In the mid-1970s, Mentzer and a friend taught themselves how to play the new role-playing game "Dungeons & Dragons", and he became part of a group of eight to twelve players who played several times a week. In 1979, TSR, the company that published D&D, advertised for a designer and an editor. Although Mentzer was initially uninterested since he had no editorial or design experience, fellow player David Axler, who would go on to write an article for the December 1981 issue of "Dragon" magazine about how to determine the weather in the "World of Greyhawk" campaign setting,—urged him to apply. Mentzer finally relented and after a phone interview with TSR, he was hired for the editorial position, Tom Moldvay was hired as the new designer, and in January 1980, Mentzer moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.