WM One of my neighbors had a hardback book, the rules were about
   as complicated as 1st edition... or maybe the Rules
   Cyclopedia... but had far fewer illustrations and charts than
   most... and the book was about the size of a heavy desk
   dictionary or a book of Wordsworth's Poems... the printing date
   was sometime in the 1960s -- I don't remember the name, but I
   know I have never seen it on a recognized RPG list anywhere,
   probably because it was a book publishing company that put it
   out, and not a game company.
   KU
   * Give me more information and I'll find it. Just a few more
   facts as you remember them. Whether the intent was publicity or
   accidental publicity, the result is the same.* Either way or
   something entirely different is entirely plausible.* PT Barnum
   comes to mind. But yeah - if you remember more, lemme know -
   I'll try to track it down.* If that's all you remember, then
   don't worry about it - not enough there for me to travel down
   the rabbit holes with :P
   WM Oh man... the old man died, and his library was lost in
   estate divisions, afaik.Those older books are hard to track
   down... no cover art, I don't remember an authorial name or
   publishing company... I read the rules, because that was
   intriguing, and the publishing date was a slight apocalyptic
   revelation for me. Notably it wasn't worried about making claims
   to use components from other games... referenced chess and
   playing cards... primarily D6 dice, but others were given an
   honourable mention, and over all... I'd say it read more like a
   treatise on the concept yet-to-be implemented in later systems,
   but was functional in stand alone... even offered numerous
   setting ideas and scenarios. Had an older, informal, writing
   style... but was thicker and more complete than any of the
   pamphlet sized versions that seem to be more common survivors of
   pre-TSR infamy. I am betting it doesn't have an ISBN... most of
   his library didn't.

   Definitely a rare books room hunt.
   1:26 PM
   Come to think of it... I could say, it was almost a rewrite and
   compilation, of everything from Little Wars forward to the date
   of printing. So, might have been one of the Daves, or someone
   associated with them... but, that is a rabbit hole.
   *KU
   *I have discovered what I suspected: Majority of current older
   scans are... meh, educational / scientific.* So backwards we are
   still.Anyway, I found this.
   [1]https://books.google.com/books?id=rZsnlknxjHYC&lpg=PT182&dq=chess%20playing%20cards%20dice&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=chess%20playing%20cards%20dice&f=false
   Which is certainly not your book but intriguing just the same.*
   With that, I shall end my quest.* I gave myself a 1/2 hr to see
   what I could find, and mostly to understand why I couldn't find
   what I suspect I couldn't find, as I'm always looking for flaws
   in systems that appear complete but are far from.
   [2][IMG]
   [3]KENNETH UDUT
   1:49 PM
   Ah the missing clue.* Is this your book?
   [4]http://amzn.com/085344014X

References

   Visible links
   1. https://books.google.com/books?id=rZsnlknxjHYC&lpg=PT182&dq=chess%20playing%20cards%20dice&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=chess%20playing%20cards%20dice&f=false
   2. https://plus.google.com/116220525110856958463
   3. https://plus.google.com/116220525110856958463
   4. http://amzn.com/085344014X