B/X Covers

[ratikranger]

I am almost certain that somebody else must have noticed this before: Some B/X covers have the black "1" or "2" in the top left corner in a white circle, others do not have said circle (so it's just "black on red" for Basic and "black on blue" for Expert). It seems that on the inside all of these booklets have the same "First Printing - January, 1981" notation. Does anyone know what happened here? Was it just a "quick fix" to make the numbers more easily readable on the cover? Are those things indeed identical on the inside? They sure seem to be as far as I can tell.

Here's a typical example of what I mean: Basic with white circle, Expert without. (Kudos to Oubliette Magazine for the shot.)

[Zenopus]

RR, according to the Acaeum page on the Expert Set, the version without the white circle is the 1st printing, and the version with the white circle is a later printing. From what I've seen the later printing with the white circle is much more common. I agree they probably just changed it to make it more readable.

Last year I compared the dndclassics pdf version of the Expert Set (which lacks the circle) with my print copy (which has the white circle), and I didn't note any differences other than my print copy lacking Gygax and Arneson's name on it. See this post on my blog. This a quick comparison so it's possibly I missed a small change here or there. I haven't compared the Basic Set versions, either.

[Malchor]

Jun 1, 2014 16:23:10 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

Last year I compared the dndclassics pdf version of the Expert Set (which lacks the circle) with my print copy (which has the white circle), and I didn't note any differences other than my print copy lacking Gygax and Arneson's name on it. See this post on my blog. This a quick comparison so it's possibly I missed a small change here or there. I haven't compared the Basic Set versions, either.

There is no Gygax and Arneson credit on the title page? On the Expert or Basic book? What year, printing?

I peaked at the title page of my Expert book and both Gygax and Arneson are there.

[strangebrew]

Dec 3, 2018 14:14:12 GMT -6 Malchor said:

Jun 1, 2014 16:23:10 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

Last year I compared the dndclassics pdf version of the Expert Set (which lacks the circle) with my print copy (which has the white circle), and I didn't note any differences other than my print copy lacking Gygax and Arneson's name on it. See this post on my blog. This a quick comparison so it's possibly I missed a small change here or there. I haven't compared the Basic Set versions, either.

There is no Gygax and Arneson credit on the title page? On the Expert or Basic book? What year, printing?

I peaked at the title page of my Expert book and both Gygax and Arneson are there.

My reading copies of Basic and Expert (as opposed to the nicer box set copies in the closet) both have numbers in white circles, and have a title page that says "First Printing 1981" and no Gygax/Arneson reference. I actually just noticed this the other day, because there's a big list of thank yous but no mention of the two original authors.

[Zenopus]

Dec 3, 2018 14:14:12 GMT -6 Malchor said:

Jun 1, 2014 16:23:10 GMT -6 Zenopus said:

Last year I compared the dndclassics pdf version of the Expert Set (which lacks the circle) with my print copy (which has the white circle), and I didn't note any differences other than my print copy lacking Gygax and Arneson's name on it. See this post on my blog. This a quick comparison so it's possibly I missed a small change here or there. I haven't compared the Basic Set versions, either.

There is no Gygax and Arneson credit on the title page? On the Expert or Basic book? What year, printing?

I peaked at the title page of my Expert book and both Gygax and Arneson are there.

Correct, there is no Gygax/Arneson credit on the title page of the Expert book. This book otherwise conforms with the details of the book in the "Second" Printing, per the Acaeum's numbering
(But note that the Acaeum doesn't say anything about the Gygax/Arneson credits for any of the printings)

64-page rulebook, 3-hole-punched, with a black number "2" surrounded by a white circle in the upper left. Copyright info has been corrected to 1981, and Steve Marsh has been added as co-editor. Table of contents, index, and glossary are in black ink

acaeum.com/ddindexes/setpages/expert.html

It's not the one with the "Third" printing, because that one has blue ink on the title page.

Note that the Acaeum doesn't track separate printings for the rulebooks, only for the boxed sets as a whole. So the same printing of a boxed set per their system could have different versions of the rulebook in it.

I think I have another Expert rulebook around here somewhere, but not sure where it is at the minute.

[Zenopus]

I also have two hardcopies of the Basic rulebook.

One is missing the credits, and does not have a Product Number (ending "TSR0600") centered on the back cover beneath the ISBN

This appears to otherwise conform with the noted details for the Tenth printing:

64-page rulebook: White circle around the "1" in the upper left, ISBN on back cover bottom center, and the index page is in blue ink

One has the credits, and has a Product Number (ending "TSR0600") centered on the back cover beneath the ISBN

This appears to otherwise conform with the noted details for the Eleventh printing:

64-page rulebook: White circle around the "1" in the upper left, ISBN and Product Number on back cover bottom center, and the index page is in blue or black ink (both have been reported)

acaeum.com/ddindexes/setpages/basic.html

Note that many of the printings say "First Printing - January, 1981" despite the noted changes between them.

Don't ask me to explain this.

[Malchor]

I have two copies of Basic and two of Expert.

One copy of Basic is in a box and too hard to reach right not, but the loose on has the credit. Looks like I have one of each for Expert (both with white circles)—just never noticed the one without the credit.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Surprised Acaeum does not note the presence or absence of the Gygax & Arneson credits. Perhaps something to do with the lawsuits.

I can give details on the printing, but not until tomorrow evening if anyone cares.

[ronald]

I have white circles and all black ink for both Basic and Expert (×2), with no mention of Gary or Dave. 
I still have the boxes, but my Basic set box bottom must have got switched with one of my buddies' Expert sets; I have one each with the red and black bordered "STOP! READ THIS..." warnings.
I no longer have a BBB (Basic Box Bottom)!
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