As we enter the final month of the year I felt it would be a good time to look back to see what we had accomplished and what is ahead.

The single, most-asked question of 1991 was when we could expect Second Front. I had hoped that 1991 would be the year, but it was not to be. The need to produce the magazine, the part- time nature of the company at the beginning of 1991, and the size of the cookie we had to chew prevented the game from being completed. So be it. We did manage to get Balkan Front out the door to some good reviews, proving that we were capable of producing a good product, well received, and fun to play.

That leaves the problem of timely production of the magazine, our other projects, and again, Second Front.

As for the magazine, finding the solution to the production problem is now in the hands of Victor Hauser. When Victor was brought on as editor we freed Rick to develop our games. With his work on First To Fight complete and the next project underway (A Winter War) Rick is getting out of the editing business and turning the magazine over to Victor.

In a conversation I had with Victor a few days ago I stressed the importance in getting the issues out in the first month of the two- month period. Both he and Rick have stated that we are well stocked with articles and feel that a first-month production for each issue is well within our means.

That being the case, the goal for 1992 is to have the magazine shipped to you in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Let us see how we do and what the score card is next year at this time when I'll be giving you the wrap-up for 1992.

In 1991 we had one game, BF, as stated before. It sure took a lot of time to get it done. This experience was repeated with FTF, for different reasons, but with the same net results. Several different situations exist for 1992 projects, the first being the work that has been done on AWW, the work as it stands on SF, and the work yet to do on For Whom The Bell Tolls.

In the next year, knock on wood, we should have these titles out because we are starting the year with each project in the work flow. And each project has gone through several stages towards completion. Well, this means that we are not at square one, but I am certain that some "interesting" developments await as we slog our way through the production maze to our final goal.

The decision to reprint Scorched Earth was made at the end of 1991, so it counts, but it will not be ready until mid-January 1992. I want to give you some info on what to expect from this reprint, which we call SE version 1.5.

First, it is not a new game as regards the rules or maps. The purpose of the reprint is to make SE available to the many gamers who have purchased Fire in the East since SE went out of print. There will be a few counter changes. There are about a dozen counters to be fixed and a couple that will be added. There will be no blank counters on any of the Mark II countersheets. We'll make the "color crossover" counters hit markers and the like.

Some extra sets of countersheets will be available FOR MEMBERS ONLY, in the event you may wish to add them to your game collection. However, let me again stress that if you already own SE, then you do not need to buy these counters! This limited number will be sold on a first-come first-served basis to our members.

I expect about 150 extra sets of countersheets to be available, so note that my brothers. Each sheet costs the members $5. Not bad considering you get an extra 112 counters for just one extra buck (thanks to Joe Hayes).

There will be a total of 11 Mark II countersheets in SE version 1.5 so the set of countersheets should cost you $55, but, for the members only, and as a special deal, you can get a complete set of these counters for $30. You must be a current member of the Association during 1992 to get the deal. Note that.

At the same time we do SE version 1.5 we are reprinting the German/Italian Sheet 21A from BF as we promised we would do shortly after the game came out. This will fix the screw-up that was caused by our "friends" at BOPI when they did not read the instructions and screened the German color to the Italian color, then screened it again, making the Italian Army almost white. Yuck.

Anyway, the new countersheet is going to be printed with the SE countersheets and sent out free to anyone who sends us back a coupon. If you ordered multiple copies of the game, we have complete records of who got what. Indicate to us the number of games you bought and we will furnish you with the appropriate number of replacement countersheets.

Now, as I stated before, Victor is managing the magazine, Rick is developing games, I am producing, and John Astell is inventing. The long awaited game SF is going through a 1943 Scenario playtest to tune up its performance. The extensive playtesting we have gone through already has provided necessary and useful product development for the final game.

I don't recall any game that has had a goal so large, a cast of playtesters so involved, and a delay so long as Second Front (but the stories I hear about Avalon Hill's monster game, The Longest Day, would give you the shakes).

