I was 12 and really into 16-bit videogames when I learned that there was such a thing as tabletop RPGs. Pestered my old man into taking me to a local children's bookstore and out we walked with a copy of the "Black Box" D&D Introductory Game. Played the incredibly didactic solo adventure and in a couple of weeks I had my own dungeon drawn and stocked, and ran it to my school buddies (yes, my first time at a RPG table was as a DM).

Of course, we were all hooked.

For some reason, the date stuck with me: November 12th, 1992. So, 22 going on 23 years.

I started playing RPGs in the early '80s... though I was aware of D&D from visits to the Last Grenadier in Reseda during the '70s to buy miniatures.

Off and on since 1990 or so (middle school).

I started with the red box, then the gold box; so... 26 years (as I was twelve at the time). Then, I moved onto AD&D 2e after a short hiatus.

Been playing every edition of D&D thereafter, eventually moved onto Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E and finally married to ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG.

It was 1980 when I was 12 that I first got into RPGs. Christmas '79 my parents got me Avalon Hill's Africa Corps board game and I fell in love with advanced games. Although before that I was always the kid in the neighborhood who had the most board games and kept them in good condition. The summer of '80 my best friend bought the Gamma World game then Basic D&D and there was no holding us back. There have been breaks along the way as other life problems held sway but the love has never gone away.

Let's see - my memory gets a little hazy about that long ago, but I believe I was first introduced to the concept of D&D in the spring of 1983. I was a first grader hauled over for a visit my mom had with her friend, and her sixth grader son had to entertain me so we played a D&D one-shot.

By that summer, I had convinced my grandmother to buy me a copy of the D&D Expert Set (because 7 year old me didn't pay attention to the box real well). But I don't recall really playing in earnest until 1984.

So let's call it 31 years for me.

The strange part is, if I really think about it, I still consider the gaming during my youth (1984 to 1988) to be the most time I spent gaming. But in truth, I've been playing solidly with one large campaign after another since 2004 - eleven years. But those eleven years only feel like 2-3 years, while my younger years feel like eons of time passing. All part of getting old and feeling time move faster I suppose (that, and I still think of 1985 to 1987 rather fondly as they were my formative years).

If anyone is interested, here's how my gaming history has gone:

* 1984 - Basic / Expert D&D, followed quickly by the CMI companions (though in truth, very little of those rules got used).
* 1985 - Still D&D, but Star Frontiers and Top Secret started getting mixed in.
* 1986 - Mix of D&D and Star Frontiers, mostly
* 1987 - Top Secret/SI and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became king
* 1988 - Dawn Patrol was the closest I got to playing RPGs that year due to various circumstances
* 1989 - DC role-playing via the Batman ruleset was popular that year due to the movie coming out
* 1990 to 1995 - I bought various games through my middle and high school years; the ones we actually played with any regularity were AD&D 2nd edition, Cyberpunk, and Rifts
* 1996 to 1999 - My college years Earthdawn, AD&D 2nd edition, Star Wars, and the various White Wolf games were all quite popular, along with some Call of Cthulhu
* 2000 to 2003 - No gaming
* 2004 - D&D 3rd edition (as a player only)
* 2005 to 2008 - Rifts
* 2009 to 2011 - D&D 4th edition
* 2011 to 2012 - D&D Bronze Age
* 2012 to 2013 - Cthulhubusters
* 2014 - Traveller 2300AD
* 2014 to 2015 - AD&D Al-Qadim
* Present - Cthulhubusters Crescent City

Thirty-six years. I started in 1979 when my older brother got the Holmes Edition. He and a few of the older kids lost interest and started playing Traveller (DORKS!), so I got his stuff (the only hand-me-down I ever wanted) and kept playing.

I've had two sabbaticals from the game, not counting football season when I was in Jr high and high school.

Quote from: Natasha;858391Hi everyone,

I am new here and I was curious how long everyone has been gaming.   For me, I have only been gaming for two years.  I started playing Savage Worlds and a couple other games.

Right now the game I am playing the majority of the time is D&D 5th edition

A pathetic, measly 30 years here.  I'm too young to be considered a true gamer.  

1978 with the Holme's edition of D&D, so 37 years.

31 years. Starting with Middle Earth Roleplaying.

I started playing in 1983, when a babysitter found the Moldvay Basic set at our house (my dad had bought it but never figured out how to play).  I played a Fighter named Hercules and my older brother played a Cleric.  He got killed by kobolds, went to his room crying, and never really got into tabletop gaming after that.  I killed the kobolds and have been playing ever since.

First played D&D in 79 so 36 years.

32 years I guess. Started in 83 with a Moldvay-Mentzer mashup. Didn't jump to AD&D until 2e was out so that also was an edition mashup. Did the same with Traveller. Played Gurps and Cyberpunk and James Bond, some White Wolf (yes I consider it all one system, as I said, mashup), Immortal, Champions/Hero, and so much more. Never did believe in any kind of doctrinal purity, so jumping between systems has always been fine. Nowadays me and a buddy are working on a semi-crunchy post apocalyptic game because none of the ones we've found match what we want. Great time to be a new gamer, OP, I hope you have fun.

Oh right, I started with a mashed up AD&D 1e around '84-5, but I fully committed back in '89 with AD&D 2e.  Sorry, should have said that when I listed the amount of time I started.

Quote from: Natasha;858391Hi everyone,

I am new here and I was curious how long everyone has been gaming.   For me, I have only been gaming for two years.  I started playing Savage Worlds and a couple other games.

Right now the game I am playing the majority of the time is D&D 5th edition

It's all good.
1976.
about to hit the 40th year.

And it is still getting better.