BtB: Big In Japan

In this week's episode of Beyond the Book, we discuss the early introduction of the role playing hobby to Japan. With titles such as Traveller and Dungeons & Dragons being translated and even works of Tolkien being introduced in the 60's showcasing western fantasy to a new audience. The gamebook boom that taught a million readers how dice and stats work, the computer magazine commission that accidentally invented the actual play genre. It is a story about how a genre gets imported and about how much of what feels native was assembled by a handful of people who already knew each other.