Owl and Weasel
Encyclopedia
Owl and Weasel was Games Workshop
's first publication, a periodical edited by Steve Jackson
and Ian Livingstone
for twenty-five issues from February 1975 until April 1977 when it was superseded by White Dwarf
, which is published on a monthly basis .
The reasoning behind such a "cultishly-monikered" choice of title has been stated to be a mystery by the co-editors, although anthropomorphism
may have been a factor. Belatedly, in a 2009 interview Steve Jackson stated that "it represented the characteristics you need to be a good games player: wise like an owl and crafty like a weasel", although this explanation had not been given in any previous editorial or interview.
The sixth issue, a key point in Games Workshop's early history, was released as a Dungeons & Dragons
special - a first in the UK - and issues #11 and #23 doubled as programmes for their early Games Day
s, leading to coverage in The Times
both of these events and of their magazine.
The editors had expected that the publication would run on beyond issue #25 (in #23, for Games Day II, results for a competition were to be announced in #27), but it was soon after decided that a more professional image was required in order to move the company into a new "phase", in line with what TSR
had carried out the previous year by transitioning their first periodical, The Strategic Review, into the "glossy" roleplaying and wargaming
magazines, The Dragon
and Little Wars.
Although Owl and Weasel's circulation would be considered tiny by modern day standards (having only exceeded 200 "nicely", including 80 direct sales through hobby shops, by early 1976), its influence in expanding what were previously niche hobbies into the general British marketplace dominated by traditional games was considerable and it played a key role in setting up Games Workshop for an extended period of rapid growth.
In the beginning, promotion of Games Workshop's own hand-crafted games boards was supplemented by reselling of wargames
and small press games. Marketing of fantasy and science fiction games was expanded first by an exclusive deal with TSR
in mid-1975 and further following the return of Livingstone and Jackson from GenCon IX
in August 1976, at which they had signed-up additional exclusive European distribution rights for many American publishers which were still at an early stage of their development; in part owing to the apparent lack of any other European companies at that convention. Traditional boardgames such as Monopoly
and Scrabble
, whilst continuing to be covered in news items even after this expansion, were never sold through the pages of the magazine.
Although D&D, as the first modern-day commercial roleplaying game, had been introduced to Britain no later than Autumn 1974, such playing groups and societies as existed within the country were still on a local basis by 1975/early 1976; sometimes co-existing with traditional wargaming societies. The aforementioned exclusive deal with TSR thus gave Games Workshop increased impetus to promote their flagship product by the creation of a nationwide D&D Society which was carried out through the pages of Owl and Weasel; first proposed in issue #9, but not commenced until issue #12. This further increased the roleplaying content of the publication which had previously included variant rules and short essays on rules and gameplay for such. Although D&D Society members provided tournaments for conventions such as Games Day, this arrangement was not run in as formal a manner as carried out, much later, by TSR's RPGA
.
In addition to promoting early postal D&D gaming, other postal fantasy games were co-ordinated by veteran Diplomacy
aficionado Don Turnbull, later of TSR (UK)
, who had recently been the inaugural inductee to the Origins Hall of Fame for his work on postal gaming having started the first British postal diplomacy magazine in 1969. Further articles on game mechanics by Turnbull were accompanied by contributions from other well-known hobbyists such as Hartley Patterson and American, Lew Pulsipher, as well as introducing new names whose works continued to be printed in Games Workshop's subsequent publication, White Dwarf.
and Ian Livingstone
on an issue-by-issue basis and although the first couple of issues were edited by Jackson, later numbers were more usually edited by Livingstone; a trend which continued through to his holding the lead-editorial reins for the first 74 issues of White Dwarf.
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
's first publication, a periodical edited by Steve Jackson
Steve Jackson (UK)
Steve Jackson is a game designer, writer and game reviewer.-History:In early 1975, Steve Jackson co-founded the company Games Workshop with John Peake and Ian Livingstone....
and Ian Livingstone
Ian Livingstone
Ian Livingstone OBE is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. He is a co-writer of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and co-founder of Games Workshop....
for twenty-five issues from February 1975 until April 1977 when it was superseded by White Dwarf
White Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
, which is published on a monthly basis .
The reasoning behind such a "cultishly-monikered" choice of title has been stated to be a mystery by the co-editors, although anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
may have been a factor. Belatedly, in a 2009 interview Steve Jackson stated that "it represented the characteristics you need to be a good games player: wise like an owl and crafty like a weasel", although this explanation had not been given in any previous editorial or interview.
