GW Basic

Basic in the UK
In 1978 Games Workshop (GW) was a relatively new company still run by two of the co-founders, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (third co-founder, John Peake, had left the partnership). Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) published the Original Fantasy Role-playing Game in the United States and had been distributing copies in the United Kingdom through Mr. Livingstone and Mr. Jackson's London based company since 1975. GW opened its first brick and mortar store in 1978 and started printing and marketing several of TSR's popular roleplaying products including the new Basic (Holmes Bluebook). I recently acquired a second hand GW printed copy of the Basic Set (pictured above). The box cover is the same red dragon art as the American TSR  printings, but the GW box is considerably thicker - a little over 2" deep and the cover illustration does not wrap around the box sides. The early TSR lizard man logo in red appears at the bottom left of the cover illustration.

GW is using a fairy logo in 1978 and it is visible at the bottom of the title page to the Basic rulebook along with TSR's wizard logo (which replaced lizard man) and the explanation that the product is published by GW under license from TSR. This copy indicates it is a 2nd Edition printing. The 48 page book seems other wise identical to other copies I have which were printed in the United States. I noted that American spelling persists in the text (armor not armour).

The GW Basic Box Set includes introductory module B1 In Search of the Unknown written by Mike Carr. B1 is the same instructional module that is boxed with later printings of Basic in the United States (early ones having Dungeon Geomorphs Set 1 and Monster & Treasure Assortment Set 1 included). The same GW fairy logo can be readily seen on the bottom of the monochrome module cover. I note that the dungeon maps on the inside of the unattached cover are printed in black not blue ink. American copies use a light blue ink on the maps in an effort to make it more difficult to make electronic copies (I understand this to be true).

An add sheet for White Dwarf magazine is probably original to the UK box set. White Dwarf (WD) is still published by GW as a promotional tool for their current product, but in 1978 WD included a range of articles covering a variety of games from different manufacturers and was arguably the best professionally published hobby magazine of its day.  TSR's The Dragon had the advantage of being "official" and contained the writings of such notables as Gary Gygax himself, but I can recall feeling a unique joy when I acquired a copy of the early WD. The creative writing style, with a slightly "foreign" take on the hobby together with the great art illustrations made each issue a treasured artifact from an exotic world - just the kind of thing to add magic to a hobby steeped in such.