This was the first D&D product I ever owned. My Grandmother bought it for me for my birthday and I can still remember opening the box and the way the brand new dice smelled like it was yesterday.

First time I saw this, it completely blew my mind! I was 10-11 ... My cousin introduced me to it, during a holiday at some of my family's friends home. These ppl had an actual castle for holiday home, in Brazil! Neither of us could read English, so my cousin improvised based on instructions given by an American neighbor who gave him the box set. I ended up with it, as my cousin couldn't be bothered to try and translate it. I pretty much learned to read English trying to understand how to play this most fascinating concept of gaming. Armed with an English/Portuguese dictionary, I went word for word, until it started to make sense. I then set about introducing all my friends to this genius way of imagining things together. I eventually moved to Australia 4 years later and although I still couldn't "speak" English, my reading and writing skills were enough to get me through high school without too much of a lag. I even introduced the game to some of my Australian friends, DMing (!) in broken English, helping me integrate into a complete different culture way ahead of most of my immigrant peers. D&D is an amazing teaching tool, and one of the most civilized social activities imaginative minds can engage in. 30 years later, with the advent of 5e, those same Australian high school friends found me on FB, forcing me out of D&D retirement. But it all started here, with the Red Box- the lay out, the artwork, the dice... an immensely positive influence in my life. Thanks TSR (and all involved) and also Thanks for the vid, great memories!

This set was my introduction to D&D and RPG’s.

The Mentzer red box was my favorite Christmas gift ever. I got it when I was 10 years old and have loved D&D ever since. It also started my love of fantasy art (especially Larry Elmore's art who is my all-time favorite).

I'd give anything to be 12 years old again hiding under my bed sheets with a flashlight late at night soaking up every bit of these books.

This is it kids, kick back, have a drink and let the Captain take the helm! This is what did it for about 90% of us. 🐉🐲

BECMI and Mystara have become my favorite elements of D&D history over recent years. These videos are fantastic!

I started with the blue cover Basic in 79, and my mom bought me the Erol Otus cover basic in 1981. Now, decades later, I have my own 5E D&D product (Out of the Box Encounters) and I'm still DMing. Loved Basic.

RIP, Aleena!😪 Bargle paid with his life! Elmore is easily my favorite of all the artists TSR used.

I loved the different versions of Basic D&D. They were so much more accessible and fun than AD&D. Of course my friends and I all played the Avanced version of the game, but my heart was always with the Basic version.

God that cover art still gives me chills decades later...

I only got into RPGs as a young man, bought the AD&D Player's Handbook, played some games with an organized university club. The Basic D&D box was only the fourth or fifth game I bought to actually run for players, but even after 35 years the sight of the red box fills me with a good feeling, as it must be for millions who started RPGs with it. TSR dared to sell this in a mass-market way to just anyone, through bookstores. A kid could pick it up at a suburban mall (or one of the other boxed games from TSR with other settings), go through the programmed solo learning exercises, and have a decent chance of learning from all the notes what designing and running RPGs was about, and spread it to their friends. And all this without having to smell the rank body-odour of a grognard who might condescendingly share what they knew about AD&D. Okay, okay, I'm sure soap was known to gamers, but this product "jumped away" from the community somewhat and that was good to ensure the spread of D&D. Also, of course, responding to some concerns of the times, there was no talk of gods and no bare-breasted monster art in this version of D&D. For those who thought the game was too baby-ish, boxed sets beyond Basic and Expert were developed, to give a version that was somewhat less rules-intricate than AD&D but therefore freeing you up for more role-playing, with advanced characters engaging in running settlements, kingdoms, and having to do a little mass-combat to secure their power (the War Machine rules in the Companion set, and the Siege Machine rules in the Master set). So it is an interesting version of D&D in its own right that might strike some as being from an alternative universe. Then again, if you ever saw the hair on A Flock of Seagulls, you'd realize *all* of the 80s was an alternative universe...

I remember begging my uncle for an advance on my allowance the summer of '86 to purchase the red box set. I had played Fighting Fantasy and CYOA for years and was looking for something more challenging; D & D saved me from being out on the streets of a rough hood in urban Chicago...

I started with this set. By far my favorite! The art work black n white and color were perfect. I missi it so...

My intro to rpg's in the late 80's. This was available in Finnish thankfully even though 2nd ed and Dragonlance saga taught me English later on. I'm happy I was given this and the Expert box by my dear friend whom I unfortunately lost contact with since. He was my childhood best friend and first DM.

Still my favorite D&D box of goodness. Thank you, this vid was wonderful to watch. I'm officially nostalgia-triggered for the rest of the day.

