in 1989.[6] Because the miniature game Cavaliers and Roundheads did not achieve commercial success, Brian Blume entered the partnership in December 1973 to provide capital for additional publishing.[1][7]

In January 1974, operating from Gygax's basement, TSR manufactured 1,000 copies of Dungeons & Dragons and retailed them at $10 each.[8]

What the cited sources add

The third floor of that building was initially unfinished but was later completed to house the growing company.[9] Gygax stated that in 1982 nobody on the West Coast would deal with TSR, so he started a new corporation called "Dungeons and Dragons Entertainment."[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kushner, "Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax", Wired.com, 2008-03-10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; "The History of TSR", Wizards of the Coast (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The History of TSR", Wizards of the Coast; "The History of TSR", Wizards of the Coast; Alsop, "TSR Hobbies Mixes Fact and Fantasy", Inc, 1982-02-01; "The History of TSR", Wizards of the Coast; "Dungeons & Dragons FAQ", Wizards of the Coast; "The History of TSR", Wizards of the Coast; Dungeon Hobby Shop Advertisement. "Discover the Dungeon". The Strategic Review, vol. II, no. 2, April 1976, pp. 12-13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sacco, "An Interview with Gary Gygax, Part I", OD&Dities issue 9, February 2007, p. 7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The History of TSR", Wizards of the Coast (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Sacco, "An Interview with Gary Gygax, Part I", OD&Dities issue 9, February 2007, p. 7; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "TSR, Inc." (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kushner, "Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax", Wired.com, 2008-03-10; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Gygax Memorial Fund, "24 - Hotel Clair". facts only, no text reused. gygaxmemorialfund.org
  10. Rausch, "Gary Gygax Interview - Part 2", GameSpy, 2004-08-16. facts only, no text reused. pc.gamespy.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article TSR, Inc. (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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