At the end of the Nineties, Wizards of the Coast owned all the IP of the fallen TSR. WotC hurried manuscripts into production, and greenlit a number of retro reproductions to fill the gap until their own publishing caught up. (Which would be Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition).
One of these retro productions was licensed by an Italian company called Twenty First Century Games. They created a whole line of miniature editions of classic D&D / AD&D releases. Of these, I have the B/X D&D MINIATURE BOX SETS to profile today. They are very cool, and quite rare today.
They are readable if you have a magnifying glass or amazing vision (which I do not anymore, alas).
Side-by-Side
Miniature Basic Set
The mini B/X Basic rulebook is reproduced from a 1st printing, unlike the book from my personal collection. What’s the difference? Here you go:
Dungeon Module B2: Keep on the Borderlands
Remember that the mini Basic book is a 1st print? Well the module B2 is definitely not a 1st print. See the TSR face logo? That came later than the Wizard logo. The mini B2 is copied from the uncommon 3rd print (Reference: Acaeum). The placement of the TSR address at the bottom of the cover is the key attribute.
Miniature Expert Set
The Expert Rules Book reproduction is also a 1st print (as is my personal regular book). The “2” upper left corner not being in a white circle is your indicator.
Dungeon Module X1: Isle of Dread
The Module X1 copy is an early print, which has the module code error: 9043 on the cover (correct), and 9034 on the title page (incorrect).
See Also:
Over at my classic RPG reference site, I’ve got everything cataloged & photo’d
Here’s a video I made (a long time ago) with the mini Greyhawk set:
I’ve never seen the mini books before, but the two full sized box sets were my first D&D purchases. Little did I know then how many fantastic stories and adventures they would launch!