If folks want to take a look at a First printing OD&D Woodgrain Box there is a ebay sale going on with detailed pictures.

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Has a interesting back story to go along with it.

Quotehis set is in Very Fine condition with one small stain on the front label and very minor scuffing on the corners of the box. Note that the Reference Sheets are not stapled, but loose sheets folded together. This was the original condition.

It was acquired by the present owner in an interesting way.

In 1974 I worked in a project offering supplemental educational materials to four school districts in Northwestern Wisconsin. I met Bill, an elementary school librarian, who was very excited about working with his students using role playing games. He had a friend in Minneapolis whom he had met through their shared interest in war gaming. This friend, "Lance," was involved with creating a new project, a fantasy-style wargame in a box that could be played by anyone.

My librarian friend was working with a sixth-grade class to create a book based on playing the game. Included in this set is a copy of the booklet that his students created using the game.

Bill also used a 20-sided die that he had hand-colored to differentiate scoring. Adding to the charm of this set, the die is included, as is a hand-written note from Bill, the librarian, explaining the use of the die. He added that there was currently a shortage of these dice, but they were available in England. He was going to England for a vacation, and would be bringing some back with him.

I hope the new owner of this game enjoys owning this piece of gaming history.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions. I will try to reply to all inquiries within 24 hours.

The seller appears legit and is answering questions on the Acaeum Forum.

I wonder if anyone who owns one of these sets and knows what the value is actually games with them.

'Bill' would be Bill Hoyt, and 'Lance' would be Dave Arneson - it's the 'L' in his name.

Quote from: thedungeondelver;934061I wonder if anyone who owns one of these sets and knows what the value is actually games with them.

I wouldn't game with this one.  This one is to be preserved for posterity.

Now the White Box, let's crack that baby open.

I'd love to buy this one...

...and give to a couple toddlers with a box of crayolas and lots of candy, then post the video on OSR sites.

I can only imagine the lolz of agony!!

Quote from: Spinachcat;934081I'd love to buy this one...

...and give to a couple toddlers with a box of crayolas and lots of candy, then post the video on OSR sites.

I can only imagine the lolz of agony!!

Man even if you think OD&D is total crap, the wood grain box edition is a piece of history, of our human cultural heritage.  The fad/success of this RPG opened the door to all others.

Thanks for sharing this. A very cool piece of history.

Up to $8100. Two bidders feuding. Is this going over 10k?

I've already got one.  It's verra nice.

I stopped gaming with it about two years ago and finally printed the PDFs I bought legally ages ago.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;934114I've already got one.  It's verra nice.

I stopped gaming with it about two years ago and finally printed the PDFs I bought legally ages ago.

I just missed the cutoff. My GM had the brown bookset. Only thing i could buy at the FLGS was a white bookset. Had the Tolkien mm details in my first set of books. Sold my white bookset about 1979, and bought a second one, and the Balrogs and hobbits were gone.

Now I have like a 5th printing of the white, no box (it didn't last). Am perfectly happy running games with it. Last 0d&d game I ran? last Sunday. Also ran one two weekends before thanksgiving that looked a bit like this;


Ucon 2016 Ypsilanti/Detroit 0D&D Sunday morning game, The First Crusade - Journey to the holy lands 1174 a.d.

Nice picture.  I've noticed a lot of fairly young folks at Gary Con too.

Now that the auction is at $8800, let me be the first crank to suggest that our bidders have more money than good sense.

Quote from: JamesV;934181Now that the auction is at $8800, let me be the first crank to suggest that our bidders have more money than good sense.

No arguments.

Actually, at a certain wealth level, money just doesn't mean the same.  There are people who can spend a thousand dollars as easily as I spend ten.

As much as I'd love to have a piece of gaming history like that I don't ever foresee a situation where I could justify the expense. I'll stick my pdf printouts.

$10 for a pdf or $8-9k for this, I'll take the pdf. As long as I have (lawful) access to the rules, I'm happy. The fact that this or that piece of paper was actually printed at a specific time and place is immaterial to me. Leave it for the collectors.

Quote from: GameDaddy;934124I just missed the cutoff. My GM had the brown bookset. Only thing i could buy at the FLGS was a white bookset. Had the Tolkien mm details in my first set of books. Sold my white bookset about 1979, and bought a second one, and the Balrogs and hobbits were gone.

Now I have like a 5th printing of the white, no box (it didn't last). Am perfectly happy running games with it.

Consider yourself lucky. My first chance to buy a D&D set was right after the Moldvay cutoff. Mind you, I consider the Basic and Expert Mentzer sets to be virtually the same game as B/X (especially my versions, with the original thief skill progression), but it would have been nice to at least have seen any of the OD&D/Holmes stuff before the silver anniversary edition boxed set and internet, or have known any of the slight differences those earlier versions had (and of course the whys).