Emperor's Birthday They showed up from both East and West coasts, the Mid-West, the South, and the North west. James Petrie placed such a priority on the event that he took leave from the Mediterranean Fleet just to be there. In the words of one attendee, al I were looking forward to "Two and a half days Of absolute bliss." That was only one of many positive comments from the 130 plus gamers at the Columbus Napoleonic Symposium sponsored by Empire Games. In truth, the only flaw in the week-end was the falling through of the hospitality room arrangement for Thursday night. This was due, we were informed, to miscommunication with the hotel staff and really didn't cause any problems to speak of, since many of those attending gathered at the bar on Thursday night for liquid refreshment anal discussion of rules, figures, paints, painting techniques, and battles lost and won. Friday morning registration went smoothly. The organizers had provided mood and theme music to set the tone, but an extra fillip was provided by Tom Herziger, Scott Burke, Ivor Janic, and Karl Kyle. Entitled "A Brush With War", this was a very well-done slide show that combined famous and not-so-famous portraiture, battle paintings, uniform plates with music appropriate to the particular slide being shown. The audience responded with claps, cheers, boos or hisses depending on the subject in view and with a hearty round of applause for a very professional and entertaining effort. A second show, equally entertaining, was entitled "Empire" and depicted, in slides and with music, a wargame of Waterloo done with 15mm figures and, of course, the Empire rules. Following this appetizer, Professor Chandler was introduced. He confessed to having to follow a tough act, but proceeded to enthrall those present with a discourse on Napoleon's Art of War. I had never heard him speak before, but could cheerfully sit and listen to the man lecture for hours. This first presentation, and the others which followed, were witty, informative, knowledgeable, and studded with personal asides. Chandler lectured Saturday on Marengo and Sunday on Waterloo, in each case using the battle primarily to illustrate more important points, such as the way Napoleon changed history (Marengo) and the part played by mistrust in causing the French rout at Waterloo. Following lunch on Friday, Dr. Gunther Rothenburg lectured on the Austrian Army and Archduke Charles. Rothenburg proved to be as engaging a speaker as Chandler, both in this presentation and in his Saturday discourse on the Tactics of the Austrian Army. Dr. Rothenburg apparently feels a great deal of disdain for Napoleonic Austrians above the rank of major and engaged in friendly banter with Professor Chandler throughout the week-end over whether England or Austria was more responsible for Napoleon's over-throw. Truly a man following two tough acts was Chris Gabel, who followed Dr. Rothenburg with a look at Napoleon's impact on American military practice during the Civil War. Rounding off the Friday session was Charlie Tarbox, who presented a clever way to manufacture geomorphic terrain boards for use with 15mm figures by projecting battlefield maps on the garage wall (no joke). Charlie put his terrain where his lecture was Friday night by using it in one of the Empire III demos. It stacks easily, doesn't take long to make, is fairly cheap, and looks very good. Saturday was more of the same, except that Bob Jones (of the old Courier's famous Vietmeyer-Jones debates) gave a very thought-provoking talk. Ostensibly about wargaming and the home computer, Jones' presentation seemed to me to be (not without reason) fraught with doom, glo(Tm, and the demise of historical miniatures gaming. Bob did demonstrate a couple of computer games and outlined some far-out sounding ways in which computers could be used to moderate a game, but it seemed to me that his primary message was that historical miniatures gamers are an endangered species. Scotty Bowden and Jim Getz of Empire Games rounded out Saturday with discussions on simulation design and the interpretation of history using Empire Ill. One of the nice things about this duo is the professionalism and tone of their pitches. They don't try to tell you how bad is your way of doing things, just how good theirs is. Saturday night was topped off with a fete for the Emperor's 212th birthday. Following dinner, we were surprised by the appearance of an individual in the uniform of a French Colonel of Engineers, who identified himself as one Pascal Verange. This, it