Lamentations Of The Flame Princess Deluxe Edition

"Horror and Mystery and Dread"
With the Deluxe Edition (2010), the first printing, of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, author James Edward Raggi IV introduced the hobby to his weird fantasy RPG. LotFP is a traditional RPG in the sense that it draws on older editions of The Game for inspiration and makes use of the OGL. It also takes the game way beyond the "normal" into an imaginary space dark and sinister. LotFP is a very personal work, Mr. Raggi's personal take on the hobby which has inspired a number of other very talented people who have subsequently written material for his game system.
If the Box art doesn't grab you in a new and exciting way, this may not be the brand of "old School" game you are looking for. Mr. Raggi makes excellent use of art throughout his publications and this, his first under his own imprint, is no exception. This is a mature game for a mature audience. (I think the same could be said for White Box.) LotFP is not a simulacrum of any previous Edition, but seems closest to B/X if I am forced to compare it. The Elf and Dwarf races are their own class. A sort-of thief exists in the Specialist class, but the Specialist can specialize in most any aspect of skills, not just thievery.
The Deluxe Edition is a complete game in a complete sense...it includes everything needed to play, dice, character sheets, graph paper and a small pencil. LotFP Deluxe Edition takes "pencil & paper" role-playing seriously. That "attention to detail", "complete" approach is evident through-out the product. Mr. Raggi has gone to great pains here to provide a complete system, from the physical components needed for play, to the organization of written materials. Included is a Tutorial Book explaining the basics of role-playing, rules and magic books and a referee book, all chocked full of Mr. Raggi's personal view of the hobby. How well LotFP is received may depend largely on how one responds to this writing style.
Among the soft-cover booklets inside the small box is a starter adventure designed like the teaching modules of old Basic boxed sets. Another of the booklets is a sandbox style campaign world which could support years of play. All the booklets are nicely illustrated in b&w with color covers all in a style suggestive of the "weird" the author is aiming for.
In the box, Mr. Raggi also includes a "Warning" and a "welcome!" message. The warning is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the media hype and subsequent hysteria that marked the early days of our hobby. The welcome is more serious. It states:

This is a traditional tabletop (also sometimes called "pen-and-paper") role-playing game of horror and mystery and dread, wrapped in a facade of exploration and adventure and magic and treasure.

I would argue that is what White Box was to me in the beginning days of my hobby experience. Reading Appendix N (Game Masters Guide), that is what White Box was meant to be. Many of the later products were aimed at a younger audience, then they were the deliberate product of an effort to take the scary,  mature themes away. There is no doubt that one of the reasons this version of The Game appeals to me is it's return to the "horror and mystery and dread" that was so much a part of the White Box.