Well, A Winter War is wrapping up and the next game, the mother of all Europa games, is waiting in the batter's box, because, my brothers, nothing is left to do this year except Second Front-no other research, no other counters, no other maps, no other charts, no other anything except SF. The final push is on and nothing-no distractions, no side-tracks, or any other projects will divert us from completing this game we've all waited so long for.

Our latest title, A Winter War, introduces several interesting new items and some offshoots of the game will be appearing in this and future issues of TEM.

We had some of the old problems and some new problems with A Winter War. I won't bore you with the old stuff, but it's axiomatic that new problems come when you start working with new vendors -- I have already made two trips to Chicago and am leaving again soon for a third. This is costly in both time and money but gives an immediate payback when the game gets done correctly.

When Gary Stagliano first proposed A Winter War, my reaction was, "Ho hum, what a cold and boring subject." Boy, was I wrong! This is a tight game with enough tension, balance, and extra chrome to make it enjoyable as well as satisfying. More, it is a small game (thus easy to play) covering a topic that has been done only once before (around 20 years ago). It also provides a preview of how the new maps will look when we revise Fire in the East. The game has lots going for it like foreign intervention forces (and other juicy bits I don't want to reveal) to give it added flavor. I have to say, Gary, that this was a great idea after all.

The box-cover art is from an original period poster. Some of you may have seen it before. As such, it continues the box-art format we started with Balkan Front and First to Fight.

The charts are printed on the heaviest stock I could find and we've settled on a color scheme for the entire Europa series: blue for the European Axis powers, green for the MTO and ETO Allies, and buff for the Soviets. We'll use others as needed. They were made with a 1200 DPI image set, thus greatly upgrading visual quality.

The team that worked on A Winter War all agreed that we needed a good bounce to regain the momentum we lost with the countersheet problems we had this past year. I think that this game will do that job.

GRAND TOURNAMENT

Over the next several months I'll be traveling around the country in my capacity as GAMA's Executive Director. During these travels, I'll be reviewing sites for our tournament. To date, there are no set rules, organization, plans, or any other mechanics in place, but the idea has been discussed before and I believe it has merit. It goes something like this: a six-region, multi-round play-off of a scenario to be determined, with players competing within their region at conventions chosen to host these play-offs.

When the final round within each region is complete, the regional winners will be invited to attend the final rounds to be held at Origins '95 in Baltimore-with the winner to be determined there. The first-, second-, and third-place players will all get prizes. The first-place player will also receive a nice, big trophy for his performance.

The regional playoff sites have not yet been chosen, but under consideration at this time are the following: Dallas Con, Dallas, TX, held in the last week of July (a plus for next year as it is also the site for Origins '93); Twin Con, Minneapolis, held Memorial Day weekend; King Con, Dayton, Ohio, held on the July 4th weekend; and Atlantic Con, Washington D.C. area, July 4th weekend. Here the list stops. However, I'll be looking at some west-coast sites and a site in the southeast to bring our total to six regions, two playoff rounds, and a final at Origins.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW:

We will soon be mailing approximately 500 questionaires to Association members dealing with some topics that will help us decide on what you want to see coming out from GRD. These topics include a naval system (such as that portrayed in Supermarina); a game covering a hypothetical war in Czech '38 [working title]; a game covering the Spanish Civil War [For Whom The Bell Tolls]; and your thoughts, ideas, and opinions on our upcoming series of games covering the Pacific Theater of Operations [Glory]. If you receive one, please take the time to give us your thoughts.