Short answers, pulled from the story.
Tunnels & Trolls was designed by Ken St. Andre, a public librarian in Phoenix, Arizona. The first edition was self-published in April 1975, with Flying Buffalo releasing a second edition in June 1975.
Tunnels & Trolls uses only six-sided dice instead of polyhedral dice, a point-based magic system rather than spell slots, and resolves mass combat with a single set of rolls. Michael Tresca noted it explained its rules more clearly and brought a sense of impish fun to the genre.
Yes. Tunnels & Trolls was the first role-playing system to publish a series of fantasy gamebooks designed for a single player without a referee. Flying Buffalo published at least twenty such solo adventures, and the Fighting Fantasy series later adopted the same format.
Tunnels & Trolls has gone through multiple editions, from the original 1975 release through the 5th edition in 1979, the 7th edition in the 30th Anniversary tin in 2005, the 7.5 edition in 2008, the French 8th edition in 2012, and the Deluxe edition in August 2015. A new edition, Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age, was funded via Kickstarter in 2026 and planned for delivery in May 2027.
Rebellion Unplugged's tabletop role-playing game division acquired Tunnels & Trolls in May 2023, when Webbed Sphere sold it along with Flying Buffalo's full catalog of role-playing games including the Citybook, Grimtooth, and Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes products.
Critical reception was divided over simplicity. Rick Swan in Dragon issue 184 said a beginner could master the rules in an afternoon and praised the magic system as exceptionally clever, giving it 3 out of 4 in his 1990 book. A 1996 Arcane magazine reader poll ranked it 32nd among the 50 most popular role-playing games of all time.