History
Initially launched to run alongside their own business producing hand-crafted wooden board games there was, from the outset, a clear stated interest in print regarding "progressive games" including computer gaming and abstract games, issuing a clear message for British producers to challenge the major game producing countries of the United States and Germany in what was, at the time, a relatively "traditional" marketplace. Copies of early issues were also sent speculatively to anyone within the industry in order to help generate business and nurture longer-term connections and partnerships.Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
special - a first in the UK - and issues #11 and #23 doubled as programmes for their early Games Day
Games Day
Games Day is a yearly run convention sponsored by Games Workshop. It has its origins in 1975, following the indefinite shelving of another games convention scheduled for August that year and a decision by Games Workshop to fill the resulting gap by running a gaming day of their own...
s, leading to coverage in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
both of these events and of their magazine.
The editors had expected that the publication would run on beyond issue #25 (in #23, for Games Day II, results for a competition were to be announced in #27), but it was soon after decided that a more professional image was required in order to move the company into a new "phase", in line with what TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
had carried out the previous year by transitioning their first periodical, The Strategic Review, into the "glossy" roleplaying and wargaming
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
magazines, The Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
and Little Wars.
Although Owl and Weasel's circulation would be considered tiny by modern day standards (having only exceeded 200 "nicely", including 80 direct sales through hobby shops, by early 1976), its influence in expanding what were previously niche hobbies into the general British marketplace dominated by traditional games was considerable and it played a key role in setting up Games Workshop for an extended period of rapid growth.
Content
The first few issues covered mostly traditional games and wargaming as well as running postal games, attempting to create a games club and providing an alternative source for games news with a scope set deliberately as wide as possible. Later issues provided coverage of fantasy and roleplaying games in general.In the beginning, promotion of Games Workshop's own hand-crafted games boards was supplemented by reselling of wargames
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
and small press games. Marketing of fantasy and science fiction games was expanded first by an exclusive deal with TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
in mid-1975 and further following the return of Livingstone and Jackson from GenCon IX
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
in August 1976, at which they had signed-up additional exclusive European distribution rights for many American publishers which were still at an early stage of their development; in part owing to the apparent lack of any other European companies at that convention. Traditional boardgames such as Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
and Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
, whilst continuing to be covered in news items even after this expansion, were never sold through the pages of the magazine.
Although D&D, as the first modern-day commercial roleplaying game, had been introduced to Britain no later than Autumn 1974, such playing groups and societies as existed within the country were still on a local basis by 1975/early 1976; sometimes co-existing with traditional wargaming societies. The aforementioned exclusive deal with TSR thus gave Games Workshop increased impetus to promote their flagship product by the creation of a nationwide D&D Society which was carried out through the pages of Owl and Weasel; first proposed in issue #9, but not commenced until issue #12. This further increased the roleplaying content of the publication which had previously included variant rules and short essays on rules and gameplay for such. Although D&D Society members provided tournaments for conventions such as Games Day, this arrangement was not run in as formal a manner as carried out, much later, by TSR's RPGA
RPGA
The RPGA , is part of the organized play arm of Wizards of the Coast that organizes and sanctions role-playing games worldwide, principally under the d20 system...
.
In addition to promoting early postal D&D gaming, other postal fantasy games were co-ordinated by veteran Diplomacy
Diplomacy (game)
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other game elements that produce random effects...
aficionado Don Turnbull, later of TSR (UK)
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, who had recently been the inaugural inductee to the Origins Hall of Fame for his work on postal gaming having started the first British postal diplomacy magazine in 1969. Further articles on game mechanics by Turnbull were accompanied by contributions from other well-known hobbyists such as Hartley Patterson and American, Lew Pulsipher, as well as introducing new names whose works continued to be printed in Games Workshop's subsequent publication, White Dwarf.
Editors
Editorial responsibilities were shared between Steve JacksonSteve Jackson (UK)
Steve Jackson is a game designer, writer and game reviewer.-History:In early 1975, Steve Jackson co-founded the company Games Workshop with John Peake and Ian Livingstone....
and Ian Livingstone
Ian Livingstone
Ian Livingstone OBE is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. He is a co-writer of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and co-founder of Games Workshop....
on an issue-by-issue basis and although the first couple of issues were edited by Jackson, later numbers were more usually edited by Livingstone; a trend which continued through to his holding the lead-editorial reins for the first 74 issues of White Dwarf.
See also
- White DwarfWhite Dwarf (magazine)White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...