The Big News from Origins ‘98 is...well, no news at all. Unlike prior years, few of the distributors I deal with attended (or they sent someone who knows little about wargaming). So there has been absolutely no feedback from this source. Nor have any of you, my customers, who I have spoken to or corresponded with since the 4th of July weekend, mentioned attending Origins. So no word there, too. And the bubble of game releases that coincides with Origins still hasn't surfaced. Anticipated games such as Ava-lanche's Great War At Sea: Northern Waters was due out for Origins (per one of you) yet has not surfaced since. Nothing, just resounding silence.

Wargame manufacturers often take a few advanced copies to a show like Origins, sell all they have, then go home to sleep & make more. Often, it takes a few weeks for the "real" shipment to head for distributors. So this jury is still out on what's happened here. But see the next section for a more positive spin on this. If you attended Origins, or will attend GenCon or AvalonCon, please let me know your experiences.

New Games Releases

You can always view the most recent listing of New Game Releases at http://www.finegames.com/text/new_rel2.txt. 49 new items appeared in the 7 weeks since the beginning of June. Of these, only a few notable releases arrived since the last newsletter. ASL'ers will have to make do with Rout Pak III, another 8-scenario kit. For those who have been enjoying Columbia's Victory, they've released the first set of add-on map boards. These add new terrain type in geomorphic boards..

Battlemist looks like an interesting game of fantasy empire building among 2-6 races/players using hex tiles to form the terrain & board. $35, in stock. Armada, a kit of plastic miniature space ships for Twilight Imperium finally, finally appeared.

Sim Workshop released Cuba Libre!, a grand tactical game of the Bay of Pigs, as well as a 2nd edition of Rommel at the Meuse. Wizards of the Coast produced 3 very simple family card games. Guillotine for $8, and Earthquake and Instinct for $6 each, all in stock. Lastly, the editor's choice among this haphazard group. Maul of America is a simple game for up to 6 players which follows the plot line of George Romero's horror classic, Dawn of the Dead. Up to 5 players take a plastic player figure trying to gather resources in a shopping mall; another player takes 25 zombie figures trying to eat the 5 human players. Sound fun? Well, I guess it really helps to have seen the movie...