Until I learned the D&D Royalties Contract between Dave and Gary, from one of your earlier videos, the split between D&D and AD&D by TSR never made sense to me. Thanks for educating me on TSR's troubled history. Cheers!

So glad to see so much new content! Love the BECMI line, just wish I still had my old sets.

This was my gateway edition. nice review.

Larry Elmore dominated artwork at TSR for years. Where would Dragonlance be without his influence?

Best Xmas gift I ever received as a kid. I used mine until it fell apart but adult me went out and found a replacement set to have on my shelf forever.

I have Frank Mentzer as a friend on Facebook. Seems like a really approachable guy who’s not afraid to talk with fans ...

This is how I was introduced to D&D. My dad had this box set and I’d sit and read it over and over. I was hooked!

This is where I started in D&D. I'll say I really liked the tutorial format. This set the tone for what D&D, and RPGs, in general, were for me.

My first experience with D&D was almost my last. I bought, off an end cap at a book store, the Holmes box, an AD&D module and a copy of Dragon magazine...I was never so confused in my entire life. And the Holmes version was when they were shipping it with chits instead of poly dice and never having seen a set of poly dice in my life it made it virtually impossible to get into. A pure accident introduced me to a guy who would change my life when he said to drop by him and his wife's apt and he brought out 'The Stack'. 30 minutes later I had grokked it and was an AD&D fan for life (-:

I was there at the beginning, in 1977. It was hard to even find dice back then. Bought miniatures from Judges Guild in Decatur, Il a 30 min drive away.

My mother came back from a trip to California some time in the 80s, with this in her baggage as present to us four children (along with some really exotic things which didn't exist in Norway yet, like Nintendo Game & Watch games - would have been worth quite a lot if they were still functional!). My siblings gave up on it (now 30 years later, my sister told me she thought she hadn't figured it out how to be a DM, since that carrion crawler just killed everyone). But I found it after a couple of years, and eventually started a gaming group with some friends. If it hadn't been for what they call hand-holding today, there's no way it would have happened.

This was it for me. Doesn't get any better.

I only played the basic Holmes set for maybe a year back around 1981 when I was in middle school. After that we all moved up to AD&D. I never played the other basic boxed sets but for some reason I bought the Modvay basic and expert rule books which you could buy separately a few years later. I recall having a special 3 ring binder set up for holding them so I could look at them during class so the teacher wouldn’t be aware. I even put school book covers on my hardback AD&D books for the same reason. Covert nerd operations.

This is the very first RPG product I ever bought, along with B4 The Lost City. Been hooked ever since. Up this point I had some of the Fighting Fantasy books but I still really had no idea what I was getting into. My mind was immediately blown by the dice. DM'd a couple buddies through Lost City, probably got half the rules wrong, but what fun was had, and a whole new world was opened up. The box is long lost, but I still have the d20 that was in it. It's almost round from the number of times it was rolled. Great review!

I remember seeing that cover on a shelf in the 80's brings back memories when I was 8yo.

Just as a note, this box set is split into two PDFs, which are $4.99 each. I still reckon it's worth it for people new to old school gaming, since I don't think anyone has created a better tutorial for players or GMs in the time since, but for people who just want to look at the ruleset, $9.99 for the Rules Cyclopedia and $4.99 for Keep on the Borderlands is arguably better value.

Always the best reviews to distract me from my study time.

This is what started it off for me. A perfect introduction to roleplaying and serviceable basic rules that I don't think has really been surpassed.

You knocked this one out of the ball park! Good work.

This was my D&D initiation too and I recall it so fondly! I much prefer old school to "everybody roll up a superhero"

Awesome man, Basic D&D is really one of my favorite versions!

thanks for posting this: this takes me waay back. I had this but was forced to get rid of it along with the expert set due to the satanic panic of the 80's. The death of Aleena really shocked me back then.

This was great...just getting into BECMI...and loving the rule system and all the great options available...as well as the distinct feel that Mystara has with its places and people.

The rust monster! Woo hoo, I remember that guy!

Those 5 box sets were what got me into D&D.

This is the first D&D I ever played in 1983 at age 8. My best friends older brother bought it at Toys'R'Us and needed players. He grabbed us and we played all night. We both went through at least a dozen characters going through the dungeon killing monsters, looting gold and dying by traps. Good times. TSRs sales strategy worked flawlessly as I have been hooked for life. Holy crap I feel old. lol

I had both basic versions (Moldvay and Mentzer). Warm fuzzy memories :) Well played the heck out them and still have them.

