First I must apologize to those of you who ordered Avalon Hill's Magic Realm from us based on our listing in the last issue. AH had announced the game as being available and in stock - had even bought an ad in the last issue pushing it and the other new games - and I had been assured by 'phone that they were ready and waiting. Then a few days after the magazine went to the printer another 'phone conversation informed me that it would not be ready until June. I was also then informed that they had temporarily run out of Cross of Iron and that Major League Baseball was delayed. As of 20 May we have not yet received our last order of COI nor any Major League Baseball (not to be confused with Superstar Baseball), but an invoice has arrived indicating that both are on the way and should be here long before you read this. Anyway, we apologize. Avalon Hill has previously been very reliable about not announcing games until they were definitely available. Apologies are also due to those who've had to wait inordinately long for AH's Guide to Panzerblitz or Guide to Diplomacy. Somehow that part of a recent order to Avalon Hill was ignored, or lost or something. Anyway they weren't sent. So a delay resulted while we got another order in.

To prove, I guess, that Avalon Hill is not the only game company that has problems, TSR sat on an order we sent them in February. The games arrived in May! To be fair, it was not all their fault. First we were a little slow in paying some old bills and then there was the trucking strike. Anyway, if it seemed to take a while to get TSR stuff from us this spring now you know why. (And now you know why you don't want to get into the mail-order business!)

Proceding to more positive subjects: somewhere in this issue you will find the announcement of the Annual Campaign Subscribers' Awards. The Best Game of the Year (BGOTY) voting was a bit closer than last year, but still not very close. Cross of Iron received about 50% more votes than runner-up 'Crete. This was the first year there were no ties in the first five places for BGOTY. It was also interesting that a first effort, by a very small company, on a most unconventional subject - Source of the Nile - should do so well in the voting.

In the Best Game of All Time (BGOAT) voting Third Reich nose-dived from two straight years in first place (after being BGOTY in 1975) into a tie for fourth. Russian Campaign moved up from a tied for second (with DNO) to first place. Apparently it is standing the test of time. Meanwhile, Drang Nach Osten, which won both categories in 1974, BGOAT in 1975 and placed second in 1976, dropped from that second place tie with RC into the fourth place tied with TR. Panzerblitz, after dropping out of the running last year, makes a strong come back to take third place. Squad Leader, last year's BGOTY, finished a strong second for BGOAT this year. All in all, 30 games received votes for BGOTY and only 27 for BGOAT, compared to 40 and 45 last year. An unusual feature is that none of the first five finishers for BFOTY received even a single vote for BGOAT! In fact, only Machiavelli and To the Green Fields Beyond received votes in both categories. Perhaps, for some reason, you thought that this year's games weren't eligible. Or maybe you just didn't think that this year's crop of games were all that great compared to years gone by. Finally, congratulations are, once again, due to Avalon Hill for taking first, second, third and half of fourth places in the BFPTY voting and first first and second in the BGOAT.

And now for the "Return Fire" results from issue #90:

Line of Communications Thumbnail Analysis Mail Call Weapons & Tactics of Tobruk Issue #90 as a whole The Confederate Navy Hints to Overlord G2 Reports Napoleon in the Strategic Sense Book Review Impressions From the Prism Additions to War of the Ring

6.14 6.11 5.98 5.97 5.92 5.86 5.84 5.55 5.50 5.21 5.16 4.27

LOC that issue included my report of the ORCCON convention. Note that 'Prism finally cleared 5.00. For once, when you drop out the columns and things that weren't eligible for the voting, the best three agrees with the 1-10 ratings:

Tobruk - Bird Confederate Navy - Mauzey Hints to Overlord - Greene

$5.00 3.00 2.00