I’ll have you young whippersnappers know that I only played the first edition of AD&D, the One True Version of the game.
E. Gary Gygax, who as co-creator of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, died this morning at the age of 69 at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. As a former dungeon master, I feel the urge to get some mead and pour 2d20 ounces on the ground outside the former Yonge Street location of Mr. Gameway’s Ark for my dead homie.
Requiescat in pace, Gary. You were a natural 20.
15 replies on “Gary Gygax: 0 HP”
Actually, he’d be at -10.
@Marmy: You crazy kids and your newfangled rules!
[…] « Gary Gygax: 0 HP […]
So… Resurrection or Reincarnation? There’s never a high level cleric when you need one…
What was the name of that gaming store on Yonge St south of Bloor back around 1980? Was always envious of the older guys who could afford those little figurines.
Not sure a better use for graph paper was ever really found…
@MV: That was the flagship store of Mr. Gameway’s Ark (there was at least one other store — I recall there being one on Mt. Pleasant).
Ah, Mr Gameways Ark… holy cow. That was a loooong time ago.
Mr. Gameway’s Ark. [air rushing out of lungs] It’s been decades since I’ve thought of that place.
I just gave all of my old D&D gear to http://www.exhausticated.com‘s Christie St. Martin.
Now I’m feeling a little bummed about that.
Tomb of Horrors. Now that was a great dungeon.
R.I.P, Gary. Go cast magic missle….at the darkness!
mr. gameways was my childhood best friends’ parents store… we spent hours just running around..
they had an exact replica of the enterprise bridge overlooking the stores 2 stories….
that shit was inspirational!
Mr gameways was my dads store.
i grew up there.
good times.
I used to work there. Good times.
I played my first game of D&D at Mr Gameways Ark when I was on holiday from England. I remember the Star Trek bridge and I remember how friendly the staff and gamers who frequented it were. One of the staff gave me my first set of polyhedral dice just to get me started, and another guy there sold me a number of pages, stapled together, that were a dice rolling system to bulk up your character with some background, additional stats and skills etc. I still have those pages somewhere. This was in the mid 70’s. I went back there in the 80s but couldn’t find the store. I remember it being on the corner of Bloor and Yonge, but I got to thinking my memory was wrong.
@Chris … Mr. Gameways’ Ark was on the Northeast corner of Bloor and Charles streets. I was one of the managers that helped lay it to rest when it finally went under for the last time.
There was a cluster of game stores back around that time – 70’s and early 80’s … the Battered Dwarf, The WorldHouse, The Four Horsemen. When Gameway’s went down it caused some pretty serious ripples for the survivors. You’d think that the remaining stores would have benefited, but I remember the long, LONG line ups during the bankruptcy sale days. People stocked up and bought *tons* of stuff.
On the game floor alone, I’m thinking that the the hard core gamers probably didn’t feel the need to buy very much for a good six months, maybe even a full year.
Good memories of the Ark though – the Hobby Floor in the basement, Toys and Plush on the ground floor, Games and Puzzles on the second floor and the Admin Offices, Games Club and Star Trek Bridge on the third floor. Great times.
Played my first D and D, backgammon, chess and Acquire there with characters like Ron Pappin, Puk, Monster, Vlad Dobrich, Stephen Boyd. A real mix of gamers around 1978.