Castle Mistimere probably was the best as a DM tutorial, but of course, it's less premade adventure than a full module. It's one real drawback is that it starts PC at the dungeon entrance and doesn't flesh out a home base or source of rumors and roleplaying -- leading at least one young DM to treat this as the norm all through middle school.

This boxed set was the one the got me playing D&D

I got the red box when i was 9 - and have never been able to put down RPGs since... The Adventure was hard. Those ain't yellow plates, they're Yellow Mould! Errk! Dead. But I loved it. Thanks for reviewing this.

The tutorial was in an Illusion Chamber as a training course. The cleric acted being dead. You're welcome. :-)

Seeing those old pencil sketches from the red basic set again gave me...feelin's lol

Great video, good to know. I miss an OSR that teach younger kids how to play We need an RPG that teaches kids how to play period.

I was 12 when I bought this box set. My first ever book. It had dice. Great intro, got me hooked. Thanks for the memories

Really love the content man! You're by far my favorite ttrpg youtuber, it's great to find such a small channel that just explodes with passion, keep it up! I was also wondering what're your thoughts on DCC/MCC, I'd love to see a video on the system sometime in the future but that probably isn't gonna happen anytime soon do to the sheer size of the book lol.

My brothers and I started with Holmes basic but moved on to AD&D soon after (1980).

I remember getting this box set for Christmas when I had just started middle school. Great memories! Unfortunately, I grew up in a very religious area, and all of my friends were taught that D&D was satanic, and that we shouldn't even dabble... MORAL PANIC! Looking back, and comparing it to where video games went, it was so tame...

I cut my teeth with the Moldvay rules, so I agree that they are better for referencing the rules. I ended up buying a copy of the Mentzer rules out of curiosity when it came out... and agree that they are definitely a great way to introduce new players to the game, but I never actually used them in play. Good product, for sure, but it just came a bit "after my time," I guess. heh ;-)

I respectfully disagree with regards to the adventure. . Mistamere teaches a DM about dungeon building by having the first level fleshed out, the second level has a map and suggestions and the third level just has suggested monsters and let's the DM create the map. This teaches more about adventure design then Tower of Zenopus or the Haunted Keep. Many aspiring DM's initially learned their craft by working on this dungeon - with Zenopus and the Keep you play and move on - Mistamere makes you think about dungeon design. This product deserves the highest available score. 🐲

Can you please review the Expert from Mentzer? I really enjoy your reviews

Still have my set from the 80's in fine condition...

Thank you! I’m going back to this , with my kids. 5e not enough danger!

