The Drill:

After the money comes back from the sales of Second Front we will be doing four things:

1. Paying off the vendors.
2. Producing FWTBT
3. Reprinting FTF.
4. Producing the Collector Series combination game of Torch, Western Desert, and Near East.

First, let me update you on FWTBT. It has been decided to include the counters necessary to conduct a hypothetical invasion of Spain by the German Army. The components for the game will be one and one half maps, and six counter sheets. The counters will include all the forces necessary to fight the Spanish Civil War, plus World War Two counters for Spain and Portugal, and the German counters for the invasion of Spain.

As I understand, there were about seven plans put forth for the invasion of Spain. These were drafted at various times as Hitler became frustrated with Franco's reluctance to embrace the Third Reich, a reluctance most notable in that Spain let the British keep their base at Gibraltar and control the entrance to the Mediterranean. No small thing.

The inclusion of these extra counters and the scenarios to use them is another part of Grand Europa. These are the kinds of historical alternatives that could have actually occurred, and are therefore appropriate for the High Command decisions of Grand Europa. Obviously, such an action would have had very profound repercussions up and down the line for Great Britain and Germany. We won't be able to replicate the entire spider's web of alternatives in this game, but later we will be able to cover some of the possible problems for both sides.

A Peek behind the Curtain:

In the last column I talked about the World War I game[s] that we are planning. A prototype will be ready by Origins and will be on display in the Europafest room. This prototype will still have to go through playtest and development prior to production. We would like your opinion on the game, so if you get the chance to see it, let us know what you think.

Origins and Europafest, 1994:

As you may know, we will have our own game room for this year's Origins. In the Hilton Hotel, in the Plaza Room, non-stop, we are there, dudes. In addition we will have our usual gathering for some food, drink, and discussion. Details to be announced; Fest participants will receive on-site information.

Also, the usual suspects will be in San Jose giving seminars, and there will be a few surprises, if all things go as expected.

When you preregister this year the paperwork at San Jose will be reduced to nothing. Max time for fun. Use it!

Origins and Europafest, 1995:

We mailed out a copy of # 35, the first issue for 1994, to everyone we had in the computer, subscribers or not. We did that to promote the Origins convention.

With that issue of the magazine we gave you a preregistration book, a housing form, and some general information. That takes care of 1994. Now, 1995. Here is what we are looking at for the next three to five years.

Origins has a three year commitment to Philadelphia, and if things work out we may fix the site there permanently. This gives both gamers and companies many advantages that far outweigh moving Origins from one place to another each year. The decision was made after five years of GAMA board discussion and a vote of the membership.

The proposal was overwhelmingly endorsed when the vote came. The cost to you as a gamer will be less than the 1993 Origins and you will have access to the convention center 24 hours a day. All gaming activities will be conducted at the center, which has ample room and lots of support facilities, such as an international food mart adjoining the center, and much more.

Task Force Johnson will be appearing in '95 with a new demo game and some new product to promote our system.

GR/D may be sponsoring a bus trip to Aberdeen to view the hundreds of tanks and guns there. This trip will be open to anyone, but Association members will get a discount. Aberdeen is about 90 minutes from the center so we would have to spend the better part of a day getting there, viewing the site, and getting back. If such a trip were to take place, how long would you like this trip to last and what is the best day to take it?

I would think that Saturday would be the best day, but that is in the middle of the Fest and would mean that a substantial amount of time would be spent away from the center. There would be a limit to the number that could go (one bus holding about 48 passengers) and the cost would be $35, which would include a lunch or light meal at or near Aberdeen.

We will ask every member his opinion in an upcoming magazine and, depending on the results, may start taking reservations for the trip towards the end of the year.

Look for a pre-paid return postcard asking these questions (among others) as the survey mechanism from GR/D.

Clarification:

Oops. More than one price was given for the re-sub of existing members. The correct price is $25. Anyone who paid more will receive their money back or be given credit towards a future purchase.

Watch for our double issue.