when was the first edition book published?

[Crothian]

I had a friend ask and I really don't recall the year the game first hit the market.

 

[saulres]

You mean 1E, not the first printing of XP, right? 1E was published (in a box), appropriately, in 1984.

 

[Crothian]

thanks, yes I was talking about the first edtion didn't know it was in a box though.

 

[saulres]

Yup, a box. The box contained the Player handbook (classified RED), the Gamemaster handbook and an Adventure handbook (both ULTRAVIOLET), and two 20-sided dice. I think that was pretty common for games back then, to have separate books for players and GMs all sold together as one unit.

 

[Eric Zawadzki]

*snip*I think that was pretty common for games back then, to have separate books for players and GMs all sold together as one unit.

The D&D boxed sets were probably the best-known examples of this. Of course, I didn't discover RPing until '86, so I'm not exactly an authority on the subject of gaming marketing practices in 1984...

 

[mthomason]

The D&D boxed sets were probably the best-known examples of this. Of course, I didn't discover RPing until '86, so I'm not exactly an authority on the subject of gaming marketing practices in 1984...

Well, if we go back a bit further in time to the original D&D boxes of the 1970's, we get a box of three books: Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure, Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. While the latter two are probably of more interest to the GM they weren't specifically marked as such and I believe the players would have had access to them (not 100% sure here as I don't have copies here to refer to), however at that point in the evolution of RPGs out of Wargaming I believe it would have been appropriate for the players to know all of the rules the GM knew (and considering the forum i'm posting this in thats *really* ironic )

 

[Azerik]

Yup, a box. The box contained the Player handbook (classified RED), the Gamemaster handbook and an Adventure handbook (both ULTRAVIOLET), and two 20-sided dice. I think that was pretty common for games back then, to have separate books for players and GMs all sold together as one unit.

Actually they were and weren't 20 sided. They were technically the shape of 20 sided dice, but they were only numbered 1-0 (1-10). One red, one green (in my box anyway).

This might be kind of sad, but I still have those dice and just about everything published for Paranoia (I think I am missing a few 2nd ed adventures and the newest stuff). For that matter I still have the crappy brownish dice that came in my Basic D&D box set...

 

[saulres]

For that matter I still have the crappy brownish dice that came in my Basic D&D box set...

I've still got the little whitish dice you had to color in w/a crayon to read...