This is an interesting idea saddled with poor technical quality. Most of the video is a collection of interviews, apparently done primarily at Cold Wars, along with coverage of some games at Cold Wars and the Seven Years War Association convention. There are also quite a number of advertisements for wargaming products.

One very interesting piece involved an interview with Jim McCarron of Musket Miniatures, including a good demonstration of the casting process and a discussion of switching to lead-free pewter. Typically, however, the topic and people were unidentified until well into the piece. A discussion with Frank Chadwick on entertaining WWII scenarios and WWII gaming might also have been interesting. Unfortunately, as with virtually all the interviews, it was conducted in a very noisy room, so that lip reading skills are a definite advantage.

Most segments begin with extremely awkward cuts, simply beginning without introduction in mid-word, adding to the difficulty of understanding what is going on. Similarly, pans of games in progress which should have been fascinating were badly marred by color smear, so that figures were nearly unrecognizable. The general impression is of an unedited home video with some added titles.

The idea here has real promise: a chance to see unusual games in progress, check out figures and terrain from across the country, and hear what a variety of people in the hobby are thinking about. Even the ads can be entertaining: you can show a lot more product in a 60 second ad than in a single magazine photo. If the technical and editing problems can be overcome at a reasonable cost this would be worth watching. In its current state it delivers more frustration than information. $51 for 6 issues, John Gleason 1505 Kennedy, York NE 68467, (402) 362-6454 -

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