ccs
41st lv DM
Interesting to note that my story--first exposure with BECMI, but grew up with AD&D--is a common one. I wonder if the marketing of "Advanced" had something to do with it. I vaguely remember thinking that "basic" was OK, but "Advanced" was where it was at. Kind of amusing in retrospect.
In my case no.
My 1st exposure to our favorite game was sitting in the "book" section of my mom's favorite department store on summer days while she shopped looking through the 1e books that were out in summer of '80.
It was like a mini-oasis of not-clothing with several chairs.
They never had all the books at any one time. So although it was a game, I couldn't piece together how it all fit together. But it was interesting & I wanted to play it.
So a few months later I put Dungeons & Dragons - game on my Christmas list.
I should've been more specific & also said Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Monster Manual.
But I was 10 going on 11 & didn't think of that. And I had no idea that a Basic boxed set existed....
Come Christmas time the only D&D Grandma found listed in whatever catalog she was ordering from was the Basic set.
Thus that's what I peeled the wrapping paper off of Christmas morning.
Looking back? It's good thing that 1) I wasn't more specific, 2) Grandma only found the Basic set.
Because if I'd gotten what I'd envisioned? We would've been lacking the dice. Without any clue where to get them. And that would've greatly hindered us. Maybe even killed our games before they'd begun.