turned out, is the persona assumed by Prof. Chandler as a member of one of the British Napoleonic Societies. Chandler delighted the company with stories of his 1971 appearance in Moscow to present a paper on General Rob't. Wilson and with tales of his experiences as an advisor to the BBC while the British version of "War and Peace" was being made. Sunday morning wrapped up the weekend's events, Chandler presenting a different perspective on Waterloo and, with Rothenburg, fielding questions from the audience and providing some very thou ght-provok i ng comments on the current military situation in Europe, the European view of the U.S. presence there, and a prognostication on the course of events. I any hope that these two prove to be as poor at predicting future events as they have proved expert at recording and interpreting past events. That was a quick, thumb-nail sketch of the weekend's activities. Left out were the scenes of Chandler and Rothenburg cheerfully and graciously autographing literally hundreds of books, chatting with anyone who cared to stop by; little knots by Ed Mohrman of gamers renewing old acquaintences or forging new ones; and the scence of fellowship that per- vaded the affair. However, perhaps a sense of perspective is what is needed to really evaluate this Symposium. The first of anything is unique, therefore attractive. Couple the uniquesness of this event with the apparent dearth of events solely for the miniatures gamer, add the smooth professionalism and well- organized approach that characterize Empire Games' functions and one could be dazzled into overlooking things which might have been done differently and better. Despite Bob Jones' remarks, it should be borne in mind that historical miniatures gaming is a BIG hobby ... not necessarily in terms of dollar sales or even percentage of people involved, but in their committment to whatever it is they do in the hobby. The mystique of the Napoleonic period and the "glamour" of the featured speakers doubtless contributed towards making this a stand-out event in the minds of any who attended and probably in the minds of many who were unable to attend. But it remains that other periods could be at least as successful if they were as well-done. The quality of such an event doesn't lie necessarily in the speakers, the format, the information, or the physical facility. Those are vital ingredients, of course, but it seemed that the chemistry of the Columbus event created by the interaction between and among gamers whose names have showed up for years in various publications and gamers who belong apparently to Larry Brom's "Silent Majority" pushed it from "good" to "great". Similar events could be staged all over the country for small groups of gamers and serve as a revitalization of the hobby. In any event, Bowden, Getz and associates certainly deserve a cheer for organizing this one. In his opening remarks on Friday, Jim Getz observed that Empire Cames ". . . always attempted to develop a quality product." In my opinion, this Symposium was a quality product. Write to Empire at the Arlington, Texas address to say thanks and ask about the next one. Smithsonian Holds Wargame Symposium by Walter Simon The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. recently hosted a series of 5 lectures and demonstrations having to do with wargaming. The program attempted to cover both the hobby and the professional end of the wargaming field; as such it encompassed too much within the short span of the series. The hobby led off ... in the person of Dr. Graham A. Cosmas, a professional military historian and boardgaming game buff. Dr. Cosmas gave an interesting account of what he termed the history of wargaming, which turned out to center on the evolution and growth of both Avalon-Hill and SPI. Boardgaming being Dr. Cosmas' area of interest, he covered it thoroughly, but miniatures gaming was given short shrift. Indeed, it was given no shrift. It was not really until the third lecture that miniatures was discussed, when Gene McCoy, publisher of Wargarner's Digest, showed up to represent his end of the hobby. That miniatures was so downplayed is not surprising, for the coordinator, moderator and host for the series was Martin K. Gordon, as avid a boardgame buff as Dr. Cosmas. Mr. Gordon is also a professional historian and turned out to be an informative, excellent and witty speaker in his own right. But that didn't help the miniaturist. At the start of the first lecture, the host asked those present - some 40 attendees - to identify