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THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN

FIRST EDITIONS

1963		ACE, pb, F-251, Dec 1963, 191pp, $0.40, (Jack Gaughan)
1969		Sphere, pb, 2957-2, May 1969, 157pp, 5/- (?)

HISTORY

    With a bundle of short stories completed by the Spring of 1963 Dick again turned to the novel, writing what would become in many reader’s eyes his follow-up to the fame of the Hugo Award: THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN.

    This novel was written, most likely, in May of 1963 and the manuscript reached the Agency on Jun 4, 1963. The story was published by Ace Books as a full-size paperback novel on Dec 12, 1963. This publishing date thus preceding that of the paperback edition of THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE in Jan 1964.

    It is unfortunate that there are so few public records on THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN; we have from Dick himself only a 1965 letter to Scott Meredith in which PKD complains about Don Wollheim and the expansion of THE UNTELEPORTED MAN. He mentions THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN in passing:

    And the "far-out" elements which I added {to THE UNTELEPORTED MAN}, which were not there in the original, i.e., all which Don objects to, were necessary if the piece became a true novel and not merely a longer story. There is a real irony here, too, because a much better case could be made against my additions than the one Don chose to make; fundamentally, the additions follow the lines laid down in my Ace novel THE GAME PLAYERS OF TITAN, which Don nominated for the Hugo….

    Alas, that’s all we have. No one seems to have commented on THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN. And I cannot confirm that Don Wollheim nominated the novel for the Hugo.

    The novel itself is set on Earth after a war with the Titanian ‘Vugs’. A greatly reduced population plays formalized Monopoly-like territorial games designed to increase the population. But when the Vugs horn in on the action and a group of Terrans find themselves playing for ultimate survival, things get interesting. A bit confusing, perhaps, but THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN is worth ô ô ô

OTHER EDITIONS             For Cover Pix Click Here: 

• ACE, pb, 27310, 1972, ?, $0.75 (Harry Bennett)
• Sphere, pb, 2959-9, Mar 1973, 157pp, 30p (?)
• White Lion, hb, 577-3, Jun 1974, 188pp, L1.80 (?) {Levack: "Bound in dark blue paper boards with gold lettering stamped on the spine. States 'White Lion edition, 1974' on copyright page and otherwise makes no indication of edition or printing. Name on spine is 'R.A.Dick' (the author of THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR). No date on the title page.}
• Sphere, pb, 2961-0, Jun 1977, ?, 65p (?)
• Sphere, pb, 2961-0, Jul 1978, ?, ?, (?)
• Gregg Press, hb, 2482-3, Apr 1979, 191pp, $13.95 (?) {GC: [+K402]}
• Grafton, pb, 20971-9, Feb 1991 223pp, L3.50 (Chris Moore) 0-586-20971-9
• Vintage, tp, 74065-1, Jul 1992, 215pp, $10.00 (?) 0-586-20971-9
• Voyager, pb, ?, 1996, ?, ? (?)

FOREIGN EDITIONS

• 		Nebula, pb, 106, 1965, ?, ?, (?) {tr. into Spanish by Francisco Carzoria Olmo as TORNEO MORTAL}{According to Levack this is the 2nd printing of this title (18b)}
  		Edhasa, pb, Classicos Nebulae, ????, 272pp, ?, ? (?) {tr. into Spanish as LOS JUGADORES DE TITAN} ISBN: 84-350-2206-4

• La Tribuna, ?, Galassia  73, 1967, 254pp, Lit 300, (Paolo Pallottino)  {tr. into Italian by Lucio Morelli as I GIOCATORI DI TITANO}

• 		Meulenhof, pb, 0267-0, 1974, 188pp, ?, (?) {tr. into Dutch by by David Markus as DE SPELERS VAN TITAN}
  		Le Masque SF, pb, 74, 1978 252pp, ?, (?) {tr. into French by Maxime Barrieri as LES JOUERS DE TITAN} ISBN: 2-7024-0730-7 or 2-7024-0506-7

•  
• Goldmann, pb, 23272, 1978, ?, DM 4.80 (?) {tr. into German by Tony Westermyr as DAS GLOBUS-SPIEL}
• Nord, pb, ?, 1978, 224pp, Lit 12000 (?) {tr. into Italian by Lucia Morelli and Sandro Pergameno as GIOCATORI DI TITANO}
• Editions Nord, ?, SFNA 20, 1980, 212pp, Lit 2500 (Thole) {tr. into Italian by Lucia Morelli as I GIOCATORI DI TITANO}

• 		Presses de la Cite, pb, 24, 1985, ?, ? (?) }tr. into French as LES JOUERS DE TITAN} ISBN: 2-258-01533-2.  "Superlights Futurama"
  		Presses Poche, pb, 5363, 1990, ?, ? (?) {tr. into French as LES JOUERS DE TITAN} ISBN: 2-266-03381-6
  		Khaytekh, pb, ?, 1990, 192pp, ? (?) {tr. into Russian as IGROKI S TITANA}
  		Tokyo Sogensha, pb, 696 04 600, 1990, ?, (?) {Japanese as}

•  
• Presses de la Cite, ?, ?, 1992, ?, ? (?) {tr. into French in Omnibus SUBSTANCE REVE} ISBN: 2-258-03696-8
• Rossiyskiy Zapad, hb, ?, 1993, 435pp, ?, ? (?) {tr. into Russian as BIBEL 'NYI TUPIK in Omnibus edition containing THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN, DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? and THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE}

• 		A.S.K, hb, ?, 1993, 493pp, ? (?) {tr. into Russian as PREDPOSLEDNYAYA in Omnibus edition of THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN and THE ZAP GUN}
  		Zysk i S-ka -- Poznan, ?, ?,  2000, ?, ? (?) {tr. into Polish by Teresa Tyszowiecka-Tarkowska as TYTANSCY GRACZE}
  		Fanucci, pb, ?, ????, ?, ? (?) {tr. into Italian as  I GIOCATORI DI TITANO}

NOTES

PKDS-2 10:

THE GAME PLAYERS OF TITAN was published Dec 12, 1963

SL-38 19: PKD to Scott Meredith, May 22, 1965. Copy to Don Wollheim, Ace Books Inc.

Collector's Notes

Phildickian: THE GAME PLAYERS OF TITAN, Ace, pb, F251, 1963. VG+ $25

Phildickian: THE GAME PLAYERS OF TITAN, Ace, pb, 27310, 1972. VG+ $10

Phildickian: THE GAME PLAYERS OF TITAN, Vintage, tp, 1991. FINE $10

Rudy's Books: THE GAME PLAYERS OF TITAN, Ace, pb, F251, 1963. VG-F $25

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