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Gamma World, first edition

Contributed by Florian Hardwig on Oct 16th, 2021. Artwork published in
circa 1978
.
Cover of the 1st edition, 3rd printing from 1981
Source: www.tsrarchive.com TSR Archive. License: All Rights Reserved.

Cover of the 1st edition, 3rd printing from 1981

Shatter is the typeface used for the original logo of Gamma World. This science fantasy role-playing game was designed by James M. Ward and Gary Jaquet, and first published by TSR, Inc. (Tactical Studies Rules) in 1978. Set in the mid-25th century, more than a century after a second nuclear war had destroyed human civilization, it’s notable as the first role-playing game in the post-apocalyptic subgenre. From RPG.net:

Gamma World takes place in the far future after cataclymic wars and destruction. Players play the survivors of this wasteland who fight savages, weird beasts and deranged robots, find and figure out ancient technology, and hopefully help rebuild civilization.
Players can be “pure strain humans” – normal people, or mutant humans, animals, and even plants and synthetic lifeforms – afflicted with wildly unrealistic and sometimes wacky mutations that serve either as cool powers or severely debilitating conditions.

The original Gamma World from 1978 came as a boxed set containing a 56-page rulebook, a map of a devastated North America, and five polyhedral dice. For the second edition from 1983, the logo in Shatter was replaced with something more elaborate, including gradients, a dimensional long shade, and highlight effects. See the Gamma World section at TSR Archives for an overview of the various editions, and read a review of the game by Tim Brannan.

Rule book cover, 1st edition, 2rd printing. The smaller type is set in  Bold.
Source: www.ebay.com gamingmancave. License: All Rights Reserved.

Rule book cover, 1st edition, 2rd printing. The smaller type is set in Times New Roman Bold.

Map from the 1st edition, 3rd printing from 1981
Source: www.tenkarstavern.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Map from the 1st edition, 3rd printing from 1981

Back of the 1st edition, 3rd printing from 1981
Source: www.tsrarchive.com TSR Archive. License: All Rights Reserved.

Back of the 1st edition, 3rd printing from 1981

Ad for Gamma World in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, January 1979. The copy is set in .
Source: twitter.com License: All Rights Reserved.
Ad for Gamma World in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, January 1979. The copy is set in Helvetica.

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  • Shatter
  • Times New Roman
  • Helvetica

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