The first in a series of helpful play tips to enhance your enjoyment of Europa games.

Counter clutter provides a major source of irritation, especially near major cities or major battles. Corps/Army markers, flotilla markers and air group markers consolidate many of these counters. That leaves positional air defense, forts, airfields, hit markers, rail gauge markers, rail/bridge breaks, coastal artillery, fortress troops, radar stations, etc. Stacks begin to resemble the cities they surround. Minor earthquakes from bumping the table too hard or random displacements caused by the meandering of a cat across your board (never, ever startle one when you catch it traipsing across a FitE/SE/TU map) are especially threatening to tall stacks.

To address the problem I've adopted a solution from the Army's staff schools. First, mount the maps on a suitable surface (foam core for transportability; 3/4" plywood for the ability to walk to the center of the map). Next, cover the maps (with map errata posted) with contact paper or acetate

Now you can write on the maps using overhead projector pens (Staedtler are best). The water-based pens are subject to smudging from sodas, condensate, or sweaty palms from anticipation of a modern Guderian's offensive. Thus I suggest the (permanent) alcohol pens. While they call themselves "permanent" correction pens, alcohol on a cotton ball or Q-tip remove their print quite nicely.

So instead of a pile of counters, the informational markers can be "written" directly on the map. This is especially helpful for forts, airfields, upgraded roads, regauged rails and damage notations. Counter clutter is reduced and less data is lost as a result of earthquakes and cat maneuvers.