Dungeons & Dragons is a role-playing game.
Dungeons & Dragons ( abbreviated as D&D or DnD ) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game ( RPG ) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson , and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules , Inc. ( TSR ) . D&D publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry . Despite this competition , D&D remains the market leader in the role-playing game industry . , Dungeons & Dragons remained the best-known and best-selling role-playing game , with an estimated 20 million people having played the game and more than US$ 1 billion in book and equipment sales . Dungeons & Dragons novels are works of fantasy fiction that are based upon campaign settings released for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game .