"Chronicles the vast history of RPGs from Dungeons and Dragons to World of Warcraft ...a great book to learn how and why certain RPG game mechanics came about. Surprisingly, it is one of the few of its kind...incredibly informative...interesting to read...does an excellent job chronicling early forms of role-playing games and explaining the effects they had on the development of later games...a must-read"- Examiner ;

"it's a grand history of role-playing in its many forms...[Tresca's] love of games and imagination rings clearly throughout his perceptive analyses and clear, cogent descriptions of games, ideas, and behavior. He brings a thoughtful, theoretical background, based on his own wide experience in gaming and his graduate work examining the behavior of online gamers...highly recommend[ed]"- Games and Education ;

"an academic look at the development of fantasy role-playing across multiple gaming platforms...by focusing on the element of collaborative play, Tresca has identified and explained the element that makes role-playing games different from so many other endeavors, and what makes them such a valuable experience for so many of the participants."- Dreaming About Other Worlds ;

"history of the various game genres, annotated and with a huge bibliography...has fascinating points to make"- ICV2 .