As it happens, the need to get it right requires this additional time-and not just the need to make sure the rules are right. We also have a rather large (12+) group of individuals working on the many OBs and OAs reflecting the true United Nations quality of the campaign. Information is readily available on certain levels, but not always accurate. To get to the holy grail is requiring more time than expected.

As such, the teams working on all this have been having a hard time generating the information in the Europa format, but we are getting there.

What is beyond the end of 1992 is unknown at this time. When we finish FWTBT in the final quarter of next year we'll have about eight titles left to go. I'd like to get them out as quickly as development allows, but the order of release is important. A desert game seems to be the favorite for release in 1993, followed by the new Their Finest Hour. Then the crystal ball gets murky again.

The Collector Series edition of Fall of France is being looked at by our friends from the French Europa Association. They proposed a rewrite and fix-up of the game and I told them to give us an outline. You have to admit, having the French do their own game is an interesting concept.

Other stuff for 1992 will be out in addition to what I have talked about in this column. We are going to be looking at the "Europa Cookbook", a master or advanced set of rules that could be making an appearance. Development will start on that fairly soon. Jason Long's game on a 1938 war between Germany and Czechoslovakia (it assumes that the Czechs refused Hitler's demands, preferring to fight) is also in the mix.

Dare I say it? Yes! Supermarina III may be making its way to you sometime in 1992, but the final form will be different than was shown in the beta playtest due to the numbers of you who desire a kinder and simpler game. Amen. It will not appear in the magazine prior to its release, but you will be notified as to its availability and all the rest in future issues of the magazine.

The final look back for 1991 shows we got FTF out the door in late, late November, finished up the six magazines for the year, started the reprint of SE, got underway with AWW, and started work on the final playtest of SF. So I think we did pretty good for a bunch of part-time guys.

In a perfect world...

We will have the bulk of the series back on the shelves of the retail stores by the end of 1993 and hope to have the series complete, all Collector Series issued, and Grand Europa underway by 1995. This means that both FitE and SE will have been reworked. Now, I have a dream for the final FitE/SE revisions. We are still discussing this as it is in a very early stage of consideration, but we will be taking The Urals out of the line towards the end of 1992.

As such, I want to reconfigure the maps with Arthur Goodwin's new map research as the foundation. What I propose is changing SE so that it reflects the additional terrain that was formerly in TU. Retain the basic maps for FitE as it is set up now, but when you go to add SE you would get an additional five or six maps. This would allow you to place one full map on to the eastern edge for play and have the additional maps for those of you really hardcore players, giving you the rear area of the Soviet war machine. The revisions would also figure in the final production of GE and would be used with this end-game rules set.

Lots of stuff to consider and I will keep the conversation going.

Finally, I want to thank you all once again. Your care and concern for our great series never ceases to amaze me, and reminds me that what I saw in Europa the first time I played DNO is still alive and well today.

Coming Attractions

Next issue will feature a fascinating "what if" scenario, courtesy of GRD's superb researcher of the Soviet armed forces in World War II, Charles Sharp. It is entitled "Operation Groza, Stalin's Thunderstorm". This monster scenario postulates a massive Soviet surprise attack on Hitler's Germany during early dawn, 6 July 1941.

Say what?

Citing data presented in the Viktor Suvorov book, Icebreaker, Sharp outlines the proposition that Stalin and the Soviet High Command, based on preparations, could have believed that such an offensive was possible. He then casts this hypothesis into Europa terms, using the maps and counters from FitE and SE. The results are a change of pace on the eastern front, and according to playtesters Jason Long and friends, "a whole lot of fun!" We hope you agree.

We will also make a trek back into the sands of North Africa (remember where that is?) with articles from Ben Knight, James Broshot, and Frank Watson.

Also included: More Europa notes from First to Fight, and a clinical study from the caseload of Rules Court.

See you then.