On the first page of the 1981 TSR catalog, you’ll find the D&D Basic and Expert Sets, core role-playing products you’d expect to be front and center. In 1983, the toys come first. It looks like the action figure line wasn’t ready when the catalog went to press, because only the bendable monster and “adventure figures” (PVC) are seen here.
SPI games make an appearance on page seven because TSR acquired SPI’s trademarks in 1982/1983, as I mentioned here. Three of the computer games listed on the facing page are available at the Internet Archive: Dungeon!, Dawn Patrol, and Theseus and the Minotaur—(thanks for the heads up, Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary). I’ve never seen or heard of Ordeal of Magic and Alien Conquest. Does anyone know if they were ever released?
Happy New Year, by the way.
I always remembered there were two more computer games, I don’t think they ever were released.
Thanks for posting this. I’ve spotted his catalog in auction listings a few times over the years, but I’d never seen the interior pages before. The painted minis on the last page are neat.
I think the D&D action figures aren’t in the catalog because they were made by LJN not TSR.
All the figures were made by LJN under license from TSR.