"Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know."
--- Daniel J. Boorstin

Well, 1989 is over, drawing the curtain on a very hectic, yet most exciting year. After ten months as editor of The Europa News my enthusiasm is undimmed, despite being administered several strong doses of reality. During this period I have been learning my new craft through on-the-job training and no small amount of trial and error. Being a perfectionist by nature, this has been a frustrating process. There just aren't enough hours in a day to lavish unlimited attention upon each issue, keep up with my reading, play Europa, and meet the demands of a real-life job and family simultaneously.

"Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take many small steps."
--- Helmut Schmidt

However, looking back on the past year I must conclude that the magazine is steadily improving. This improvement is the direct result of the momentum established by Winston Hamilton and Ben Knight, the outstanding articles submitted by our authors, the thoughtful advice and input from our readers, the growing wizardry of Winston's graphics, and perhaps most importantly, the personal involvement of John Astell. To all of those who have helped TEN progress and mature, you have my heartfelt thanks.

TEN 10 Corrections

Things still go wrong, however. TEN #10 suffered from an acute shortage of time brought on by an exceptionally heavy schedule at my company and the demands of the holiday season. Due to logistics problems, a higher than usual number of errors crept in, especially in the area of charts. These were discovered so late in the process that correction would have delayed shipment of the magazines by more than two weeks. This was unacceptable as we were already late, so the errors stayed. The more notable ones are hereby documented for correction:

Page 5: The third division in Table One's 2-6 Inf XX section should be 62, not a duplicate 61. The two regiments of this division should be the 115 and 116. [--corrected on the chart in MagWeb.com--RL]

Page 22: The two Gds SP Arty III in the 6th Guards Army Chart should be numbered 333 and 335. In the Guards Combined Arms Army Chart, the 1 Gds Army on 5.12.42 was redesignated 3 Gds XXXX (not XXX). 7 Gds Army was formed from 64 XXXX (not XXX). 9 Gds Army was formed from 7 XXXX and various Gds Abn XX and should reference the note 3. [--corrected in MagWeb.com--RL]

Page 23: The 5th Guards Army Chart is actually the 5th Guards Tank Army Chart. In the Guards Tank Army Chart at the top right of the page, the line between 2 and 3 XXXX is misdrawn. It should be one row higher, failing between Cmdrs:... and 5.43... . Also, the note <2> does not apply to 4 Tank Army, but only 5 Tank Army. [--corrected in MagWeb.com--RL]

Page 24: The Cavalry-Mechanized Group consisted of 4 Gds Cav XXX and 1 Gds Mech XXX (not XX). [--corrected in MagWeb.com--RL]

Page 25: The 144 Tank Destroyer unit in the 3rd Gds Cavalry Corps is a regiment. [--corrected on the chart in MagWeb.com--RL]

Page 26: 9 Gds Tank Corps was formed 20.11.44. [--corrected on the chart in MagWeb.com--RL]

"The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we're ready for it."
--- Arnold H. Glesow

With 1989 gone, what is on tap for 1990 for TEN? First if all, the magazine is no longer The Europa News; our publication is now entitled the Europa magazine. For 1990 we have an abundance of first class material in the pipeline. There will be up-to-date reports on pending Europa releases; historical articles on a wide variety of Europa-related topics; and "how-to" articles on game play covering such subjects as the proper usage of engineer units, a "forward defense" set-up for the Soviets in FitE/SE/Urals, and a discussion of strategy in the new "1943 Scenario" from the Urals, to name just a few items. If all goes according to plan, one should start to note a shift in balance towards more game-play articles during the course of the year.

I would like to extend to each reader a personal invitation to contribute some material to the Europa magazine during 1990. There are so many interesting points to be examined. Need a suggestion or two? How about an article on the "Panther Line?" Luftwaffe jet fighter forces? The mWallonien Legion"? Pro-Axis partisans? How to make the best use of truck units in SE? Presenting a case for insertion of a resource point schedule into "War in the Desert" to keep construction within reasonable bounds? An article on strategy and tactics in your favorite game? The possibilities are endless.

During 1990 we plan to publish a number of scenarios and variants. I am particularly interested in developing a group of Europa mini-games, tentatively titled "The Europa Battle Series", for publication in these pages. These games would last 3-6 turns and would cover a specific battle or short campaign of the war. They would use one (or part of one) map and a manageable number of existing counters. "The Battle Series" games would be easy to set up, playable in one sitting, and could be used for competitive or tournament play. A bare minimum of special rules would be used; the simpler, the better!

As a hypothetical example, "The Battle of Kasserine Pass" would use only Map 25, start on Feb II 43 and end May II 43, and rely on existing counters and basic rules. Malta and all rear areas would be "factored out". The OBs would address only forces active in the Tunisian Campaign and victory conditions would be extremely competitive. Sound interesting?

Several of these games are currently in the early stages of development and cover such engagements as Operation Husky (the invasion of Sicily in 1943), the Crimean Campaigns of 1941- 42, Operation Market-Garden, and (as mentioned above) the Battle of Kasserine Pass. Here is another area where input from our readers is invaluable. A few of you may actually have a variant or scenario of this nature in rough, or even finished form. Or perhaps you would like to try your hand at doing such a mini-game. Finally, we need to do some playtesting prior to publication. If you are willing to help in any of the above areas, drop me a line and let's get together.

"Expert advice is a great comfort, even when it's wrong."
--- Ellen Currie

During my tenure as editor I have slowly been developing a network of Europa volunteers to assist in reviewing articles and providing feedback on the many new concepts of play which land in my mailbox. The most steadfast and willing of these volunteers has been Deen Wood. Because of his hard work and invaluable service, Deen was recently accorded the position of Assistant Editor.

In addition to being a genuinely delightful fellow, Deen brings to the magazine a tremendous knowledge of military history (WWII in particular) and a love of the Europa system. Although an old hand at wargaming, having been playing since the ripe old age of 10, he is a relative newcomer to Europa, having joined our brotherhood only about three years ago. I view this as a benefit; Deen lends a fresh perspective and sometimes sees things we old-timers have overlooked through force of habit.

Deen hooked up with Europa in a somewhat novel way. He had just won $750 from the SSG computer game company, having tied for first place in a contest to design the best scenario for their "Battlefront System." Flush with cash, Deen was flipping through the pages of The Grenadier trying to decide what to splurge on when an "Europa Notes" article caught his eye. It mentioned the game DNO, which Deen had seen and admired back in his college days. At the end of the article he spied a GDW advertisement on the Europa series and was so taken with it that he ordered every game at one shot, sight unseen!

Deen has two degrees from Texas A&M, one in engineering and another in marketing. For the last six and a half years he has worked in the field of oil and gas exploration, most recently concentrating on natural gas pipeline distribution. Welcome aboard, pardner!

Another notable addition to the masthead is Jason Long, who has assumed the position of Text Manager (which means he gets to key articles onto disk that were submitted in manuscript form). I have no doubt Jason will prove a valuable contributor to the team.

"Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult."
--- Karl von Clausewitz

And so it goes with the playtest kits. But do not despairl Be of good humor, for your patience will be rewarded: Second Front and For Whom the Bell Tolls playtest kits are now reaching players hands and the playtesters are swinging into action. Jeff Millefoglie's prototype FWBT kit looks fantastic! Jeff (who provides insight on the game's design in this issue's "FWBT Design Update") and John Gee are to be congratulated. And for a brief look at the Second Front kit, see this issue's "First Impressions: Second Front". FWBT"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying."
--- Woody Allen

Europa Tricks and Treats