This answer seems pretty obvious. Dungeons & Dragons has been around for 50 years, I’ve been involved for over 40 of those years. I have my copy of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia within arm’s reach at any given time and Old School Essentials runs off of the B/X ruleset. So, we’re talking old school BECMI D&D, effectively.

Now, I also find it prevalent to mention I really loved 3E/3.5 D&D. Enter Dungeon Crawl Classics, which has been around for nigh onto 30 years in one form or another. Given the similarities between the two systems, I keep all of my 3.5 stuff around for ease of reference and adventure material. That said, I’ll scavenge module material from just about anywhere regardless of editions.

I’ll also mention Shadowdark because it’s based on a lot of Old School concepts. Yes, it’s a shiny new 2023 game, but it borrows heavily from older versions of D&D, not just 5E. Those older editions and Old School games all serve as great reference points for Shadowdark. I keep my trusty old Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Chivalry & Sorcery, and Hackmaster handy, too. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to “old” games I keep around for reference sake.

In terms of games I actually play, it’s pretty much the D&D show in one form or another. I’m not particularly pleased with Wizards of the Coast and their antics from late 2022 through now. The state of the trash fire that 5E is rapidly becoming might turn me off of it until it becomes the “old game.” The old familiar D20 mechanics and stat blocks are pretty much forever wedged in most role-players minds. I think all of the Third Party games based on 5E are fine, but WotC is going to have a very, very hard time selling me on an official 5E book again until they get new management and better Public Relations.

I’ll dig deeper into my ongoing 5E rant in another article. Old School D&D and related games are all that and a bag of chips. There are so many good times to be had with the old familiar character types and fantasy tropes that no matter what we call it, D&D is still loads of fun. Corporate shenanigans and industry BS aside, we love good old D&D.

Thanks for being here. I want to especially thank any and all for the lovely recent discourse on Threads and X (Twitter, whatever.) I appreciate each and every reader. Love ya. Have a good one.