STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED A REFUND FOR YOUR AH GENERAL SUBSCRIPTION?

Then talk to the man himself, Jack Dott. Reach him at (410) 254-9200 x245 (or x113 for voicemail), or by email at jyd@ix.netcom.com. The former publisher of the AH General has not been too good about providing timely refunds to its former subscribers. But with a bit of persistence and insistence, you will receive a cash refund for unfulfilled issues of your General subscription.

A limited restock of Avalon Hill titles hit distributors several weeks ago. Many previously unavailable titles are again in reasonable if not plentiful supply, and you'll find prices for games such as Acquire Deluxe, Empires in Arms, Maharaja, and others to have dropped significantly. A couple of great, previously out-of-print games, Circus Maximus and War at Sea, are available once again (from assembled parts, presumably). But all is not rosy. Distributors don't know when -- or even if -- further supplies are available. Some believe that Hasbro has sold all remaining stock. Further, there are reports that up to 50% of the games delivered to distributors from Hasbro's stock arrived so severely damaged that they were unsalable.

Supplies of Clash of Arms games are dwindling rapidly. Stock of these games among distributors is now being exhausted among the more popular titles though there is still no stampede. But some popular recent releases such as Close Action, King's War, Kolin and Zorndorf are no longer available and thus are out-of-print (and priced accordingly). Unless of course you want to pay full list price by ordering directly from CofA.

Kinetic Energy surrenders and ceases doing business. KE produced 5 ASL products which proved to be rather popular, including Time On Target magazine and the March Madness '97 and '99 scenario kits. KE decided to go out of business gracefully by simply ceasing activity on 1 June. Another company we will miss. Two things contributed to their decline. First, their last product, the March Madness '99 kit, which includes high quality color printing of the scenario cards, appears to have been underpriced in light of actual costs and demand. More importantly, the attitude of Multi-Man Publishing (AH's successor for all things ASL) toward controlling all things ASL in word and concept just took the heart out of their efforts. For a small publisher, who needs the hassle? Life is simply too short.

Still, Kinetic Energy, RIP.