10/12/2026
In 1974, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson changed gaming forever when they created Dungeons & Dragons through TSR. But that story really began years earlier.
The roots of D&D can be traced back to The Siege of Bodenburg, a medieval miniatures game designed by Henry Bodenstedt and published in Strategy & Tactics magazine in 1967. Gary Gygax first encountered the game at Gen Con I in 1968 and saw its potential. Jeff Perren expanded on those rules, shared them with Gygax, and together they evolved them into the Geneva Medieval Miniatures rules, published in 1970.
Later that year, Gygax expanded the system to include man-to-man combat, jousting, and true 1:1 miniature battles. After meeting Don Lowry at Gen Con III, the two worked through Guidon Games to develop Wargaming with Miniatures, which eventually evolved into Chainmail. Included was a groundbreaking 14-page Fantasy Supplement inspired by Tolkien, Howard, and Moorcock. Suddenly there were wizards, magic swords, lightning bolts, fireballs, and dragons marching onto the battlefield.
What began as a game about military formations and battlefield tactics gradually transformed into something entirely new: a game where each player became a character with their own story to tell.
My own introduction to D&D came in 1977 with the Basic Set, and the hobby quickly became a significant part of my life.
By 1982, I had an idea.
Back then, we played on paper maps. Later we graduated to dry-erase mats, which felt downright futuristic at the time. But I kept thinking:
"Wouldn't it be amazing if you could build a television into a gaming table under glass?"
Unfortunately, televisions in 1982 were enormous cathode-ray-tube behemoths that weighed as much as a small horse and cost nearly as much as a used car. My idea wasn't just impractical. It was impossible.
Or at least it seemed impossible.
Well...44 years later, technology finally caught up with that daydream.
Friends, I present the Guild's newest gaming asset.
This custom-built table features a 4' x 7' oak top, a 55" display mounted flush beneath a 3/8" slab of tempered glass, and sturdy 4x4 post legs, all protected under countless coats of polyurethane. It can display animated battle maps, artwork, dungeon environments, and other visual effects, complete with audio support to help bring adventures to life.
But to me, this isn't just another piece of equipment.
It's the realization of a vision that began over four decades ago. It's the culmination of countless game nights, endless conversations, advancing technology, and the help of good friends who turned an impossible idea into reality.
From The Siege of Bodenburg to Chainmail. From Chainmail to Dungeons & Dragons. From paper maps to digital battlefields.
It's been a long journey.
And now it's our turn to roll initiative.
Guild Master James
