Your First Gaming Book?

[sir_ollibolli]

In 1979 I found a new gaming store in the city of Hamburg that had a box called Dungeons & Dragons in its program (this was before the red box came out), it was in English but I urged my Dad to buy it nonetheless. He thought he could further my grip on the English language and I thought it was a cool concept. Since I had read the Lord of the Rings some weeks earlier I have hooked immediately. I convinced my father to help me with the translation, so we could get other pupils from our school to try out this "New" game. Alas, it came as it had to, none of my friends was keen on this game... and it rotted in my closet... until much later during college we started playing Runequest and Space 1889.

 

[MonsterMash]

The first RPG book was the OD&D white boxed set when I was 11 in 1977, before that I had tabletop wargames figures and a book called Wargames by Donald Featherstone.

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

Late '70s ('78 or '79), basic d&d (the blue and white cover with dragon on it (could some Please tell me which version of basic that is, I can't seem to remember?)), quickly followed by the 1e ad&d hardbounds. Bye the bye, I was 15 (I think,

That's the "blue box basic set", edited by Eric Holmes. It was my first RPG book too; my mom read an article about D&D in our local paper and bought it for me in 1980, when I was 10. Can't say I really understood it until I joined a game run by some bigger kids!

 

[Ranes]

I was going to say my first book was a 1e AD&D PHB, circa '78 (that very book, incidentally, reappeared in my life three weeks ago, after being lost for about 15 years). I also clicked the age 14 entry in the poll. However, MonsterMash's post rang a bell. I got a book for Christmas 1974 (so I would have been 10) called Wargames or Wargaming. I wonder if it was the Donald Featherstone one? My memory's a little hazy.

 

[MonsterMash]

I was going to say my first book was a 1e AD&D PHB, circa '78 (that very book, incidentally, reappeared in my life three weeks ago, after being lost for about 15 years). I also clicked the age 14 entry in the poll. However, MonsterMash's post rang a bell. I got a book for Christmas 1974 (so I would have been 10) called Wargames or Wargaming. I wonder if it was the Donald Featherstone one? My memory's a little hazy.

Ranes,

The Donald Featherstone book had sets of rules for ancients with an example battlereport with photos of flat minis in the edition I have, horse and musket period with an ACW battle and modern (ww2) period. Does that ring any bells?

Glad to hear your old PHB turned up again.

 

[diaglo]

What was your first game book and how old were you when you read (and understood) it?

i'm still reading it.

 

[Ranes]

MM,

Thanks for posting that detail, which does sound familiar (especially the bit regarding flat minis). The two aspects of the book I had that I do recall are that the book was a softback in landscape format and its author made the argument that wargaming engendered pacifism in its participants.

 

[valn]

Hmmm, my first gamebook was the french version of a german game (L'Oeil Noir, I don't remember the German name), which was very similar to Basic D&D. I think I was 12-14 years old, so that would make it 1987-1989. Maybe a year later, my brother brough OD&D, then AD&D 1st Edition home.

Aaah, I owe so much to my brother!!

 

[Kanegrundar]

My first game book was the 1st Edition PHB. I was 13, (I started late in life...) but I understood it alright. Granted, there were always a couple rules questions, but overall I got it.

Kane

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Red Box. Still have it. Still love it.