Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by the Gygax-owned company Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game is currently published by Wizards of the Coast, a division of Hasbro. It was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the Chainmail game serving as the initial rule system.[1] D&D's publication is widely regarded as the beginning of modern role-playing games and, by extension, the entire role-playing game industry.[2] Players of D&D create characters that embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master (abbreviated as DM, also known as a Game Master or GM) serves as the game's referee and storyteller, while also maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur. During each game session, the players listen to descriptions of their character's surroundings, as well as additional information and potential choices from the DM, then describe their actions in response. The characters form a party that interacts with the setting's inhabitants (and each other). Together they solve dilemmas, engage in battles and gather treasure and knowledge.[2] In the process the characters earn experience points to become increasingly powerful over a series of sessions. D&D departs from traditional wargaming and assigns each player a specific character to play instead of a military formation. Miniature figures or markers, placed on a grid, are sometimes used to represent these characters.

The early success of Dungeons & Dragons led to a proliferation of similar game systems, such as Tunnels and Trolls,[3] Traveller and RuneQuest.[4] Despite this competition, D&D dominates the role-playing game industry, enjoying a nearly unassailable market position.[5] In 1977, the game was split into two versions: the simpler Dungeons & Dragons and the more complex Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as AD&D or ADnD).[6] AD&D 2nd Edition was published in 1989. In 2000, the simpler version of the game was discontinued and the complex version was renamed simply Dungeons & Dragons with the release of its 3rd Edition.[7] Dungeons and Dragons v. 3.5 was released in June 2003. The current version of the game, Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition, or D&D4e, was released June 6, 2008.[8]

As of 2006, Dungeons & Dragons remains the best-known[9] and best-selling[10] role-playing game, with an estimated 20 million people having played the game and more than US$1 billion in book and equipment sales.[11] There are an estimated 5.5 million regular players of all editions of D&D, with the majority of those players (roughly 4 million) playing the most recent edition.[citation needed] Dungeons & Dragons is known beyond the game for other D&D-branded products, references in popular culture and some of the controversies that have surrounded it, particularly a moral panic in the 1980s falsely linking it to Satanism and suicide.[12]

Details taken from Wikipedia