This timeline spans from the early 70s (Mythomagic 1e) to 2011 (DoR).
Mythomagic began in the US, first released as a “boy’s dolls” collection known simply as The Greek Gods. They featured the Twelve Olympians (with Dionysus, not Hestia) and Hades.
This edition of the Hades doll is the one Bianca died for in the Junkyard.
The first edition, not intended to gain much traction, garnered great interest from classics nerds in the US (read: children of Athena teaching/studying Classics at Harvard University). These fans, centered heavily along the East Coast, devised a 1v1 board game loosely based on Zatrikion. Each god was given statblocks and abilities (with an odd favouritism towards Athena…), and some figures (Hestia, the Minotaur, the Furies, &c.) were added.
In the summer of 1980, Mythomagic received its first official release as a (board) game. Statblocks and rules were listed on leaflets, and figurines were the primary play pieces.
2e was a hit despite its severe unbalance, raking in enough commercial success to polish the mechanics, expand the lore, and increase the number of players. 3e is where the board was removed and trading cards were introduced (predating Magic: The Gathering!), taking over for figurines as the play pieces.
While the 3e base game featured some Greek monsters and dieties, the developers used very ambitious—and sometimes appropriative or sexist—expansion packs to keep Mythomagic both detailed and affordable. These expansions included Greek heroes and heroines (in packs titled “Oedipus Rex”, “Medea”, “Prometheus Bound”, &c.), as well as mythological and historical figures from Rome and Egypt.
As a promotional gimmick, 3e introduced mystery packs called “Pandora’s Boxes”, informally shortened to “Pandoi” (singular “Pandos”). Pandoi included a random assortment of limited edition comics, figurines, and swag (Hermes’s Wings attachments to shoes were a major craze). Because it released innumerous Pandoi over the course of a decade, 3e is commonly considered the collector’s edition—hence, Nico’s comment.
4e left behind the cash-grab Pandoi to make a card game that pitted Greeks against Romans. The game was structured to have two teams of two or three, with one game master (Mythomagic called them the “Grey Sister” regardless of gender, which was seen as progressive at the time; some called themselves Grey Masters, instead). 4e was a bit more RP-based, especially as the addition of Grey Sisters created the possibility to use the rule of cool. A few months after 4e’s release, the franchise devised PvP rules.
Overall, 4e was popular, though it was short-lived and scarce remembered. Most players stuck with 3e, even after Pandoi were discontinued.
No one talks about 5e.
6e was a commercial success, though it rode on the fame of previous editions. It didn’t bring the ingenuity shown by its predecessors, and it was heavily sanitized to sell on more markets; it’s notorious for being the only edition that removed incestuous relationships from its lore. It re-focused on PvP but removed RP from its mechanics. 6e sold out upon release, but it was a one-hit wonder; re-releases and expansions didn’t sell.
This edition is the one Nico started out with. Frank began with 5e, but he won’t admit that under threat of arson.
This edition is contemporary to the events of DoR; it marks the return of figurines and expansion packs, though the former is only supplemental to gameplay. 7e is PvP-based and includes an official endorsement of the rule of cool, though players aren’t forced to follow. Though 3e remained relatively popular throughout the decades, 7e is typically where old and new fans converge.
In early 2012, a Graeae Rulebook will release, re-introducing and expanding 4e’s team system—and, to many players’ excitement, the Grey Sister role.
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