First edition AD&D was the second Cadillac of RPGs, though it lacked the horse-choking setting info of others.) everything went to the 8 1/2" by 11" box format, usually with two or three booklets in the box, an elaborate map, and counters. In the second generation of TSR-brand RPGs (I am excluding AD&D, which at this point becomes its own special case. It was the Cadillac of RPGs: pretty, pricy, much admired but also considered too setting-rich to be playable by average gamers.)
![learn to play enochian chess learn to play enochian chess](https://i0.wp.com/www.battleofchess.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/how_to_play_chess.jpg)
(As an aside, EPT was the Nobilis of its day. Empire of the Petal Throne came in a somewhat similar format, though as I recall the box was shallower and the cover art was more intricate and colorful. Two examples of this would be the earliest published incarnation of Dungeon! and the chess variant 4th Dimension. During roughly this same period TSR was also putting out boardgames in 8 and half by 11 boxes. A few Barsoomian critters are to be found on the OD&D encounter charts, though they aren't statted out anywhere but in Warriors of Mars. Warriors of Mars rated heroes in levels much like OD&D and even suggested using OD&D for when heroes go adventuring in the pits below Martian cities. Warriors of Mars was a Barsoomian minis game by Tactical Studies Rules that was contemporary to both these games. I've never had an opportunity to read the 1st edition rules, but the '79 second edition that I'm familiar with is still basically a 1:1 wargame with cowboy fluff. 1st edition Boot Hill was a digest-sized booklet. Original D&D was three digest-sized books in a box. I call them wargames because even Dungeons & Dragons was originally sub-titled "Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures". The earliest TSR products were digest-sized wargame products. Maybe Don McKinney or Bruce Gletty could also get in on the action. I think my brother-in-law Jim would give it a try. The game is designed for exactly five players, with four or three being doable. You basically need a large chart, some poker chips, and a few index cards. I think I may have to put together a playable set of Origins of World War I.
![learn to play enochian chess learn to play enochian chess](https://posthuman.tv/gallery_gen/fd13f8e8a4021128fff61bfa9ad3b3b7_740x738.jpg)
This game was written by a young Jim Dunnigan back in the sixties. The other game in Sackson's tome that I find intriguing is a little political simulation called Origins of World War I. Chessgi is basically FIDE chess with shogi-like drop rules. Randolph is also author of two or three 3M bookcase games and a chess variant called chessgi or Mad Mate in its commercial incarnation. Knight Chase also merits a entry in my opnion. First is a little chess variant called Knight Chase, devised by Alex Randolph. Two items in that volume interest me in particular. I also looked at a couple of entries in my copy of Sid Sackson's A Gamut of Games.
![learn to play enochian chess learn to play enochian chess](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CWehdD6WcAENPAn.jpg)
Still, I think the game is almost certainly playable, even if it isn't a particularly good game. The setup is weird and the pawn promotion rules are different from any chess variant I've ever seen. Since Enochian Chess was a divination method as well as a game, I'm not sure how high a priority the designer placed upon gameplay. Even stripped of its occult trappings I think the game merits an entry at, if only as a historical curiosity. Today I dinked around a bit with a book about Enochian Chess, a weird occult chess variant played by members of the original Golden Dawn.