Alarums and Excursions (A&E) is an amateur press association (APA) started in June 1975 by Lee Gold; publication continues to the present day. It was one of the first publications to focus solely on role-playing games. History In 1964, Bruce Pelz of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society (LASFS) began a monthly amateur press association known as APA-L. In 1974, with the publication of Dungeons & Dragons by TSR, Inc., articles and comments about the new roleplaying game began to fill the pages of APA-L. Pelz felt the discussion was taking up too much space, and he asked Lee Gold to start a new APA that would take this material and focus entirely on roleplaying games. The first issue of Alarums and Excursions appeared in June 1975, the title taken from an Elizabethan drama stage direction that moved soldiers across a stage. In addition to removing roleplaying games discussion out of APA-L, the initial aim of the publication was to prevent roleplaying games from becoming so divergent that people from different cities could not participate in games together. The June 2017 collation of Alarums and Excursions was number 500, with a color cover drawn by Lee Moyer and printed by Rob Heinsoo. Contents Each issue is a collection of contributions from different authors, often featuring game design discussions, rules variants, write-ups of game sessions, reviews, and comments on others contributions. Although game reports and social reactions are common parts of many A&E contributions, it has also, over the years, become a testing ground for new ideas on the development of the RPG as a genre and an art form. The idea that role-playing games are an art form took strong root in this zine, and left a lasting impression on many of the RPG professionals who contributed. The 1992 role-playing game Over the Edge was inspired by discussions in A&E. Over the years, contributors have included: Terry K. Amthor Wilf K. Backhaus Scott Bennie Greg Costikyan Doc Cross John M. Ford E. Gary Gygax Andrew Gelman David A. Hargrave Rob Heinsoo John Eric Holmes Wes Ives Robin Laws Nicole Lindroos Stephen R. Marsh Phil McGregor Dave Nalle Mark Rein·Hagen Ken Rolston John T. Sapienza, Jr. Lawrence M. Schoen Edward E. Simbalist Jonathan Tweet Erick Wujcik John Nephew Spike Y Jones Reception In the February 1976 issue of Strategic Review (Issue 6), Gary Gygax complimented the new APA, calling it "an