I'm not sure what you mean here. I had the original books, the supplements, then "Basic D&D" and "Advanced D&D". The rules were the same, just repackaged. The o

I'm not sure what you mean here. I had the original books, the supplements, then "Basic D&D" and "Advanced D&D". The rules were the same, just repackaged. The original rules didn't "recommend" using Chainmail, they assumed you had a copy and knew the rules, which was a source of confusion for newbies. I remember being disappointed with AD&D as it was just the same old shit rules, with Dave Arneson's name cynically removed from the copyright. The next year I discovered Runequest, and later in College, Champions, and never looked back. I think by the 80s D&D was well known, and not just because of the TV show. This was before 2nd edition, which came out in 1989. I vaguely remember looking over 2nd edition, they tweaked a few things, but the core mechanics were the same. 3rd edition did shake things up a bit, and were the first version I considered worth playing.