Roleplaying games have hit the college scene in 1980s Portland, Oregon. But as an eighth-grader, Steve has already mastered the craft, finding his muse in the new girl, Tess Arthur, and in her dark-priestess alter ego, whose backstory hints at Tess’s own troubled past. Together Tess and Steve build an imaginary world of horror and heroism to unite against real-world bullies, jaded teachers, and sudden grief. However, monsters are one kind of challenge; a relationship, quite another. Reviews: “ Age of Monsters sent me back to my gaming roots in late 1970s and early 1980s Portland, to a time when everything in gaming seemed fresh and full of potential, and it made me consider doing some role-playing game design for the first time since high school. I remember role-playing and believing the way our games were played, a combination of creating a story and experiencing it, was magical. There was . . . and still is . . . the possibility of so much more – something Bob shows clearly. It really lit a fire under me to run an RPG again – something that I have gotten in the habit of putting off!” – Richard Garfield , creator of Magic: The Gathering “It’s a touching story about the ‘golden age’ of roleplaying games: the teens. Bob’s story balances the real world and the game world against each other like no other book I’ve read. ” – Jonathan Tweet , lead designer of D&D 3rd Edition, author of Grandmother Fish “Loved this book. I very quickly became invested in the plot and was quickly rooting for the main characters.” – Peter D. Adkison , Board Chair, Gen Con, and founder and original CEO of Wizards of the Coast “The book brought back wonderful memories of 'bad' roleplaying with good friends. It's a love letter to Oregon, to the 1980s, to adolescence, and to friendship.” – Skaff Elias , game designer and co-author of the MIT Press textbook Characteristics of Games “ Age of Monsters tells two stories – the aches and twists of teen love and an RPG campaign that loudens the relationship. It's hard to make table-top narratives engaging as they are immersive, but Kruger taps into the fire that made us so passionate for old-school D&D in the '80s. Grognards will love it.” – Loren Rosson III , author of The Busybody blog “I do believe it is a classic. It's also pure nostalgia for anyone who got into role-playing games in the early ‘80s. It captured that time so very well. ” – Jesper Myrfors , artist and game designer, original art director for Wizards of the Coast “Reading this, I had the same mix of nostalgia and excitement as I did reading Microserfs and Dune for the first time. A coming of age story that does for Gen X what Wonder Years did for children of the Sixties; Age of Monsters is wonderful and authentic capture of young love in a challenging situation.” – Bryan Costanich , CEO of Wilderness Labs " Age of Monsters sent me back to my gaming roots in late 1970s and early 1980s Portland, to a time when everything in gaming seemed fresh and full of potential, and it made me consider doing some role-playing game design for the first time since high school. I remember role-playing and believing the way our games were played, a combination of creating a story and experiencing it, was magical. There was . . . and still is . . . the possibility of so much more - something Bob shows clearly. It really lit a fire under me to run an RPG again - something that I have gotten in the habit of putting off!" - Richard Garfield , creator of Magic: The Gathering "It's a touching story about the 'golden age' of roleplaying games: the teens. Bob's story balances the real world and the game world against each other like no other book I've read. " - Jonathan Tweet , lead designer of D&D 3rd Edition, author of Grandmother Fish "Loved this book. I very quickly became invested in the plot and was quickly rooting for the main characters." - Peter D. Adkison , Board Chair, Gen Con, and founder and original CEO of Wizards of the Coast "The book brought back wonderful memories of 'bad' roleplaying with good friends. It's a love letter to Oregon, to the 1980s, to adolescence, and to friendship." - Skaff Elias , game designer and co-author of the MIT Press textbook Characteristics of Games " Age of Monsters tells two stories - the aches and twists of teen love and an RPG campaign that loudens the relationship. It's hard to make table-top narratives engaging as they are immersive, but Kruger taps into the fire that made us so passionate for old-school D&D in the '80s. Grognards will love it." - Loren Rosson III , author of The Busybody blog "I do believe it is a classic. It's also pure nostalgia for anyone who got into role-playing games in the early '80s. It captured that time so very well. " - Jesper Myrfors , artist and game designer, original art director for Wizards of the Coast "Reading this, I had the same mix of nostalgia and excitement as I did reading Microserfs and Dune for the first time. A c