Decline and Fall costs $9.50 and Seastrike goes for $13 both postpaid from T. Donnelly, & R.E.G. games Otd., 75, Ardingly Drive, Goring-by-Sea, Sussex, England.

I want to confirm my few comments to Seastrike. This is a very playable game while it is short on detailed historical differences, e.g. one has universal type missiles, destroyers, etc., though one can improve one's craft for certain costs in Pound Sterling. One can play with over-the-horizon radar, debate the value of a few long-range surface to surface missiles vs more short-range ones. I really like the "system failure" cards that appear (one turns a deck of special cards for the combat results table, each card being different in the results it gives). System Failure cards cause that system to go on the blink at that instance for the remainder of the turn (unless it is pulled when readying aircraft, in which case the plane is lost).

Victory conditions vary as one pulls an envelope which gives one his objective and buget to achieve it with. One also has Intelligence, SAM's, islands, and a variety of surface and subsurface craft. Seastrike has a flavor all its own. It is the best game on modern naval warfare to appear yet, though GDW game may prove more accurate. One other advantage of this game is that it is short in playing time, usually two hours.

Looking around there are two other companies that have put out board games. One is Maplay Games Ltd. which has some unofficial ties with AHI KS (a club). They have published one game so far, Guerilla (priced at $8 c/o Omar DeWitt, Simulations Publications Inc., 44 East 23rd, New York, N.Y.). This game deals with Indonesia's confrontation with Malaysia and is designed by an officer who served there. It is for the advanced wargamer and includes helicopters, supply, boats, hidden units, decoys, ambushes, etc. One new entry is from Tabletop Games, I I the Green Ruddington, Nottingham, NGI1, 6HJ, U.K. and is called MTB. This game deals with naval combat between small craft in World War II in the Channel (see last issue's "Thumbnail Analysis").

Of wargaming magazines there are many, but almost all deal with miniatures. Sword and Lance (38 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, Co. Durham, U.K.) has recently appeared that deals with board wargaming as well. Signal most of you have probably heard of already (Signal PO Box 830, CFPO 5056, Belleville, Ontario, Canada) is produced in Europe by a Canadian. It is quite good in finding out what is happening in the Hobby. AHIKS has a European newsletter which is quite nice, though limited to club events largely. Inquiries to membership and the like to R.A. Stuart, 20 Kent Close, Orpington, Kent. U.K.

For me, the most exciting magazine is Europa (Edi Birsan, Apt. 302, 35-35 75th Street, Jackson Heights, New York 11372, five numbers by sea for $4). As it contains my only regular column I rather like it! It is based in Switzerland and talks about any and everything. Easily the most international in its contributors to its pages, it appears to be filling in where Albion left off.

Over the past year or so I have gathered some comments that I wanted to pass on. From Steve Douglas of Southampton:

In general board games don't seem to be played as serious games, more as light relief or more exactly as a diversion from the "real" thing (miniatures). The reasons why board games are secondary tQ miniatures in Britain are several, the first being the sources of wargaming in Britain. Although the Hobby appears to have grown in parallel periods on both sides of the Atlantic it would seem to have an element of coincidence.

The Hobby in the states being given impetus by C.S. Roberts and in Britain by Don Featherstone" two people with totally different concepts of a conflict simulation ... most people opt for the . . . "fun with figures" policies of Featherstone rather than board games. One major disadvantage of board games which you probably aren't aware of is plain English prejudice ... to say something is an American idea is guaranteed to herald its announcement with grunts of disapproval and distain. However, there is some hope, mainly through American magazines.

Charles H. Vasey, who works on Sword and Lance, had some very interesting thoughts:

A couple of months ago I would have said there was no organized scene in the UK. Since beginning writing for Sword and Lance I have discovered how big an audience there is for gaming. Many people are interested but because of lack of advertising never get very far. Most gamers play amongest friends in the immediate vicinity or play by mail. One central factor in this lack of organization is our lack of a magazine. I never read Albion and never met anyone who did, conclusion: it was essentially a clique magazine. A clique centered on University students in the Home counties (ughh) (sic).

A boardgame-Con is supposed to occur in London this year but I have heard nothing more ... Until recently Malcolm Watson was in a monopoly position in the UK, now certain events, I cannot go into detail, will change this and the new company plans a house review-mag which might do the trick. Watson's stunning lack of initiative has left the market undeveloped (a bit like the days of AH before SPI arrived) ... We exist on American games and American mags, with the exception of Europa which I like a lot. SPI has some problems.

Firstly, badly written articles by ignorant people. In Moves 19 Allen confessed about Frigate that he knew nothing on the period until he read a few books in the SPI library, "Nobody's book of naval tactics" and "Popeye" seem to have been the books in question. This is why Conflict's Rifle and Musket worked, the designer liked his period and he also knew it.

Finally, I would like to quote from two editorials that appeared in Don Featherstone's Wagamers's Newsletter #139 and #140. This Newsletter (69 Hill Lane, Southampton, Hampshire, England, SO] SAD) is the English S&T for miniatures.

... In my experience, wargamers in the mass are an odd bunch who rush into the hobby at a youthful stage of their lives, read a few military books and then consider themselves experts in all facets of the Art of War throughout the ages. Generally intolerant of all views, opinions, and rules other than their own, many of them have an ultra-sharp sense of values ... (after a rules disagreement that ended a game before it was complete, yet all parties quite knowledgable in that period) ...

Herein lies the greatest obstacle to wargaming becoming a majority-hobby. Doggedly formulating rules that emphasize his concepts, whether they be accurate or misguided, the wargamer views with ill-concealed disgust and frustration any other rules that preclude his preconceived maneuvres or permit tactics that he considers to be wildly inaccurate. It is not unknown in our hobby for a player to be chary of performing some rather brilliant tactical maneuvres simply because he is conscious that he will have to fiercely argue to support its legality! Of course, the degree of arguing and tolerance varies in strict relation to the militancy and temperment of the wargamers concerned ... With Human nature such as it is, can there ever be an answer to this unfortunate aspect of our hobby?

I hope this small slice has shown at least a few of the main currents of wargaming in Britain. Further, I hope that the interesting opinions, thoughts, and ideas touched on within will help to widen and increase the British connection. Britons have a perspective quite often that is refreshing and different. Britain also offers a new level of historical accuracy in games designed in America, if we wish to learn from this relatively untouched cultural goldmine.

Wargaming in Britain

Small Companies
An Interview with WRG: Bob O'Brien
Some Short Comments