themselves and their particular interest in the hobby. The poll revealed that boardgamers slightly outnumbered miniaturists; there was also in the audience a scattering of curiosity seekers who knew nothing of the field, including one young fella, approximately 11 years old, who had come "to learn how to play wargames." This kid caught on fast, however; nothing more was seen of him until the last program during which a series of miniatures demonstrations was given. The series of lecures cost somewhere in the order of $40 ... no one who came "to learn how to play wargames" got their money's worth. Indeed, they should have been forewarned by the flyer put out by the Smithsonian, which stated: ". . . the field of war gaming is explored in its historical and contemporary dimensions, including its use by military staffs for tactical and strategic planning." I believe Mr. Gordon authored ths flyer, which also stated: "Even collectors who may eschew simulated conflict have prized the exquisitely fashioned miniature soldiers and their accoutrements that are employed by some gaming participants." Don't be frightened, folks. That's just the way Mr. Cordon talks, forgetting that those who read this blurb may eschew attending the very lectures he's promoting. On a more earthy level, gene McCoy presented an introductory session on the basic distinctions between boardgaming and miniatures gaming. Mr. McCoy had billed hinself as ". . . Editor of the nation's leading miniatures wargaming magazine.' He did not explain why he capitalizes "Editor". He did explain, however, why his Wargamer's Digest devotes so much time and space to modern armor gaming. Although Wargarner's Digest has no formal feedback mechanism similar to the survey postcards found in THE COURIER or Strategy & Tactics, Mr. McCoy maintains what he terms a "letter count" . . . a tabulation of reader interest gleaned from the letters he receives. some 49% of his mail consistently evedinces interest in WWII gaming' This large percentage contrasts with the returns from THE COURIER, wherein the interest in modern armor is so low that the topic is being considered for abandonment. The same night that Gene McCoy lectured, a representative from Avalon-Hill shared the podium (perhaps to see that boardgamers were given equal time). Thomas Underwood is A-H's man in charge of R&D; he also puts out the A - H magazine, The General. Mr. Underwood immediately won the hearts and minds of all present by voicing a dislike for D&D and fantasy gaming. His talk appeared to concentrate on what he considered A-H's weak points, elements that I assume he'd like to change ... if he had his way. He mentioned the fact that his is a larger, more diverse company than SPI, hence can't cater as much as it would like to special gaming interests. Nor can it respond to reader likes and dislikes as quickly as SPI ... he gave as an example A-H's THE LONGEST DAY, a massive goardgame with 8,000,000 counters, produced well after public interest in massive, 8,000,000 counter games had passed. One of the most interesting presentations was given by the Studies Analysis and Gaming Agency (SACA), located in the Pentagon. These fellas wargame for real; their area of interest extends from table top microarmor gaming to full scale battalion field exercises, to military-political scenarios in which members of the President's cabinet and the various executive agnecies participate. The fifth and last agenda item on the program concerned a series of wargaming demonstrations. This could have been the highlight of the series ... instead, in this author's opinion, it fell flat. For the most part, the set-ups degenerated into a number of individual wargames in which only one or two participants engaged. The other 25 or so people remained on the outside looking in . . . in uncomprehending fashion. One local group, the Potomac Wargamers, did try to present an in-depth review of GENERAL QUARTERS, modern naval rules, by walking the audience through a carefully orchestrated 3 turn scenario displaying the use of hit charts, damage tables, etc. Perhaps the run-through was too tutorial, for, halfway through the lecture, it was noted that the crowd thinned out appreciably. In part, however, the lack of attentiveness was due to the fact that too many people were permitted to congregate around the demonstration table. The outer fringe of the crowd, therefore, could hear little and see less. A much better procedure would have been to assign a given number of attendees to each table and rotate them through