Sadly, I just found out that it has ceased publication just shy of its 50th anniversary, and over 590 monthly issues.
Alarums & Excursions was one of the longest running, if not the longest running APAs ever. It won numerous “best amateur magazine” awards, especially in the 80s and 90s, including being inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in 2022.
Old school fantasy covers feel so nostalgic!
Never heard of this specific publication. Does anyone have experience with it? Was it good?
It’s the most influential publication on RPG designers that you never heard of. Most of the game design innovations that were made in the '70s, '80s, and '90s came from the pages of A&E in their embryonic form, and it still held quite a bit of impact in the '00s.
To be precise, I’ve never heard of any publication haha. They have never reached my country. Sometimes I stumble upon one, like this one, and learn about their story.
I’d read a few issues back in the day (borrowed from an ardent participant) and I’m still gob-smacked how lively and active game designers were back in the early '80s. And how well they knew each other, all because of the pages of this little APA.