I'm a tad confused on this, and I assume that since it's by TSR, it's on topic.

I could swear there was a printing of the Gamma World campaign setting dated for 1981, which was (I assume) identical to the original 1978 printing. Both are 1st edition Gamma World.

I remember buying the box set in '81 and playing it, but I'm wondering if that was really a '78 box still on the shelf? It definitely had the cover to the 1st edition set.

Does anyone know if there are any differences between these two printings, ie different art, rules changes, etc and if so, what are they?

Paul wrote:

Other than the logo and product listing inside the back cover, I don't know of any real differences in the earlier sets, other than the very first printing did not have a back cover printed on the box but it was a seperate sheet that fit under the shrinkwrap. The latter is often missing.

correct...

How's it going Paul?

Mike

Howdy Mike,

invincibleoverlord wrote:Paul wrote:

correct...

How's it going Paul?

Great to see you around the boards again! It seems we have so many folks coming and going here it's nice to see people come back every once in a while rather than drop out completely.

I'll send you a PM so we don't derail this thread.


Futures Bright,

Paul

cheers

Howdy,


Ah, yes you are absolutely correct. Just going off of memory - shoulda checked.


Futures Bright,

Paul

The Collector's Trove wrote:

From memory: the 1978 1st print was reprinted with different logos through 1981 possibly as late as 1982.

That makes sense, because the 2nd edition set came out in '83. So basically, each printing has the same art inside, the same layout, etc?

The next edition of the game came out in 1983 along with a slew of new products and accesories. Mostly being adorned by Easley artwork. The look and feel of the game changes at this point too. Some think it is a totally different game. The logo shifts to the horribly ugly awful clunky no class Blume inspired business pap politically correct, block logo. (Blech!)

I like Easley's AD&D art and his Star Frontiers stuff, but not much if any of his Gamma World material. I remember looking through the 2nd edition of GW and thinking it was a totally different game, though I can't even recall the book itself since I never actually owned it.

Other than the logo and product listing inside the back cover, I don't know of any real differences in the earlier sets, other than the very first printing did not have a back cover printed on the box but it was a seperate sheet that fit under the shrinkwrap. The latter is often missing.

Weird! I guess I should shoot for a 2nd or 3rd printing then.

Thanks Paul!  

Red_Bus wrote:

I have a 1st which I got with dice - does anyone if this was normal (or perhaps instead added in by the previous owner) ???

Yup, it came with dice and a crayon to color in the dice too! A white crayon if I remember correctly. Although it is possible to get a set where a previous owner just threw in some later-produced dice and not the originals, I suppose.

Red Dawn wrote:

The 2nd Edition set (1983) actually wasn't so much a departure from the original rules -- they're about 95% compatible -- as a filling-out and clarification, though regrettably they did drop the neato background essay about the terrorist group Apocalypse. The rules were the same, the America map -- though colorized -- was the same.

I've heard that the 2E rules are almost identical, but for me it's also a nostalgia consideration. Some people actually said they prefer the second edition rules overall. Me, I want to stick to the version I had back in high school. Though I wouldn't mind supplementing it with an extra map, ie the colored one.

I think the divergence Collector's Trove speaks of is the 3rd Edition set (1986). The rules were completely changed, centered around the ACT Table adapted from Marvel Super Heroes. The background was completely jettisoned, and introduced a new ongoing campaign in a series of modules (Alpha Factor, etc, etc).

The 3rd edition is that one with the cover with that fangy beast being ridden by a cyborg-like person? Ech. I saw the original art for that on ebay for $18,000.00. Gimme a break!  

I remember paging through that and finding it unplayable, or at least not anything like the game I remembered. I did end up trying the 4th edition set (the one that was just a softcover book), but it didn't feel right either.  

Nostalgia aside, the 1st edition Gamma World rules set was pretty sparse... Just enough background to get started, mostly combat rules just different enough from D&D to be annoying. The mutations were given some nice detail though.

That's something I actually liked about the 1st edition, and we never really had problems with it becoming Monty Haul, so that along with the nostalgia factor make it a must have.

Finally, Bbarsh wrote:

Gamma World has an excellent following on ebay, if you have never checked. All versions sell very well - first prints get very good dollars. The more common 2nd and 3rd prints also fetch $30+ if they are in good shape and complete.

I've had no luck finding a nice condition, complete one on ebay. I don't always look, and tend to overlook them now and then, but it seems that every time I check, the set is ripped up, incomplete, etc.  

red_dawn wrote:Never tried the Alternity or D20 GW. I've heard they scaled back the PC races, mutations, etc. When is less better?  

I have tried both, Alternity was pretty well done it used point buy for stats and there was plenty of high quality material to play a campaign.

D20 Gamma world was fun for a change but they forgot to properly play test it I am sure.  The system is very lopsided towards mutants and robots.  The new nanotechnology is difficult to understand and use.  There are lots of rules, some seem to contradict each other.  Having said that it was fun to play anyway, I converted some original mods to D20 and we had a blast playing it.

Hey BtB,

I have a copy of this as well but just thought it was part of the box set.  In the lower left corner it has the product code 7010 that matches the box set.

Okay,

From Wikipedia:

Unfortunately for TSR, this version of the rules became notorious for the number of editoral mistakes, including cross-references to rules that didn't appear in the boxed set. The errors were serious enough that TSR published a Gamma World Rules Supplement containing the "missing" rules. The Rules Supplement was sent to gamers who requested it by mail, and included in reprintings of the boxed set (Ward and Johnson 1986).