Includes an 8 page "Emergence of Blackmoor" booklet. What if everything you knew about the history of Dungeons & Dragons was wrong? 6 Years, 12 Cities, 200 Hours of Interviews, 20,000 Documents & Photos: An unprecedented investigation into the history of D&D, the game that spurred a billion-dollar industry - told by the people who were there.

Be among the first to know the Secrets of Blackmoor.

Directors Griffith M Morgan, Chris Graves

Starring Dave Arneson, David Wesley, Ross Maker

Genres Science Fiction, Special Interest, Documentary

Subtitles English [CC]
Audio languages English
2 hours 11 minutes
Includes an 8-Page Emergence of Blackmoor Booklet

Blackmoor is the name of a fictional world created by David Arneson. It is also the prototype of Dungeons & Dragons, the first published role playing game. Unlike other fantasy worlds, such as J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, Blackmoor is a living world that is being explored to this day. Secrets of Blackmoor investigates the origins of the role playing game, through candid interviews, archival footage, and newly discovered artifacts.In 1963, David Wesely becomes a founding member of a club that includes history buffs, model makers, and miniature collectors. Hiding within the group, however, are a bunch of college students who are interested in war gaming. Within a year, the gamers meet a high school kid named Dave Arneson who is playing war games with his friends in his parents' basement.These gamers have no idea that they will change the face of this hobby forever. Their only concern for now, is how to simulate the reality of war, and above all, they just want to have fun. Their voracious hunt for new rules and knowledge leads them to the University of Minnesota Library where they discover an old manuscript, Strategos; the American Game of War. Within the dense pages are a few sentences that inspire them.The influence of Strategos changes how they play their war games. But are they really following these old rules, or have they stumbled onto something truly unique by misinterpreting what it says? Should a game be constrained by rules, like Monopoly, or should there be no boundaries at all, like a game of make believe?

Includes the full 2-hour documentary and an 8 page booklet. Region 0 (Region Free DVD - playable anywhere in the world)
English closed-captions.