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Designers & Dragons: The 80s
- A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
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Publisher's summary
Part two of a four-volume set!
Everything you've wanted to know about the origins of roleplaying games...
Designers & Dragons: The '80s is a comprehensive picture of the growth of the RPG industry. This second edition expands the original single book into a series of four, and we’ve added over 10,000 new words to this volume alone. Take an in-depth look at ’80s style gaming courtesy of companies like Steve Jackson Games and West End Games, plus an intro to the small (but mighty!) presses of the decade. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.
In this volume, you’ll find:
- A foreword by Mike Pondsmith, founder of R. Talsorian and creator of Cyberpunk
- Profiles for 23 1980s gaming companies including Steve Jackson Games, Palladium Books, and Mayfair Games
- The inside scoop behind games like GURPS, Champions, and Battletech
- 10 things you might not know about roleplaying in the ’80s
- An extensive bibliography and index
Meet the characters behind the characters and the gamers behind the games in Designers & Dragons: The ’80s!
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- By Anilyn Karel on 08-26-24
By: Frans Johansson
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Electronic Dreams
- How 1980s Britain Learned to Love the Computer
- By: Tom Lean
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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In Electronic Dreams, Tom Lean tells the story of how computers invaded British homes for the first time, as people set aside their worries of electronic brains and Big Brother and embraced the wonder technology of the 1980s. This book charts the history of the rise and fall of the home computer, the family of futuristic and quirky machines that took computing from the realm of science and science fiction to being a user-friendly domestic technology.
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Awesome outline of electronic history
- By Johnny on 09-28-17
By: Tom Lean
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Of Dice and Men
- The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It
- By: David M. Ewalt
- Narrated by: David M. Ewalt, Mikael Naramore
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Of Dice and Men, David Ewalt recounts the development of Dungeons & Dragons from the game’s roots on the battlefields of ancient Europe, through the hysteria that linked it to satanic rituals and teen suicides, to its apotheosis as father of the modern video-game industry. As he chronicles the surprising history of the game’s origins (a history largely unknown even to hardcore players) and examines D&D’s profound impact, Ewalt weaves laser-sharp subculture analysis with his own present-day gaming experiences.
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Interesting Topic, but Terrible Execution.
- By Diebold on 02-11-14
By: David M. Ewalt
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Printer's Error
- Irreverent Stories from Book History
- By: Rebecca Romney, J. P. Romney
- Narrated by: J.P. Romney
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Since the Gutenberg Bible first went on sale in 1455, printing has been viewed as one of the highest achievements of human innovation. But the march of progress hasn't been smooth; downright bizarre is more like it. Printer's Error chronicles some of the strangest and most humorous episodes in the history of Western printing. Take, for example, the Gutenberg Bible. While the book is regarded as the first printed work in the Western world, Gutenberg's name doesn't appear anywhere on it.
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Porn for Ye Old Bibliophiles
- By George M. Liveakos on 03-24-17
By: Rebecca Romney, and others
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Dream Year
- Make the Leap from a Job You Hate to a Life You Love
- By: Ben Arment
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
What if someone could guide you, step-by-step, as you identify, plan, and launch your dream career - in just one year. That's what Ben Arment does in his transformative coaching class, which has helped hundreds of people reinvent their lives to enjoy greater enthusiasm and fulfillment while also making a living. Now he's sharing his best insights, advice, and inspiring true stories in Dream Year. You'll find out how people just like you are discovering (or rediscovering) what they were truly born to do, then following a proven process to make it real.
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Motivational!
- By ajanicad on 03-21-15
By: Ben Arment
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The Stephen King Companion
- Four Decades of Fear from the Master of Horror
- By: George Beahm
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper, Claire Christie
- Length: 24 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The Stephen King Companion is an authoritative look at horror author King's personal life and professional career, from Carrie to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. King expert George Beahm, who has published extensively about Maine's main author, is your seasoned guide to the imaginative world of Stephen King, covering his varied and prodigious output: juvenalia, short fiction, limited edition books, best-selling novels, and film adaptations.
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A Kingopedia: Books, Movies, Bio and Art
- By tru britty on 02-28-16
By: George Beahm
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Sly Flourish's The Lazy Dungeon Master
- By: Michael E. Shea
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
You love Dungeons and Dragons. As an experienced dungeon master, you've run dozens, if not hundreds of games. You put a lot of work into making your games great. What if there's another way to look at how you prepare your game? What if it turned out you could spend less time and less energy and have a better game as a result? It's time to unleash the Lazy Dungeon Master.
