Nice find. That's one obscure oddity.

Here's an image for posterity (once the auction disappears):



From the auction listing: "THIS IS THE TH&C. TOYS, HOBBIES, & CRAFTS. 1981 DIRECTORY ISSUE. BOOK HAS 224 PAGES."

This shows the level of influence that D&D had reached by 1981.

I remember discussing it here and on the Tome - if its the insert that I am thinking of.  I believe its a UK insert that shows up with some 4th print white box sets which seems a bit strange to find it in a US store.

The insert was originally published in an issue of Games & Puzzles (UK) magazine.

Last October I transcribed the text of the Dungeon Key and Example of Play (partial) using the scan of page 4 posted on Tome of Treasures. I posted this in the Classic Forum on Dragonsfoot:

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25633

grodog, if you can supply the first part of the Example of Play, I'll add it to what I posted over there.

grodog wrote: I have no idea what PCC stands for, but it seems to account for another, local-US instance of this ad/article, at least.

People's Computer Company?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s ... er_Company

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/new ... index.html

The second site is linked from the wikipedia page. It has covers scans (and some articles) from their newsletter, which looks like a newspaper in some editions. If you click on the Nov-Dec 1978, there's a scanned 3-page article on Runequest.

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/new ... quest.html

....Continuing the search...I think this is it:

http://www.svipx.com/pcc/gameslist.html

V5N2 September 1976

   * P. 02 Star Trek (six pages of stuff sent by readers, edited by Mellow Flash)
   * P. 08 But It's Fun, But It's Educational: Computer Games in the Classroom by Joanne Koltnow Verplank
   * P. 16 PLANETS by Mac Oglesby. BASIC listing and sample run.
   * P. 18 Journey to the Center of the Earth by Andrew A. Aronson. BASIC listing and sample run.
   * P. 20 Dungeons & Dragons by Steve Jackson. Description, information, ...
   * P. 30 Crossword Puzzle by Frank Armbruster
   * P. 31 Hats by Frank Armbruster. BASIC listing and sample run.

This is from an index Bob Albrecht (PCC founder) created with the gaming contents of the early PCC issues. Other issues of possible interest to D&D/RPG collectors:

V4N4 January 1976
* P. 25 Flying Buffalo by Rick Loomis. Descriptions of play-by-mail games and tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons

V4N5 March-April 1976
* P. 11 Good Gaming. Descriptions of role-playing and board games: Dungeons & Dragons, Tunnels & Trolls, Stellar Conquest, and Empire of the Petal Throne

This page on the same site has similar information, plus discussing Dave Arneson:

http://www.svipx.com/pcc/links.html

The dragon notes: My good friend Dave Arneson is the creator of Dungeons & Dragons. Check out his web site: The world of Blackmoor & Dave Arneson creator of D&D, http://castleblackmoor.com/

Also of interest:
"Good Gaming!," a survey article about role-playing games, including D&D, appeared in PCC V4N5 Mar-Apr 1976. The 3-page article "Dungeons & Dragons" by Steve Jackson was reprinted by permission in PCC V5N2 Sep-Oct 1976.

The last time I talked to Dave, he was teaching computer game design in...

Amazing what's out there on the internet, just waiting to be found...in a perfect world, an index of every periodical ever published would be posted somewhere on the web.

zhowar wrote:Nice find. That's one obscure oddity.

Here's an image for posterity (once the auction disappears):

[ Image ]

From the auction listing: "THIS IS THE TH&C. TOYS, HOBBIES, & CRAFTS. 1981 DIRECTORY ISSUE. BOOK HAS 224 PAGES."

This shows the level of influence that D&D had reached by 1981.

And the fact that, in 1981, TSR had some money so spend in promotion/advertising. I collect Model Retailer and since 1982 there are no more TSR ads in alla the issues I own (the covers are not for free...).

bytingkat wrote:I just happened to find 8 copies of this ad from 1982 in my collection.  I believe they came out of a Boys Life or National Geographic Explorer magazine.  I just remember thinking the ad was cool, so I had friends rip them out of the magazine and give them to me....I was going to use them to put on book covers. Anyway, I am willing to sell them. [ Image ]

Make them into a tablecloth and degassy will buy them!

I shouldn't make fun like that.  I wish you the best.  It is a cool picture.

zhowar wrote:Last October I transcribed the text of the Dungeon Key and Example of Play (partial) using the scan of page 4 posted on Tome of Treasures. I posted this in the Classic Forum on Dragonsfoot:

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25633

grodog, if you can supply the first part of the Example of Play, I'll add it to what I posted over there.

Better than that, I scanned the entire article.  If anyone has a copy of the UK version, it would be interesting to compare the two, to see if any differences exist (beyond the simple dialectic ones).  edit:  I'll have to repost it, looks like the filename's not working right

Note:  the .pdf is 1.7 MB and is formatted in A3 page format, since that was the size required by the scanner to fit the pages into a single sheet (and I wasn't sure that the print would reproduce well if I shrank the pages either).  

Next scanning project:  The Panjiiatic Omnibus samples.

grodog wrote:Better than that, I scanned the entire article.  If anyone has a copy of the UK version, it would be interesting to compare the two, to see if any differences exist (beyond the simple dialectic ones).  edit:  I'll have to repost it, looks like the filename's not working right

I should have time to repost this again soon, sorry for the delay:  things have been a bit hectic lately

Here's a catalog I have from 89

Look at the prices for the RPGA stuff

Hey, I have that catalog too, Malakai.  

Wow... I wish I scooped up those RPGA books back then.  Considering how much of a completist I was, even then, I wonder why I passed on them.

~Kat  ^_^