The later history of the Battle of the Five Armies game is tangled up with the removal of Tolkien references from OD&D and Holmes Basic. As Jon notes in his article, it was published in a box similar to Holmes Basic in the same year. The first print of Holmes Basic in mid-77 includes it in the product listing. But by the time of the second printing it is gone from the product listing, along with all of the references to 'hobbits' in the rulebook.
Originally shared by Jon Peterson
A few notes on the battle between rights holders and fans, between hobbies and commercialization, with a dash of corporate intrigue, that plays out as gamers adapt their favorite stories - focused on gaming the Battle of the Five Armies.
Fascinating. I have the TSR zip-lock bag version of the game with the David C. Sutherland cover, but I never knew there had been a boxed version. Wonder if there are any copies of the boxed version left out there?
ReplyDeleteThere have been a few on ebay recently.
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