For over twenty years one series of games has been dedicated to a detailed study of the Second World War in the ETO and MTO. This award-winning series, called Europa, covers this great struggle from the civil war in Spain to the final victory of the United Nations.

The game series was introduced with the release of Drang Nach Osten, designed and produced by Frank Chadwick and Rich Banner. They formed a company called Game Designers' Workshop. From that first design in 1974 came the games that covered the rest of the European, Mediterranean, and African theaters.

Drang Nach Osten was immediately accepted by military history enthusiasts and garners. Each subsequent title built on that acceptance and created a cadre of people who play and participate in the series to this day.

In 1985 a company was formed to support this game series. John Astell, the principle designer of the series, and Winston Hamilton, a developer and designer of WWII games, formed Game Research/Design, a company committed to the enhancement of Europa. They produced a set of accessories dedicated to the games. They also began a newsletter that became the magazine, Europa. In 1989 GDW transferred the copyrights and trademark of Europa to GR/D.

In 1990 GR/D decided to reissue all the games in the series. This new generation of Europa is called the "Collector Series." This next generation of games presents the latest declassified information from the archives of the major powers, including Russia, and adds new dimensions and enhancement to the series. All the mapping of the series is being redone as well. Very impressive.

To date several games have been produced replacing previous titles of the original series - Case White replaced by First to Fight; Marita-Merkur replaced by Balkan Front. Two new games have also been added to the series - A Winter War and Second Front.

The newest release is For Whom the Bell Tolls. This game covers the Spanish Civil War, plus a complete second game, "Operation Felix," the German invasion of Spain. War in the Desert is next: a combination of the previous games Torch, Western Desert and The Near East. After the desert we travel north with the new Narvik game, which will include both the original and new Europa-level version. We will also combine the games Fall of France and Their Finest Hour into one title,The Blitzkrieg, which will also feature Operation SEA LION, the German invasion of England.

When finished, the series will be combined under one set of rules called Grand Europa. These rules will be the "grand strategic" campaign. Then you will have a complete series that will give you the best firsthand experience on World War II in the ETO and MTO.