But there are no options for Characters Every BECMI and RC Character Class and Race Class For those new to or getting back into BX Every Rules Cyclopedia and BECMI D&D Class and Race as Class List **Rules Cyclopedia** Cleric Fighter Magic-User Thief Druid Mystic Dwarf Elf Halfling **PC1 Tall Tales of the Wee Folk** Brownie/Redcap Centaur Dryad Faun Hsiao Leprechaun Pixie Pooka Sidhe Sprite Treant Wood Imp Wooddrake **PC2 Top Ballista** Faenare Faenare Windsinger Gnome, Sky Gnome, Earth Gremlin Harpy Nagpa Pegataur Sphinx Tabi **PC3 The Sea Peoples** Nixie Merrow Aquatic Elf Shark-kin Triton Mage Triton Cleric Triton Cleric/Mage Kna Kopru Sea Giant **Dragon Magazine** Elf Cleric Elf Druid Bard N'djatwa Shazak Gurrash Cayma Chameleon Man Aranea Phanaton E'eaar Enduk **Dawn of the Emperors/Arena of Thyatis** Rake Forester **GAZ2: Emirates of Ylaruam** Dervish **GAZ6: Dwarves of Rockhome** Dwarf Cleric **GAZ7: Northern Reaches** Wise Woman Godi (Clerics of Thor, Odin, Loki and Hel) **GAZ10: Orcs of Thar** Goblin Kobold Hogboblin Bugbear Troll Gnoll Orc Ogre **GAZ12: Golden Khan of Ethengar** Horse Warrior Bratak Hakomon Ethengar Shaman **GAZ13: Shadow Elves** Shadow Elf Shaman **GAZ14: Atruaghin Clans** Atruaghin Shamani **Hollow World** Warrior Elf Beastman Brute-Man Hutaakan Krugel Orc Kubbit Malpheggi Lizard Man **HWR2: Kingdom of Nithia** Cleric of Horon Cleric of Pflarr Cleric of Ptahr Cleric of Ranivorus Cleric of Rathanos Cleric of Thanatos Cleric of Isiris Fighter: Archer Fighter: Charioteer Fighter: Heavyman Fighter: Spearman Fighter: Runner Fighter: Khopesh Cleric: War Cleric M-U: Mage-Scribe M-U: Montoth M-U: Templar Thief: Royal Seal-Bearer Thief: Lockmaster Thief: Guardian **HWR3: Milenian Empire** Redhair (Cleric of Halav) Midwife (Cleric of Vanya) Mariner (Cleric of Protius) Holy Defender (Cleric of Petra) Griffon Rider **Wrath of the Immortals** Specialty Priest (for the following Immortals: Al-Kalim Alphaks, Alphatia, Asterius, Atruaghin, Atzanteotl, Benekander, Calitha, Diamond the Star Dragon, Diulanna, Djaea, Eiryndul, Faunus, Frey, Freyja, The Great One, Halav, Hel, Ilsundal, Ixion, Ka, Kagyar, Karaash, Khoronous, Korotiku, Koryis, Loki, Masauwu, Mealiden, Noumena, Nyx, Odin, Opal the Sun Dragon, Orcus, Ordana, Pearl the Moon Dragon, Petra, Pflarr, Protius, Rad, Rafiel, Rathanos, Razud, Talitha, Tarastia, Terra, Thanatos, Thor, Valerias, Vanya, Zirchev) **Champions of Mystara** Elf Shaman Gruugraakh Gnoll **Rage of the Rakasta** Rakasta (only up to level 5) **Ral Partha D&D Basic Heroes Set** Rakasta (only up to level 5) **Races (can use any human class)** **Dragon Magazine** Half-Elf Lupin Rakasta **Additional classes (can only be added to existing class or dual-classed into)** **Rules Cyclopedia** Paladin Avenger Knight Druid **PC1 Tall Tales of the Wee Folk** **PC2 Top Ballista** Creature Wicca Creature Shaman **PC3 The Sea People** Sea Wicca Sea Shaman **PC4: The Night Howlers** Werebat Werebear Wereboar Werefox Wererat Wereseal Wereshark Weretiger Werewolf Devil Swine **Dragon Magazine** Druidic Knight Elf Paladin Elf Druidic Knight **GAZ3: Principalities of Glantri** Elementalist Alchemist Illusionist Necromancer Cryptomancer Witch/Warlock Dracologist **GAZ5: Elves of Alfheim** Elf Wizard Elf Treekeeper (Several Clans are introduced) **GAZ8: The Five Shires** Hin Master **GAZ9: Minrothad Guilds** Sea Prince Sea Elf **GAZ10: Orcs of Thar** Goblinoid Wicca Goblinoid Shaman **GAZ11: Republic of Darokin** Merchant **Hollow World** Shaman Wokani **Human Classes** **Cleric** Druid Dervish Godi (Clerics of Thor, Odin, Loki and Hel) Ethengar Shaman Atruaghin Shamani Redhair (Cleric of Halav) Midwife (Cleric of Vanya) Mariner (Cleric of Protius) Holy Defender (Cleric of Petra) Specialty Priest (for many Immortals) **Fighter** Avenger Druidic Knight Griffon Rider Horse Warrior Paladin **Magic-User** Hakomon Wise Woman **Thief** Bard Bratak Rake **Mystic** **Forester**

Purely for your information Cap: On GrogTalk this week (1st Feb 8am USA Florida time) - Jim Ward is on the show! - sorry to put it here, I didn't know of any other way for you to get this. I thought it would be something you'd be interested in.

I remember being a little kid and being devastated by the death of the cleric lol!

This video made me wonder whatever happened to my Grand Duchy of Karamekos box set. I know I had it, but I haven’t seen it for 20 years.

My starting point.

I still have the basic set I bought in 1985

Your videos are always the highlight of my day!

Amazing Product.

I have the moldvay and Mentzer

I got OSE, but for some reason I want these older books. For me they are sooo alluring! I want them sooo bad. I was a kid in the 90's, but didn't play d&d. Now I want to, but don't really care for the newer editions.

My gateway into RPG's....that damn Rust Monster though...@#$&!!!!!

My first run through the red box I rolled an 18 and cut Bargle down. Bargle is ghoul food in my world.

Is there a osr that's compatible with second edition? I started by using the red box.....God I miss those days. Why hasn't anyone really reviewed and discussed the orcus trilogy on YT? I loved running those!

My oldest sister introduced me to D&D with this edition. The rest is, as they say, history. Also, screw Bargle. He's a jerk.

