Realizing this is RPG and not board game related.... I just heard that Gary Gygax passed away. Can anyone confirm?

There's nothing from a Google search...where did you hear that?

I can confirm this VERY sad news.

I have (had?) known Gary for something like 35 years and worked for him at TSR after mowing his lawn for years. Although best known for his work on Dungeons and Dragons, Gary preferred board games and miniatures. He was always a tough competitor and had a rapacious cackle when he pulled off the winning move.

His family let me know a few weeks ago he was ill and I was hoping to get back to visit my friend after the semester was done here.

His contribution to gaming and fantasy would be hard to estimate by any measure.

-Neil

I think he successfully madefailed his saving throws against death +5.

EDIT: Unfortunately.

Oh dear. This is very sad news. And yes, his contribution to gaming and fantasy was abundant.

Strange that there is just no news on the intarwebs about this. I wouldn't think BGG would be the first on the scene.

I can't find anything... I've made a few calls, but no replies from those that know him yet.

This is very sad news. I can remember taking D&D books out of my local library as a child (what they were doing in a public library in rural England is beyond me! Although it is Tolkien country...) and reading them over and over again. I had no idea that what I thought began and ended with Heroquest and Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks could be so popular and so expansive.

In my opinion, D&D was a great achievement on a par with any ambitious work of fiction. And I was always fascinated by that weird name at the front... Gary Gygax... "Surely that name must be another of this guy's inventions"!

Gary, you opened my horizons to the wider world of Geekdom. I suppose I should thank you! Sorry to see you go.

Gary passed away at 1 am at his house, no funeral arrangements have been made yet.

I spoke with Ernie Gygax not five minutes ago.

There were many tears.

I doubt it is public knowledge yet but I saw the earlier posting and figured I might as well confirm.

Thanks for confirming. I had a brief note in email from a friend of mine, not sure where he heard it, and just didn't want to believe it.

My childhood would have been a lot different (not in a good way) without the likes of Gary Gygax. I am very saddened by this news. My prayers are with his family and friends.

Well then that is indeed sad news.

What a sad news!
I owe Gygax so many good moments. His death really hurts me, strange, even if I've never seen him, I don't even know what he looked like.
All my though to his friends and familly.

My condolensces to the Gygax family.

Rest in Peace, Mr Gygax. Thank you for all the years of fun me and my gaming group had playing AD+D.

Ditto. I haven't spent 29 years playing D&D for nothing.

BGG was able to confirm this news before Gleemax? This site rules!

My condolences as well.

I started playing the old Dungeons and Dragons RPG back in the early 80-ties and was totally blown away.

Thanks for all the happy moments.

Oh man. First Jeff Healey yesterday, now Gary Gygax, wow what a week this is turning out to be.

I do have memories of playing AD&D in High School, and I still own Dungeon! that he designed too.

To paraphrase Douglas Adams,

"So Long and Thanks for the 20 sided Dice."

RIP Gary.

I probably read each of of my advanced D&D books at least 10 or 20 times. My friends and I used to quiz each other on minutae from the Monster Manual when we were bored. Sorry to hear that Gygax has passed away, he made something really great that gave me a lot of fun when I was young!

How sad. A great man who almost single-handedly invented an entire genre of gaming. He will be missed

Also, his appearance on Futurama as one of Al Gore's Vice-Presidential Action Time Rangers was priceless.

"It's a..." (rolls die) "pleasure to meet you."
"Anyone want to play Dungeons and Dragons for the next quadrillion years?"

May his tombstone make sense.

As a kid, Gary Gygax was my hero. He created what was my favourite game ever, so even without knowing who he was or what he looked like, I had this kind of hero worship thing going on.

I got into D&D around 1986 and played fairly consistently up until a couple of years ago. Even though I no longer play D&D, participating in other RPGs instead, Gary's impact on gaming in general continues to be felt.

Chris

Wikipedia updated some minutes ago too. Surreal...

I have to switch that D20 back into my visible microbadges.

R.I.P. Gary

My years in college would have been very different, if not for you.

For those who may not know, in addition to D&D, Gary also is credited with being the first to use 4, 8, 12 and 20 sided dice in gaming, if I'm not mistaken. He also co-founded TSR, started The Dragon magazine and started Gen Con.

Condolences to his friends and family.

Very sad. He'll be rolling natural 20s in the afterlife.

-E