Today we are going to talk about the next Europa game, Narvik. One of my favorite subjects. There will be at least two games in the box, the non-standard game and the Europa level game. We are also looking at several options, such as a start to finish Europa OB for Norway, some scenarios involving Sweden, Denmark, some what-if variants, some of this and some of that.

I have been working on the charts and counters, which is my backyard, and I have made changes for the nonstandard game that I think are neat and I am going to show some of them to you right now.

Back printing

In the non-standard game the backs of the counters are not used. Each ground unit can become disrupted which causes it to become halved in combat and movement. In a stack of units you might have 2 at full strength and 2 disrupted units. It is bothersome to put the hit markers on disrupted units, keep track of them, etc. etc. etc., so, I put a hit on each back of the counter like so:

The Norwegians did not have their army mobilized when the Germans invaded. They had just begun the call-up to prepare for a British invasion. To form their 6+ divisions their troops reported to mobilization centers. In past versions (this will be the 4th generation of the game) these centers were printed on the map, as were the major military airfields. Not anymore.

The mobilization centers and airfields will be represented by counters. In the case of the Mobilization Centers, each of the 16 centers will have the map/hex number printed on the front to facilitate set-up. To prevent the Norwegian Army from forming the Germans must capture the centers. If these centers are captured by the Germans you simply flip the counter over to show that the center is now in German hands. Like so:

There are many of these types of changes that have been made to help speed the play of the game, to make it easier for you, so you will have fun.

The maps will be quite different. There are two weather lines, numerous new ports and, how do I say this, hummin, it is terrain intensive. The area around Narvik has one important change. In version three of the game you had 4 hexes accessing the port of Narvik. In this version you have 5. If you play the game you understand what this means.

The charts are quite different. I have been able to condense the OB charts. I have added some play-aids charts. In the future we will be printing additional play-aids in the magazine as they are developed.

Further research on the OB (thank you, Frank Chadwick) has turned up some interesting information, some old, some new. For instance, the Poles have a brigade in the campaign. They are from the Carpathian Rifles, the Brigade, a mountain brigade, escaped to Rumania, then to France where they were assembled to support the effort in Norway, but when they were refitted, no mountain equipment, hence, regular infantry.

The 13LE was formed from Legionaires who were on the line during the "sitzkrieg". The call went out for anyone from the Legion who could ski, so, a whole bunch of Legionaires who were highly motivated and very bored joined. When they got to Norway they did not know which Caw Of the ski was the front and which was the back, but they were really motivated (their attack value is greater than their defense value). Hence, light infantry.

Two more things about the game. We will offer it for sale through GR/D and the Europa HQ Stores only. This is both a test and a reaction. When will the game be ready? This year, maybe by Origins. Our plans are to have Narvik and The Damned Die Hard as new games for Origins. The usual concerns, time and money, govern our production cycle as always. Three games per year is our goal.

On that note, very soon March to Victory will be out; War of Resistance, Japan Invades China July '37 to December '41 is the next game. Then DDH, Narvik, then Over There, the second half to MTV, then Fire in the East now retitled Total War.

And finally, it is time for the usual many thanks to all the folks to work on this project. I know, I say it every end of the year issue, but I mean it all the more as time drifts by. So many contribute for no other reason than to see this project to completion. For all the researchers, developers, designers, writers, editors, here and abroad and in Canada and all of you who support the project with your bucks, thanks.

We now enter our 15th year. Whew. I believe I can say we are at least half way done.