6:35 Ah-heh, nice, I see the reference there.

I rewatched this video recently because I am planning to run a Mentzer one shot and I think I discovered an error. At 11:15 You mention that the artwork from the red box was reused for the 4th edition box set in 2014 but that 4e box set actually came out in 2010.

Bargle! Damn you! We killed you twice already! How’re you alive again!? Lol 😂

Love this video and the entire series concerning the basic versions. My kids are going to be killing Bargle soon. I grew up with Holmes and missed this.

I check drive thru rpg everyday in hopes they have a print on demand of this set

a bit of a curious thing about the BECMI series, is that it also was a catalyst to another major thing. the BECMI series was released worldwide, right? Well, a group in Japan of all places (where Call of Cthulhu, and Battletech were the current big names for TRPGs there), and it sold... ...not quite well. prolly due to the relatively absurd price of the thing and the imports of the dice. Yet one group, who was doing translations of D&D, decided something that probably has yet to be done before. They transcribed their Basic D&D sessions and submitted them to a gaming magazine. The group? Group SNE the magazine? Comptiq the name of these campaigns? The Record of Lodoss War To say it was a great boost to the then very small popularity of D&D in Japan was maybe a smidge of an understatement. The Replays were so popular, that it ended up getting the replays spun off into Light Novels (a type of novel that's somewhat specific to Japan) And then those novels sold so much that they were used to fund a 13-episode Original Video Animation series (or "OVA"). Then there was a TV Anime (or cartoon with a certain aesthetic) and after, a Movie based on the fourth campaign. Yet, As much as Lodoss was popular, things wern't to last... ...Group SNE wanted to pitch the idea of a Lodoss sourcebook to TSR. This was TSR after 1985 so well... ...that offer was Rejected. Along with that, no further D&D products would be Localized for the Japanese audiences. So Group SNE, in their infinite Wisdom, decded to make their own Roleplaying System, called the "Record of Lodoss War Companion RPG." While it sold well, Group SNE wanted to go "Bigger", to expand the world beyond Lodoss, to the rest of the world of Forcelia. Thus, in 1988, it was made. "Sword World RPG" Officially, the first ever Retroclone of D&D, and was big enough that it kept the #1 spot of Japan's original TRPG from henceforth (the actual top TRPG in japan is still Call of Cthulhu.) A group has been working on Translating the "Complete Edition" of the core rulebook, with it being done, very VERY shortly. Mayhaps a Retro Review on Sword World RPG in the near future? Then again, I'm commenting on a 4+ year old video, so, I dunno if it's that relevant.

11:11 I think with the old red book art they were going for a medieval kind of look and feel, as if trying to emulate one of the tapestries or art from Europe's middle ages. But other art for other games coming out at the time was probably just providing competition. If you look at the art for Fying Buffalos T&T or one of the Dwarfstar Publications, and others, it wasn't the simple hand sketches that RPGs had used in previous years. That meant upscaling the production values.

im old enough to have bought this when it was new , and then discover other things give it away and , at then at age 46 buy it again on amazon for 400% ! god bless capitalism

I wish Print on Demand was available for the BECMI books

I miss the old artwork of these tomes found herein.

Also: following your links, I checked out Bruce Heard's blog, and thereby discovered "Calidar," which looks amazing! Have you made any videos about that setting? Do you plan to? Do you have advice on what "system" to run it with? ......I'm sorry, I may be a little excited by this discovery :)

I always preferred Moldvay, 1981.

Cap, any chance of doing videos of the Expert, Companion and Masters sets individually like you did for the Basic set?

This set is THE Dungeons & Dragons.

Was the solo adventure map on page 22 ever officially expanded into a full game?

This box set marked the beginning of my curse as a "forever DM/GM".

Nice! :) awesome information like always.

Ugh, the audio sounds like it was recorded on a VHS tape, then left in a closet for thirty years, and now is being played into a mobile phone.

An 18? The most iconic box set of D and D, is only an 18? Fair judgement, but it does make me wonder more than anything, what would be a 20?

Great flick as always capt. But is it just me or is the audio a little off?

Can you offer me an opinion? I'm old school first edition D&D and my daughter recently got into the game. I'm running a campaign but when my daughter tries to Google some things about the game it always brings up the 5e Edition. Is there some way I can convert the first edition into something that can be used with 5e or am I going to have to start everything from scratch?

Hey, @captcorajus, just a head's up. You may want to fix your video title typo so you make it in the searches. Good video, though!

Your audio sounds worse this time bud. Really tinny and echoey

Do the black box.

📝