Wizards of the Coast will be releasing yet another premium version of a former Dungeons & Dragons product, a pricey version of the very first release of the game, Original Dungeons & Dragons RPG.
The original game often referred to as “the white box” was released back in 1974. It came in a very simple cardboard white box and included three pamphlets. It required ownership of the game Chainmail, a medieval miniatures wargame, co-created by Dungeons & Dragons creator, the late great Gary Gygax.
I never owned this version of D&D, but I remember it. The first time I saw it was in a toy store in Lancaster, California, called Jack’s Toys. It may have been called Uncle Jack’s Toys, but that seems too creepy to be real. Whatever the name, it had the game, and I remember looking at it.
This new version of the game will come in a fancy wooden box and instead of containing three pamphlets, it will come with four additional supplement pamphlets, seven in total. The covers of each pamphlet will feature new artwork, but the interiors will be as they were in the 70’s.
The set comes out November 19, 2013, and has an MSRP of $149.99.
I can’t imagine a lot of people buying this. It’s not only ridiculously expensive, it is almost nothing like the original product. What is with the fancy wooden box? I’m not sure how much nostalgia this version will bring. If they had only re-released the original white box with the three original pamphlets, all for a more realistic price, then I could see people picking this up.