''Imagine'' (printed under the long title ''Imagine: Adventure Game Magazine'') was a British monthly magazine dedicated to the first edition ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

'' and ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

systems published by TSR UK Limited.

History

Shannon Appelcine explained, "TSR tried to horn in on the British magazine market in 1983 with ''Imagine'' magazine, but they folded it just two years later. Gary Gygax would much later claim that ''Imagine'' had usually been operated at a loss and was kept around mainly for its useful marketing of TSR's lines. ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'' lead in Britain was pretty much unassailable." ''Imagine'' was published monthly between April 1983 and October 1985. The print run lasted for 31 issues (30 issues and one special edition) before its cancellation. Don Turnbull was cited as publisher and Paul Cockburn as assistant editor for the majority of the life of the publication.

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

wrote film reviews for several issues of ''Imagine'' in the early part of his career, taking over from

Colin Greenland Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is '' Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both major British science ficti ...

, and had his first short story "Featherquest" published here in May 1984. Gaiman's "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge", reprinted for the first time in '' M is for Magic'' was also first published in ''Imagine'' in March 1985.

Legacy

Some of the official ''AD&D'' material originally published in ''Imagine'' was collected and used in ''

Unearthed Arcana ''Unearthed Arcana'' (abbreviated UA) is the title shared by two hardback books published for different Editions of Dungeons & Dragons, editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Both were designed as supplements to the co ...

''. ''Imagine'' was also responsible for several creative spin-offs, notably the '' Pelinore'' gaming world. The magazine also featured the classic adventure game comic ''The Sword of Alabron'' in issues 1 to 16. This was briefly revived as a second story arc titled ''Auchter's Axe'' in issues 29 to 30 prior to the magazine's cancellation. When some TSR UK staffers were made redundant, they started the publication ''Game Master'' to try to maintain the experience of ''Imagine'' and some of its popular features, such as ''Pelinore''; that magazine also published articles containing details on the closure of ''Imagine'', which criticized

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering tabletop role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax creat ...

and TSR.

References

Defunct game magazines published in the United Kingdom Dungeons & Dragons magazines Magazines disestablished in 1985 Magazines established in 1983 Mass media in Cambridge Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom {{hobby-mag-stub