Funny story. In my previous post I went on about a number of old RPGs I recently purchased on eBay. One of those was 1989's Batman Role-Playing Game. I'd seen copies of this game before, I knew what it looked like. The copy I ordered looked near mint, beautiful! Then the game arrived. Something seemed off...

It looks damned good, but... are those staples? This game is too big for that!

Uh oh, the Joker is laughing at me! Also... on the right hand side, is that the spine I'm seeing?

That's right, it's 1989 and Micheal Keaton of "Mr. Mom" fame is starring in a new Batman movie! Are you, games retailer, ready to buy copies to sate the hoards of new roleplayers that are sure to come in the wake of this movie? Mayfair Games is going all out with promotions and cardboard stands and all the rest! Well, it turns out that what I accidentally purchased was an 8 page promotional booklet hawking the Batman Role-Playing Game. Yes, the promo booklet uses the same product code and same exact front and back covers as the actual game. It starts with a pitch to retailers, then prints a bit of an intro to roleplaying, then the very beginning of the rules as a sample. The eBay listing didn't really clue me in to any of this, but if I'd known such a promo booklet existed there is a slim chance I may have noticed that the staples were visible in the front cover shot of the listing, tipping me off that it wasn't the full game.

An interesting thing about this is that I'm not sure I actually feel "ripped off". I mean, I immediately put in for another Batman Role-Playing Game (and it arrived and is totally as expected!), but... this is actually a weird artifact in basically mint condition from 1988/89, and how many retailers kept these on hand and in perfect condition? It's definitely more rare than the actual game. Also... something about that first page, "Cash in on the fever!", and the Joker cackling on the back cover. It's like... joke's on me, sucker! It's thematically appropriate. Yeah, you got me Joker.

I think I'll toss it in my DC Heroes 2nd Edition box, and maybe sharpen my eyes for the next time schemes are afoot.

P.S. Oh... and if you want to see this 8 page promo booklet next to the real deal RPG, here you go... (real deal on the left, promo on the right).

Good times!