D&D Holiday Special • Collecting General • The Acaeum

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General

D&D Holiday Special
	Page 1 of 1

Author

Zenopus
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1709
Joined: Sep 03, 2003
Last Visit: Feb 24, 2026
Location: Portown

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:31 pm

Noticed this in Strategic Review #5 (December '75):

'Tis the season to be jolly, and have we got something to make all D&D players jolly: a special holiday deal. For the scant sum of $2 each, we are offering (various DM's) copies of Vols. 1, M&M, and 2, M&T. For a paltry pittance of $4, we will send both l&2, PLUS a set of pullouts, and put them all in a box!! Such a deal . . . how can you go wrong? Here is your chance to replace your ragged and tattered copies of the two most used-and abused-books in D&D, and get new pullouts, and even retire your bedraggled box, or use it to hold the extra odds and ends that accumulate. Who says the Christmas spirit is dead? Here in Lake Geneva, the assorted elves, gnomes and dwarves that comprise TSR wish you happy holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and this is our way of showing it. This special deal is limited; when all the copies on hand are gone, the deal's over. Order from TSR as D&D Holiday Special.

I don't recall discussion of this here before...but I may have missed it. Anybody ever find one these sets that was identifiable as such?

Zenopus
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1709
Joined: Sep 03, 2003
Last Visit: Feb 24, 2026
Location: Portown

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 9:46 am

*bump*

deimos3428
Long-Winded Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 3066
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Last Visit: Apr 30, 2015

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 10:50 am

zhowar1 wrote:Noticed this in Strategic Review #5 (December '75):

"how can you go wrong? Here is your chance to replace your ragged and tattered copies of the two most used-and abused-books in D&D, and get new pullouts, and even retire your bedraggled box"

Wow, ask a silly question, get a silly answer. I feel sorry for the folks that replaced/retired their woodgrains...

Zenopus
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1709
Joined: Sep 03, 2003
Last Visit: Feb 24, 2026
Location: Portown

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:17 pm

*bump* - thought this might be relevant to Paul's research in the Fun Finds thread.

The Collector's Trove
Prolific Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 766
Joined: Feb 05, 2003
Last Visit: Dec 11, 2025

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:28 pm

Howdy,

Zhowar is the man!

Thanks for the bump. Well that makes things interesting... Unfortunately, they could be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th prints for all we know.

Not as much help as I had hoped but still good info to have.

Thanks again Zho!

Futures Bright,

Paul

The Collector's Trove The online auction house that features the collections of game designers and artists.

Zenopus
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1709
Joined: Sep 03, 2003
Last Visit: Feb 24, 2026
Location: Portown

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:05 pm

*bumpity bump*

Tis the season.

Zenopus Archives website & blog: Exploring the Underworld of Holmes Basic D&D. Holmes Ref: Reference Sheets for Holmes Basic Referees, also compatible with OD&D plus the Greyhawk supplement

simrion
Prolific Collector

Posts: 303
Joined: Jun 02, 2006
Last Visit: Aug 02, 2026
Location: Rochester, NY

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:02 am

Makes me rather nostaligic and Sad! I was 8 years old in '75 and had no clue what D&D even was, otherwise I'd have begged, borrowed and stole to make it a really Merry D&D Christmas!

Politician, Tree, Rope...Some Assembly Required

Keith the Thief
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1026
Joined: Jun 05, 2005
Last Visit: Apr 19, 2026
Location: Huntsville, Ala.

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:55 pm

simrion wrote:Makes me rather nostaligic and Sad! I was 8 years old in '75 and had no clue what D&D even was, otherwise I'd have begged, borrowed and stole to make it a really Merry D&D Christmas!

I was 10-years-old, struggling to learn PanzerBlitz, and wondering why my self-esteem was linked to a bunch of "old guys" playing football in Tuscaloosa.

Keith

"Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do."

ashmire13
Long-Winded Collector

Posts: 3549
Joined: Oct 10, 2006
Last Visit: May 16, 2026
Location: Wandering aimlessly on the 8th level down...

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 4:08 pm

I was a mere 4... No idea about anything, let alone D&D :lol:

(probably not much better now tbh)

Was there anything ever discussed about the cheapies given then?

Rolls a '3'

"Did I hit.....?"

copycat
Sage Collector

Posts: 2736
Joined: May 31, 2007
Last Visit: Jul 09, 2026

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:46 pm

Wow, 75, December, I was not born yet... probably.

Those who can, don't. Those who should not, do.

DiscoDadda
Prolific Collector

Posts: 208
Joined: Mar 22, 2011
Last Visit: Jun 15, 2026
Location: Steeler Country

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:17 pm

Keith the Thief wrote:

I was 10-years-old, struggling to learn PanzerBlitz, and wondering why my self-esteem was linked to a bunch of "old guys" playing football in Tuscaloosa.

Keith

I recently picked up something you would probably think is cool...

** expired/removed eBay auction **

Ahhh the joys of recreating ones childhood!

Disco

grodog
Grandstanding Collector

Posts: 5923
Joined: Nov 16, 2002
Last Visit: Jul 31, 2026
Location: Wichita, KS, USA

Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 11:12 pm

Every time I see the title to this thread, I think of the Star Wars Holiday Special (the atrocious holiday cartoon that introduced Boba Fett prior to Empire), and think that a newly-rediscovered D&D cartoon has been unearthed

Allan Grohe (grodog@gmail.com)
Greyhawk, grodog Style

Editor and Project Manager, Black Blade Publishing
https://www.facebook.com/BlackBladePublishing/

Keith the Thief
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1026
Joined: Jun 05, 2005
Last Visit: Apr 19, 2026
Location: Huntsville, Ala.

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 12:11 am

DiscoDadda wrote:

I recently picked up something you would probably think is cool...

** expired/removed eBay auction **

Ahhh the joys of recreating ones childhood!

Disco

Oh, man. Such fond memories,.
I haven't seen those games in years ... or decades :-(

Squad Leader was the one that really intimidated us.
IIRC, the game was set up as a series of "levels" that consisted of scenarios that were increasingly complex. And we couldn't get past 2nd or 3rd.
I'm sure someone here remembers better than I.
I lost many a brain cell tapping kegs in college.

"Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do."

FormCritic
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 6720
Joined: Jul 16, 2005
Last Visit: Sep 30, 2022

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:27 am

I played the hell out of Arab/Israeli Wars....which was sort of a companion to Panzer Blitz and Panzer Leader. Same rules, different era.

I think there's hardly a better way to learn history than gaming it.

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

Keith the Thief
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1026
Joined: Jun 05, 2005
Last Visit: Apr 19, 2026
Location: Huntsville, Ala.

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:24 am

FormCritic wrote:.

I think there's hardly a better way to learn history than gaming it.

^^^Absolutely.

For my own kids, it's given them a "reason" to learn all that boring stuff, like diplomacy, because it might have something to do with the stuff that's really "beast", like battles and wars.

"Never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do."

clangador
Prolific Collector

Posts: 238
Joined: Nov 14, 2004
Last Visit: Apr 08, 2017
Location: Tacoma, WA

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 3:14 am

grodog wrote:Every time I see the title to this thread, I think of the Star Wars Holiday Special (the atrocious holiday cartoon that introduced Boba Fett prior to Empire), and think that a newly-rediscovered D&D cartoon has been unearthed

That was my first thought as well. (I actually saw that horror on TV when it aired.)

~Clangador
---------------

Black Blade Publishing imprint of OSRIC is not only the most definitive printing of OSRIC to date, but also the single greatest resource for old school gamers since the three original hardbacks written by E. Gary Gygax.

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General

Page 1 of 1