Lake Geneva has established a special day to honor Gary Gygax, the co-inventor of Dungeons and Dragons, who lived in this Wisconsin city for most of his life. The DnD creator, who founded GenCon, and published the first tabletop RPG through his company TSR, will be celebrated on his birthday, July 27.
The announcement was made by Lake Geneva mayor Charlene Klein in an official proclamation on July 24, 2023. (So the first official Gygax day was just yesterday). The proclamation, headed with ye olde font so you know it’s the real deal, describes Gygax as “a visionary, whose ambition to share his love of games, science fiction and fantasy would lead him along a path to create a game that would change the world.”
Alongside Dave Arneson, Gygax created the first ruleset for Dungeons & Dragons – originally known as just ‘The Fantasy Game’ – in the 1970s. While modern DnD 5e looks very different to the games Gygax and pals played in those years, the game designer is often held up as the inventor of roleplaying in its entirety.
In fact, while this official proclomation is obviously a landmark moment in some ways, a subsection of tabletop fans have long referred to July 27 as Gary Gygax Day or D&D Day, ever since his death in 2008.
As well as his own day, Gary Gygax has a memorial dedicated to him in Lake Geneva, has been inducted into the Pop Culture Hall of Fame, and even has a bacteria named after him. He shares his day with National Creme Brûlée Day and National Scotch Day.
To get to grips with the original roleplaying game in its current form, check out our guides to all the DnD classes and DnD races.