Masterful rendering of the original content. Rewritten for clarity, brevity, and playability. For this to be a free PDF as well makes it tops in my book. Comparing this OSR retro-clone to others that are available at all price points is simple – get this product! You will not be disappointed. Considering you could buy into other retro-clones at the $50 mark or greater, why would you with such terrific content as this for free here and at-cost on other platforms for POD?

Thank you so much. At almost 400 pages you have condensed the original 900 pages of gaming content to the most critical concepts, components, and explanatory material to be able to re-create, for free, that which was originally covered in three times as many books. Your choice to present material in only two columns per page is much better than the original three columns per page. Your editing and formatting decisions aid the gamer to better follow the flow that you present. The public domain artwork that you selected is exquisite. Ample table of contents and index for cross referencing, not to mention the fully searchable pdf. A faithful reproduction of the original, and where you do make editorial/game designer decisions where the original was less than clear, you expressly lined out the method you used to derive the conclusions you made. Masterfully done!

Wow, this is so much better than the original. I can remember being extremely intimidated moving from BX to 1e as a teen. I think that trauma has stuck with me for a lot of years and I purposefully skipped most of 1e and 2e when I returned to gaming because of it. I really enjoyed 3e and spent most of my time there, but you’ve given me encouragement to return to my roots and give a 1e clone a try. Kudos on the streamlined content, tables, and updated formatting. I appreciate the explanatory notes, intro, and really dig the gems tucked away in the afterward, too. Super thorough table of contents, spell, and monster lists. The compiled tables in the back will really help keep me from flipping all over during play, too. I may want to supplement with some stuff from the original line’s supplementary books someday, but for now, you’ve helped me overcome a teenage trepidation and I’m thankful for that! Game on! You rock man!

What an exquisite document. Congratulations on being in print/pdf for 10 years and having accomplished so much in the decade that has elapsed. I can’t begin to share how immensely helpful this book has come to be for me. I never had access to the original growing up as a kid and this TOME (all 400+ glorious pages of it) has bridged a gap in my gaming knowledge and understanding of this game (nay life experience) that has been a part of my being for going on 30+ years now. I only hope these words do your work a small service. The layout is impeccable, well designed, carefully laid out, and presented in such a fashion as to highlight the content and make it both more enjoyable and more accessible to the reader. The liberal use of examples and developer commentary sprinkled throughout adds immensely to the readers understanding of how/why you designed this game as you did, but also provides contextual clues to develop a greater understanding of in-game strategies, concepts, and stratagems. A fantastic, thorough table of contents and index allow numerous ways to locate frequently used information (not to mention being a fully searchable pdf). Numerous charts and tables add value to help understand key concepts and ideas. My only criticism, and I hate to share this at the end, hoping it won't overly detract from the awesomeness of your work, is that it could have only benefited from more pictures (even if they did belong to the public domain). It is entirely clear you spent every bit of 9 months and 500 hours creating this labor of love. Thank you for your dedication, perseverance, and hard work, in your willingness to sacrifice to offer the gaming community this hefty contribution and here is to many successes I hope you have in your game design future!

These three core documents do a wonderful job emulating the original. I like the fact the booklets are compact in size, easy to store, transport, print, and present during your own games, much as the originals were. TOCs are present, well thought out, and serve their purpose. However, indexes are missing and should be included in subsequent offerings. PDFs are fully searchable with well laid out bookmarks, but that would require a computer, tablet, or phone during play (something which not every old school gamer desires). Subject matter is well laid out in each booklet, flows logically, and guides the reader through ample play examples. Excellent sections on underworld, seafaring, wilderness, and aerial combat. I especially appreciated the sample dungeon walkthrough for subsequent jolt of referee inspiration. Ample monsters and treasure to keep an adventuring group going for some time. Perfect for introducing newbies to OSR game play. Written in an informative, yet easy going style suitable for many age groups. Great job, please keep them coming!

Better cover art than the original it strives to emulate. Still has some errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout (much like this review). Suffers from not having an index. Decisions in formatting makes it difficult to determine when you have left one section of book/pdf and moved to the next. Fantastic public domain art throughout. Rules are much clearer and succinct than the original it’s based on. Section on campaigns and the art of the referee aren’t fleshed out as well as the original. Better/clearer tables and charts than the original its based on. Could have benefitted from example dungeon with maps and a walkthrough for new referees. Great that a blank character sheet was added for immediate use. Worth the buy. Will investigate the Journeymanne Rules based on this purchase.