Braunstein Was the First Braunstein

They keep saying that David Wesely’s 1968 Braunstein was the first rpg.

Questing Plagiarist: “By fusing the tactical infinity of wargames with the concept of each player playing a single character, Wesely had inadvertently created a new type of game: the rpg.”

Mr, Professor: “Dave Arneson, the co-creator of D&D, was the first player to ever die in a roleplaying game.”

That’s a nice bit of rhetorical sleight of hand, isn’t it? By virtue of the fact that they never define their terms, they are able to insinuate all manner of things that just aren’t true. Pretty tacky! People like this are not precisely dumb. They are primarily malicious. They will happily undercut their own credibility as sages of rpg lore just to prevent people from learning how to win at rpgs.

So, let’s not be like these losers. Let’s define our terms now so that we can all know what we are talking about.

Braunstein: A Diplomacy-like game where players take on individual roles either cooperating or else working against each other’s interests under a fog of war. The referee meets with them in succession and while the referee adjudicates interactions between players as they come up, the other players are free to engage in negotiations and diplomacy in the next room

Rpg: Conventionally, an rpg is a cooperative game where the players take on individual roles within an adventuring party and work together to overcome a range of challenges in a sequence of encounters adjudicated by a referee. This type of game can run from relatively procedural dungeon crawling type games all the way up to more freeform narratives that only retain an illusion of being a game.

It is natural to ask how something like a Braunstein could evolve into what we today think of as an Rpg, and the answer to that is that… it didn’t. Conventional rpg play is derived from a weird and broken folk game that was collectively improvised by entire generations of people that lacked the virtues required to either read or implement that rules that are outlined in the OD&D and AD&D rules manuals. Astonishing but true!

Those of us that do not pronounce the word “Braunstein” with a ridiculous impression of a German accent can all see it clearly, however. Braunstein was its own type of game distinct from all others both before and since. It was a highly volatile form of game and to this day it is extraordinarily compelling to anyone that experiments with them. Just as with Diplomacy, there are many variants of the original Braunstein game. Colloquially, we call these variants “Braunsteins”. If you devised one yourself and adjudicated it, you would naturally tell people that you “ran a Braunstein”. Everyone would understand what you meant by this… unless they were simultaneously stupid, ugly, malicious, and dumb.

Now… there is a question of why Dave Arneson would bill his Blackmoor game as a “Braunstein” when it was first announced. Was it originally intended to be a single session event like Wesely’s? Did it subsequently rage out of control and turn into something else? There are quite a few people alive today that might know a few things about this matter, but at this point I have no doubt that they would outright set fire to any primary documents still extant that might corroborate anything I have to say about it. No matter. There are actually many more intriguing questions. And the best thing about it is you don’t have to wait for old boomer to let you in on the game.

• Why does Braunstein play fit so well with the older D&D rule sets?
• Why does Braunstein play seem to solve so many problems that would kill off so many other continuing campaigns?
• Why is it that people that have been bred on conventional approaches to rpgs become so thrilled and engaged and elated with they participate in continuing campaigns that consciously leverage David Wesely’s ideas?

It’s a mystery! And strangely enough, sinister forces in the real world are arrayed against you, dead set on preventing you from solving it!

Honestly, though, they can’t stop us. Even better they can’t stop you! Because someone has taken the time to show you how to get the best possible results of integrating Braunstein events with ongoing continuing D&D campaigns. And that guy is Night Danger.

Check out his recent session report detailing his phenomenal game session here. Also, check out the video below where he shares his thoughts on the finer points of how to get the best results when running this type of game. They are cogent, lucid, and of great utility to anyone looking to try this in their own campaigns. Speaking of which, why don’t you jump on the team and come on in for the big win? There has never been a better time! It has never been easier to do this than right now.

Night Danger has demonstrated that you really can win at rpgs. And more than that… he has explained how you can, too.