Yesterday I noticed an advertisement on Facebook for a new Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) product; the Starter Set with updated rules. Normally I would not have given this a second look but the red box instantly took me back to a simpler time; my Junior High years....Ryan "Ol River" introduced me to D&D and a few of our friends (Bubba and Sinnbadd) at his house, using the classic starter set in a red box. Until this point I had never heard of role-playing games and was excited to give it a try. We spent many days guiding our characters through dungeons, fighting horrible creatures, gaining power and wealth. This was my first taste of "real gaming", other than Monopoly, Sorry and other family style games;
I have been hooked ever since.
After reading the advertisement I had mixed feelings. As I stated previously, seeing this updated version reminded me of my childhood and all the good times I had with my friends then. On the other hand it seems like a cheap way for Wizards of the Coast to suck role-players into the 4th edition rules. Then again, the original starter set was how I got my start into role-playing games and other non-traditional games so it probably isn't all bad.
Overall I think this is a great marketing strategy for Wizards of the Coast. The starter set will most likely bring in new gamers as well as "old school" gamers wanting to relive the glory days. I am also considering playing D&D with my daughter and this would be a perfect way to get her into the game.
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/redbox.aspx
The original Dice from:
Basic Box Set circa 1983 (the Red one)
&
The Advanced Set circa 1983 (the Blue one)
ah, yes. So long ago. I still have the dice from that game... Since I'm guessing that we were about 13, and i had the game for a year before we played it... that makes those dice 25 years old? They still roll higher than not.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to pick this up. I've seen it at B&N a couple of times...
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction to this promotion. Seems like toy makers have been doing something similar for some time now. Seems us parents are a sucker for buying the things we loved or just always wanted for our kids. Of course I still have a copy or 2 of the old red box and my eldest has rolled up a character. I will just run that for her till she is older and wants to get into a current system.
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