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Helpful tips for Dungeon Masters
- By Goblin Town on 05-02-16
By: Michael E. Shea
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Death of the Territories
- Expansion, Betrayal and the War That Changed Pro Wrestling Forever
- By: Tim Hornbaker
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
By creating WrestleMania, jumping into the pay-per-view field, and expanding across North America, Vince McMahon changed professional wrestling forever.
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An Enjoyable Listen
- By Casey on 03-21-19
By: Tim Hornbaker
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The Starfish and the Spider
- The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
- By: Ori Brafman, Rod Beckstrom
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: "spiders", which have a rigid hierarchy, and "starfish", which rely on the power of peer relationships.
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Centralized and decentralized models
- By Chan Meng on 12-07-07
By: Ori Brafman, and others
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Trade-Off
- Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don't
- By: Kevin Maney
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Trade-Off, Kevin Maney shows how these conflicting forces determine the success, or failure, of new products and services in the marketplace. He shows that almost every decision we make as consumers involves a trade-off between fidelity and convenience between the products we love and the products we need.
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No Trade-Offs for Reading Trade-Off
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Kevin Maney
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Group Genius
- The Creative Power of Collaboration
- By: Keith Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this authoritative and fascinating new audiobook, Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. He reveals that creativity is always collaborative: even when you're alone. Sawyer's audiobook is filled with compelling stories about the inventions that changed our world.
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Worth reading
- By Glenn on 12-29-10
By: Keith Sawyer
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Alibaba
- The House That Jack Ma Built
- By: Duncan Clark
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In just a decade and a half, Jack Ma, a man from modest beginnings who started out as an English teacher, founded Alibaba and built it into one of the world's largest companies, an e-commerce empire on which hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers depend. Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014 was the largest global IPO ever. A Rockefeller of his age who is courted by CEOs and presidents around the world, Jack is an icon for China's booming private sector.
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Strange: Best part of story happens "off-screen"
- By Tristan on 09-02-16
By: Duncan Clark
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The Strategist
- Be the Leader Your Business Needs
- By: Cynthia Montgomery
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Based on an acclaimed professor's legendary strategy course at Harvard Business School, The Strategist offers a radically new perspective on a leader's most vital role. "Are you a strategist?" That's the first question Cynthia Montgomery asks the business owners and senior executives from all over the world who participate in her highly regarded executive education course. It's not a question they anticipate, but by the time the program ends, they cannot imagine leading their companies to success without being - and living the role of - a strategist.
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Slow going with an odd narrative tone
- By Benson Bumpkin on 08-06-12
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Of Dice and Men
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Interesting Topic, but Terrible Execution.
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Sly Flourish's Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
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Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master builds off of the concepts of the well-received GM's guidebook Lazy Dungeon Master, updating that book with five years of new experiences, new approaches, and new observations of the way people prepare and run RPGs. This new book is a completely self-contained work, which does not require anyone to have previously heard the Lazy Dungeon Master. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master offers a new focused approach for preparing and running our roleplaying games.
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A fantastic resource for all GM's
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Missing the necessary accompanying pdf
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Designers & Dragons: The '70s
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Overall
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- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Nice and grounded
- By Anonymous User on 06-22-22
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Interesting Topic, but Terrible Execution.
- By Diebold on 02-11-14
By: David M. Ewalt
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Sly Flourish's Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- By: Michael E Shea
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master builds off of the concepts of the well-received GM's guidebook Lazy Dungeon Master, updating that book with five years of new experiences, new approaches, and new observations of the way people prepare and run RPGs. This new book is a completely self-contained work, which does not require anyone to have previously heard the Lazy Dungeon Master. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master offers a new focused approach for preparing and running our roleplaying games.
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A fantastic resource for all GM's
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Missing the necessary accompanying pdf
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What listeners say about Designers & Dragons: The 80s
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- Rev. Zombie
- 03-30-21
Not For Everyone, But Perfect For What It Is
This second volume in Appelcline's Designers & Dragons gives us an in-depth and incredibly well-researched look at those companies that appeared during the Golden Age of the RPG Industry. Tabletop gamers who want a peek at what actually transpired at the time, why some games and companies failed, where they ended up, the people behind it, the lawsuits, the mismanagement, bad luck, and what trends steered the exploding 80's gaming market should pick this up. It's a must for any gamer who wants the history of the hobby.
I look forward to the release of the 3rd book. I only wish Audible listed this as a series. As of now, it appears like "The 70's" and "The 80's" are two separate books and not Books 1 and 2 of the Designers & Dragons Series.
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