If you read this column last month, you must have wondered just what It was all about. To answer that, it will be necessary to first give you the history of the column and then why It was resurrected.

Roughly 6 or 7 years ago, a wargamer by the name of John Rancourt from that down East, Up North, out of the way state of Maine was publishing a newsletter called THE STORMTROOPER. It was one of the publications for Agressor Armies East. Agressor was just one of the many clubs that existed in the early hey days of PBM and Club gaming. In it appeared the first Ft. Zinderneuf column written by an anonymous Lake Genevan. (Is he really anonymous?) This fellow used the pen-name, Beua Geste--what else?

The column poked fun at anything and everybody in wargaming. The great, the near-great, and the column was great because of this, Well, the club Agressor vanished. John soon decided to keep STORMTROOPER alive but under a new name-TACTICS and VARIANTS or T & V. The column still survived and gained some noterity. But again troubles as in 1968 John went off to college and T & V disappeared. (What a shame!)

Zinderneuf disappeared.too but only for a while. When in 1969 the IFW started regularly publishing a new 'zine, Ft. Zinderneuf reappeared. Still written, by the mad and ingenious genius of Lake Geneva, and still poking fun at everything and everybody, in war gaming The whole point behind the, column was to get people tolaugh at themselves, at the groups- they belonged to and. so on. I consider. the column a wonderful success in this respect and I used to look forward to that day, when the magazine, would arrive and could laugh at a new set of puns, digs, etc in Zinderneuf.\\

But again trouble reared it's ugly head. The sad Lake Genevan announced his retirement from wargaming to devote more of his time to his wife and children and.his religion. (Well, nobody's perfect) And it looked like the Fort weas swept away again. So for a few months I started to edit the column.

Mostly it was a rehash of the old zingers that, were 'written' in the past but at least the column, lived. Then the worst thing that could have happened happened. It was pirated away from me by two people who at the time I considered.friends and the column was turned into a personal attack column making all sorts of vindicative attacks And once again, the Fort was swept from the pages of wargaming journals to disappear for a length of time.

But now, the Fort is back (those oldsters to wargaming who remember it from the old days can stop beating their chests and pulling their hair out--it won't help). It will live to poke fun, to satire and to hopefully get people to laugh at themselves. Nobody is too sacred to escape mention in the column.

And now announcing the 5th Annual Napoleon Contest. just tell us why you would liked be named Napoleon in 200.000 words or more. The winners will receive a gross of Teller Mines. Just the thing for livening up your group activities. Send your entries,to the Fort.

You can also buy Teller Mines separately for only 25 francs but you'll have to pick then up at the Fort as the.local authorities now frowns upon then being sent thru the mail. Well, no matter as we now save on the postage...

The Fort van scoured clean by a sandstorm yesterday but the men cheer such things as it changes the landscape...

With the araba receiving arms from the Russians, we are hard pressed but no real problem. The only thing in that we are trying to figure out just what the Araba will do with the snowshoes that we'v e recently sent to them...

Even though Gary Gygax retired some time back, he is more buny than ever before . I for one do not want a retirement like his.

Oliver Wischmeyer from St. Louis stopped at Gary's house before continuing on to Milwaukee to pick up Bill Royer. But it seems .that Ollie picked the wrong time to stop, Yea, yes the very wrong time ... Nice going Ollie!

I have just heard that George Phillies is willing accept Bill Hoyer into the AWA. It eemn that George doesn't care where the money comes from. Ah, George, you have the making of an excellent Legionnaire or maybe a mercenary...