Any preference? Hardcovers are nice on the shelf, but there is something cool about a boxed set.

Boxed set every time. I like a complete game in a box. Also, the box makes it handy for transport with the dice and books all inside it.

PDF.

Hardcover. Boxed sets are nice, but I much prefer hardcover books to softcover.

I love boxed sets, but the box itself tends to fall apart through use.

I've got a Dark Sun boxed set I bought used, the box is in decent shape, so the first thing I did was transplant all the contents to a plain cardboard box.

Either is fine.  A lot of times box sets will include things that offer more utility- like dice (if you need them), maps, overlays, smaller rule books.  Hardcovers are nice for being durable (most times), but it seems to invite higher page counts.

Hardcover FTW.  I already have my own dice thanks, and a hardcover holds up better.

PDF - I don't buy hardcopy RPGs anymore.

Hardcover is easier to carry around. In the last few years since I buy a lot of my RPG stuff off Lulu, and often just use it to print PDFs for personal use, I have a tendency to parse multiple books into one document. For instance I have about 3000 pages of d6 Star Wars ReUp in 3 large perfect bound volumes with minimal description on the spine so I know where to find stuff. One day I may attempt this with all the BECMI stuff, and then get maps printed seperately though these days I can make my own.

Thin hardcovers, approx. 128 pages max. I have no love for these coffee table monsters that are the standard today.

I like boxed sets when the game has a reason to split them up, e.g., a separate Player's book, maps, etc.

Hardcover. More durable. My gurps supplements always went to shit.

Lots of truth in this thread. I'm an equal-opportunity gamer. My nostalgic side prefers boxed sets - nothing says "game" to me more than a boxed set. My practical side is torn between PDFs for their portability and hardcovers for their durability and because I tend to retain information better if I read hardcopy.

I also agree with the whole page count issue. Some of these hardcovers are turning into monsters, and it seems to me that the larger they get the faster they wear out, whether it's pages coming out or simple wear and tear from dropping it on your foot, table, what have you... Boxed sets with softcover rulebooks (or softcover rulebooks alone) are prone to wear out faster, and I know part of the reason we don't see boxed sets more often is the cost of printing and manufacturing the boxes.

Quite a while back, someone either here or on another forum had the great idea of creating a boxed set with dice and digest-sized softcover rulebook(s) contained in a small metal box. While it might work for a collectible edition of a game, and it certainly would be more durable, I can't see it catching on because of the production costs.

Lord, do I still miss boxed sets...

Later!

Harl Quinn

The person running this website is a racist who publicly advocates genocidal practices.

I am deleting my content.

I recommend you do the same.

My preference is that the rule book be able to lay flat, open to any page. This can be achieved with hardcover (AD&D books for example) or softcover (OD&D) but is not automatic.

A boxed set only makes sense if it makes sense to split the rules into multiple books, or additional material is provided (maps, quick reference sheets, sample adventure) that can not be easily bound into the core book (and then easily removed without damaging the core book).

However, these days, most of my purchases are PDF.