the displays to grarantee exposure to each demonstration. Fantasy Line Hides Historical Figures by Dick Bryant MINIFIGS' world of Grey Hawk series is made up of the following discountinued lines: DARK AGES (DA), IMPERIAL ROME (IR), and GREEK & MACEDONIA (PB). Checking your old catalogs and ordering GreyHawk will help you round out your armies. The initials in the parenthesis above indicate which line the historical figures belong to - an additional C means cavalry and an additional X is a personality figure. I don't know how many are in each packet or how many fantasy figures you may get besides. GREYHAWK PACKAGE HISTORICAL FIGURES 5 DA5,46; PB57, IR24, 63,62,5 6 DA75, 81, 80, 10, 11 7 DA74, 73, 102, 83, 77 8 DA14, 15, 51, 78; IR93 17 DA66,49,28: IR119, 71 19 DA33, 69, 36, 13; IR122 29 DA8, 67, 10; 1 R144 32 DA79, 25, 9, 26; 1 R94 36 DA47, 45; IR121, 58, 53 37 DA43, 71; IRX2, fR96, 95 41 DA72, 41, 68; 1 R54, 61 65 Ancient Army AFA1, AFA2 71 DAC53, 54, DACX6 72 DAC30; Crusade CR31 Russian War & Peace on Videotape by Dick Bryant Jeff Perron of TSR told me that all 373 minutes of showing time was available on 3 tapes! The cost is $130.00. Hincliffe Address Change HINCHLIFFE, U.S.A. has a new mail address: PO Box 7307, Dallas, TX, 75209. Cleve Burton, owner is recovering from a serious auto accident which slowed down the operation somewhat. Cleve tells me that everything is now OK and he will have caught up on all back orders in a few weeks. Wargamers Weekend Friday, November 6 - Sunday, November 8 DAV Hall, Newburyport, MA Featuring Dungeons & Dragons Tournament and games. For the miniaturist: World War II, Civil War, Seven Years War, Napoleonics, Medievals and Renaissance games. $468 Toy Soldier Turn out your attics! The following newspaper clipping was submitted by Dale Rakestraw of Oceanside, CA - Thanks. 'LONDON - A world auction record price of $468 was paid in London for a toy soldier. The three inch lead figure of a British Camel Corps Soldier was made in 1910 when it sold for two pennies. Another auction record of $2,520 was paid for a set of 12 mounted lifeguard bandsmen. The toy soldiers were from the 17,000 piece collecton of Len Richards, a London bank clerk who died last year.' 'GAMERS GUIDE Magazine Folds GAMERS GUIDE, a boardgame review magazine covered in this column in the last issue of The Courier, has been forced to discountinue publication. The next issue (4) will be the last. The reason cited for the fold is that total circulation turned out to be far less than anticipated. A shame as the magazine was well written and produced. I think the market must be pretty highly saturated at present as there are a lot of fantasy and boardgaming publications out there. As witness this issue and last issue's 'Gleanings'. New Nova Games to be Released Nova Game Designs (The Ace of Aces People) will be publishing more flip book style games in the near future. 'Bounty Hunter' takes place in the American West and features a shoot-out in a mining town. 'Crossed Swords' is a hand-to-hand fantasy type book and WW2 Ace is similar to the original Ace of Aces format except that it involves WW2 fighter aircraft and photographs instead of line drawings. Expansion of the range is sure to increase the already considerable popularity of these games. 'Ace of Aces' itself won the gamers' choice award at Origins '81 and an award from the Game Designers Guild. Film Special thanks to John Mansfield for the information on which the following is based. THE SOLDIERS STORY - A Vietnam War film advertised as the real Apocalypse as seen through the eyes of a North Vietnamese soldier and an American G.I.. The movie incorporates material released from the Military Archives in Hanoi. GUNGA DIN - The remake begins filming with an all-star cast in the spring of 1982. The advertising hype should make this one of the bigger films in 1982. Two other film clippings have been passed to me recently. I don't suppose we'll have the chance to see them over here but they were shown at Cannes this year so they will probably be available in Europe. The Libyan cinema department's BATTLE OF TAGRIFT - was produced by the Administrative Committee for Revolutionary Information (Moral Guidance Branch). It features Arabs (Libyans presumably) fighting Italians. I've never heard of The Battle of Tagrift but I'm willing to bet who wins. Another Arabic film, this time from Iraq Cinema, is titled 'AL Qadisiyya' the remarkable thing is that it appears to star Sir Lawrence Olivier or a clone thereof. The film has Elephants, L.C., M.C., lots