Connoisseurs of the BROG ocuvre are aware of several syndrome that affect, and often afflict, our beloved hobby. Lately, we've bee Being some startling evidence of these. The Custer-Rorke Syndrome is probably the most benevolent of the bunch, applying to those areas of historical interest that may be fun to read about, and discuss, but have no business being any where near a gaming board. Lately, lesions indicating a long-simmering case of CRS have surfaced on the body politic. One of them White Ensign, Rising Sun, is reviewed herein. Why would anyone want to play a "game" covering the Japanese raid on Ceylon, where one side is so ill-suited to the venture that its best plan is avoiding play? Recent ads for Battle of the Bayous bring back dreary memories of every other attempt to "game" New Orleans, 1815. So, althoug his one is "graced" by the graphic prowess of ex-FGA 3-Dice Monte Man, Terry Shrum. Even Rob Markham has succumbed, spending an inordinate, and self-enthusiastic, time working on a game on the naval battle of Salamis (Greece, not Cyprus). True, a good designer, great moment in history, and a powerful story. But also a monumentally boring game subject, devoid of maneuver or excitement other than in praying the gods will favor your dice. The Maypo Syndrome crowd, the ones who want what they wan when they want it ... and now!!! ... was, itself, taken aback by the internet fellow who - and one hopes he simply worded this poorly, felt that the recent illness of Rodger MacGowan was a poor excus For GMT not getting games out on time. The Truman Syndrome, though, is a relatively new manifestation, though of an old disease. It concerns the feeling that everyone in the world exists for your benefit, and that, whatever one does, one should take into serious account only your needs. How else can yoe explain the reaction of several people, who, upon hearing that GMT would have only 100 copies of Caesar/Gaul available to start, and were bringing them to Origins, stridently wanted to know why they didn't mail off their copies first. (The answer is so obvious that to explain it is to condescend.) Luckily, or unluckily, GMT won't even have those 100 at the convention. Wonder if that makes the Trumanites happy. Then again, given the trickle of games, and the generally dismal track record of far too many companies, maybe these folks have something. A truly merry band of players, we. Back to Berg's Review of Games Vol. 2 #28 Table of Contents Back to Berg's Review of Games List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Richard Berg This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com