Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-26-2019, 02:02 PM   #1
Stormcrow
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
Default Old GURPS advertisements

I've been curious lately about how GURPS was advertised in its very early days. I remember seeing some ads, I think in Dragon Magazine, where there was a big typeface that said something like "What the &$%%^$ is GURPS?"

Can anyone point me to where I might see any of these advertisements? For the ones in Dragon, I can't find it by searching the Dragon Archive PDFs; it's probably an image. What other magazines and issues were GURPS ads in? (Got a page number?) Or does anyone have the texts from any of them?
Stormcrow is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2019, 02:29 PM   #2
Gigermann
 
Gigermann's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Oklahoma City
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

I had a lot of Car Wars stuff back in the day, and they almost always had some GURPS ads in the magazines and/or inserts in game boxes—actually what got me started with GURPS. I'd suspect other SJG material did likewise.

Last edited by Gigermann; 07-27-2019 at 02:04 PM.
Gigermann is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2019, 11:40 PM   #3
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

IIRC, some of the early copy mentioned Steve Jackson's previous game design credits for The Fantasy Trip - Melee/Wizard/In The Labyrinth, etc. At least for me, that was a selling point.
Pursuivant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2019, 08:24 AM   #4
Stormcrow
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

I had a chance to do some searching, and I found the ad I remembered: Dragon Magazine, Issue 111, page 23. It's a full-page ad with about two-thirds of the page consisting only of the text "WHAT THE @!¢%*# IS GURPS".
Stormcrow is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2019, 09:27 AM   #5
Daigoro
 
Daigoro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gigermann View Post
I had a lot of Car Wars stuff back in the day, and they almost always had some GURPS ads in the magazines and/or inserts in game boxes—actually what got me started with GURPS. I'd suspect other SJG material did likewise.
I still remember the gist of that copy.
Car Wars lets you design a car, with the driver as a component that gives you a bonus. GURPS does this the other way round!
__________________
Collaborative Settings:
Cyberpunk: Duopoly Nation
Space Opera: Behind the King's Eclipse
And heaps of forum collabs, 30+ and counting!
Daigoro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2019, 11:32 AM   #6
ericbsmith
 
ericbsmith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

A while back SJGames posted a GURPS Ad from 1985 on their Facebook page. I then turned it into a GIF banner ad.

https://www.facebook.com/sjgames/pho...type=3&theater

http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/images/ba.../GURPS1985.jpg

http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/images/ba.../GURPS1985.gif

http://gurpsland.no-ip.org/images/ba.../GURPS1986.png
__________________
Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator
GURPSLand
I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and...
Kaboom-baya.

Last edited by ericbsmith; 11-20-2019 at 11:43 AM.
ericbsmith is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2019, 11:40 AM   #7
Hide
 
Hide's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormcrow View Post
I had a chance to do some searching, and I found the ad I remembered: Dragon Magazine, Issue 111, page 23. It's a full-page ad with about two-thirds of the page consisting only of the text "WHAT THE @!¢%*# IS GURPS".
WOW! When I think of this advertisement I can imagine the marketing team highfiving each other. It reminds me of the ads that came with video-games in the 90's.
__________________
- 画龍点睛。Hide。
Hide is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2019, 11:43 AM   #8
mook
 
mook's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Los Angeles
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

Perusing old Dragons, I came across a tagline I'd entirely forgotten (but totally love!):

"GURPS. Not the first RPG. Just the best." :D
__________________
How to Be a GURPS GM, author
Game Geekery, Blog (GURPS combat examples, fillable PDF sheets, rules summaries, campaigns and one-shots, beginners' intro)
GURPS Discord, unofficial hangout and real-time chat
mook is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2019, 06:09 PM   #9
doctorevilbrain
 
Join Date: May 2009
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

What is the guy to the left of the barbarian or caveman?
doctorevilbrain is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2019, 07:31 PM   #10
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default Re: Old GURPS advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by doctorevilbrain View Post
What is the guy to the left of the barbarian or caveman?
Top left, some kind of late-18th, early 19th-century European soldier.

Bottom left, I think a pulp space opera soldier?
awesomenessofme1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.