of Spearsmen and Archers. If the Iraqis can clone actors why didn't they do Charlton Heston as well? GLEANINGS GORGET & SASH ($8.00 for 4 issues) CJS Enterprises, 5281 Landgrave Lane, Springfield, VA 22151. Volume 1, No 2 has articles on the Battle of Zorndorf, the evolution of the Muscovite army from 1480 to 1600, British Infantry units at Blenheim and the Hessian Fusilier Regiment von Ditfurth during The American Revolution. There are also figure reviews and book reviews and Potpourri columns. This magazine covers the period from the end of the Renaissance to the beginning of the Napoleonic Era. The articles are well written and interesting and the book review column is an excellent feature. The illustrations are rather sparse but are good with one exception; there are some reproduced photographs of some society members wearing the uniform of the Von Ditfurth Fusiliers that are very poor. That small critisism aside the magazine is very good and should be welcomed by gamers interested in the period. HISTORY NUMBERS AND WAR (Published Quarterly, $16.00 per 4 issues). T.N. Dupuy Associates, POB 157, Dunn Loring, VA 22027. A very dry publication. History, numbers and war is prepared by the Historical Evaluation and Research Organization (HERO) as an instrument to help policy makers learn from the historical experience of the recent past. Volume 3, No 3, the issue to hand, has three shortish (2-3 page) articles on military service in a democracy. Soviet artillery densities during WWII and women in the Soviet Armed forces. The fourth article is a lengthy (27 page) tract entitled 'Combat Operations of the III Guards Mechanized Corps in the First Phase of the Byelorussian Offensive, 24-30 June 1944'. If you are interested in knowing more than you ever wanted to know about the III Guards Mechanized Corps then this magazine is for you if not, then it's not. P.W. REVIEW (Published Monthly, $6.00 per 12 issues) Potomac Wargamers, 12905 Layhill Road, Silver Springs, MD 20906. The September 1981 issue has the second part of the Battle of Barrosa (Part I was in the previous issue). A very detailed account of a wargame based on the historical battle that was fought out at Pacific Origins. It is a feature of P.W. Review that the rules used in the games described are always mentioned and expleained, usually with accompanying tables or graphs. I wish that other (more prestigious?) publications would do the same. Also in this issue are articles on the computer game 'Kriegspiel II'; another battle report, this time WWI French v. Germans with rules guidelines on one page; and a couple of letters adding to the debate on the direction the hobby should take. As always in the 'review' there is plenty of editorialising which is, for me, one of the best parts. It must be great not to be worried about offending anybody. Recommended. DIFFERENT WORLDS (Published Monthly, $21.00 for 12 issues) POB 6302, Albany, CA 96706. Another FRP magazine that is very professionally done. Issue no. 13 (August 1981) has feature articles on Samurai Swords (Major Swordsmiths by school. As well as applications in FRP); the Cult of Harpers (their lifestyles, philosophy and the Exotic magic they perform); The Traveller's Aid Society; and role playing in the Land of Xanth. There is also an overview of the land of faerie detailing the various sprites, Demons, Gnomes et al that inhabit that favored realm. No mention of handsome frogs however, and the fairies have tails. The place has certainly gone downhill since Hans Christian Andersen. There are also review colums for gamers, figures and also (a nice feature) for films. There's even an FRP gossip column. Good value if you're interested. THE SPACEGAMER (Published monthly, $21.00 for 12 issues) POB 18805, Austin, TX 78760. Yet another FRP magazine also professionally done. Issue no. 43 (September 1981) has articles on fantasy and science fiction diplomacy variants; Killer (a game where you pretend to kill the other players! Why not just the National Guard?); and a report on Origins. There is also a special supplement on expanded combat for the 'Traveller' game, an analysis of three state-of-the-art computer FRP games and a short piece of fiction as well as the usual review departments. The best thing in the magazine is the cartoon strip, unfortunately it finished with the issue. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. III #2 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1981 by The Courier Publishing Company. 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