Ian Livingstone wrote the book Dicing with Dragons alone. The editor at Puffin Books originally asked Livingstone and Steve Jackson to produce a guide, but they instead created Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Livingstone then wrote Dicing with Dragons as a non-fiction overview of the role-playing game industry.
The book Dicing with Dragons was published in 1982 by Routledge & Kegan Paul in the United Kingdom. An Italian translation titled Giocare a dadi col drago was published in 1986 by Longanesi. The book received a review in the February 1983 edition of White Dwarf issue number 38.
The book Dicing with Dragons serves as a comprehensive introduction to role-playing games for the British public. It details major systems like Dungeons & Dragons and includes thirty-one other role-playing games. The text also provides practical advice on running games, painting miniatures, and covers computer systems and live action role-playing games.
Russ Nicholson illustrated the book Dicing with Dragons. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone requested square pages for the artwork to maintain aesthetic consistency with their previous work Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Nicholson's illustrations were integral to the book's function, providing visual context for the rules and adventures.
The book Dicing with Dragons was first published in the United Kingdom by Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1982. It was published in the United States in 1983 by Plume, an imprint of New American Library. An Italian edition was published in 1986 by Milanese publisher Longanesi.
The book Dicing with Dragons received immediate acclaim from the gaming community upon its release. Reviewer M L Rowland gave the book an excellent rating of 9 out of 10 in the February 1983 edition of White Dwarf issue number 38. Dave Pringle also recommended the book in the April 1983 issue of Imagine.