EuropaFest

We are on the eve of the first ever exclusive EuropaFest convention that will feature 4 days and 3 nights of continuous play, seminars, discussions, a dinner (a Europafeast, as Rick put it) and information that should be the best thing since beer in cans. The details of the fest are listed on the inside front cover. A preregistration form is enclosed with the magazine and should be returned to Tom Johnson, who originated the idea, as soon as possible.

When Tom talked to John Astell and me about this idea we offered to have GR/D cosponsor the event. The fest will have Frank Chadwick and John Astell giving seminars and hobnobing in general. I will be featured as the master of ceremonies at the banquet being held on Saturday night and will give those of you who attend the latest news on various secret projects the scientists are working on, updates on production, new games, and new areas of Europa as yet untried. Gary Stagliano will also be in attendance as a guest of honor with Frank and John. Gary will give details of the latest information on the status of "Russo-Finnish War," the game he and Arthur Goodwin are working on.

On the inside cover of the magazine is the schedule of events and there is a preregistration form in the magazine. The deadline for preregistration is July 13, less than a month away. Tom and his crew of loyal laborers need as much advance notice as possible to get things set up. When you send in the preregistration form Tom will send you a EuropaFest package giving you more details.

Tom organized the site for continuous play, so it will give each player the chance to go into a complete trance for 4 days (maybe we will get through 1944 in a Scorched Earth game. . nah, just a thought).

SECOND FRONT NEWS

We will have the Second Front playtest kit available at EuropaFest. In addition we may publish the Second Front playtest kit in TEN 8. Some of the details will have to be worked out as to map configuration and the like, but it looks like it is a go. The playtest kit will have counters, OBs and rules. As I said before, the map situation will have to be worked out.

There are two lines of thought. If you have the series, as we think most of you do, then you need about one and a half maps to complete, the map coverage. The changes to the existing maps would be covered in the play test kit. If you do not own the series [Fall of France being the key] then you have a problem. There may be six maps in the game and about a dozen or so counter sheets.

The counters will be handled as in the FITE, SE playtest with generic counters, no unit IDs, but correct strengths and symbology. We would be able to produce the one or two maps that you need here at GR/D and send them to you if you send in a request and a couple of bucks to offset the handling cost. It would be a photocopy map, nothing fancy.

The idea of publishing the playtest kit in the magazine is being kicked around. We want to give out the essential rules, etc., to give a wide coverage and get as much response as possible. Publishing the playtest kit in the magazine would mean that coverage would be there (it would also give everyone a good look at what is proposed). This is not a confirmed plan at this time, but it would be a first for the system and would give more people a chance to comment. One thing you should know - playtesting is not easy if you intend to be serious about it.

If you have not taken part in one of these marathon playtesting sessions with a Muroos title I must warn you that there is paperwork involved. Since the need for good info and feedback is at the top of the list, you will have to fill out forms and conduct the playtest not to win, but to do a systems check. The basic purpose of the playtest is to test the interaction of the rules to the overall purpose of the game. An exact replication of history is not the goal. Proving a historical point is not the goal. Making a game that is reasonable, that flows well, and that demonstrates history and historical principals is the goal. Making the damn thing work, that is the goal.

OUR FRIEND - THE S.A.S.E.

We like getting letters. We get almost ten a day from our readers and customers. We like all kinds of letters. What we need for you to do, however, is to remember to send us a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope when you want a letter back from us. Please send us a SASE when writing to Rick, myself or anyone connected with GR/D if you want us to reply..

FITE Reprint and MM Reissue:

The reprint of Fire In The East is scheduled to be complete and to the stores by August 1. This is based on a couple of presumptions that should occur without trouble. We have scheduled to reissue MM next. This will be the first new Europa title under the "Collectors Edition" which will feature a new box art, upgraded maps (names of rivers, lakes and other interesting things), new rules, and new counters. Some titles of Europa will be reprinted, some will be reissued without reprinting the current stock.

The earlier games such as MM, Case White, Fall of France and Their Finest Hour are probably going to be reissued, not reprinted, but this is not certain by any means. The redoing of the games means that errata will be corrected, new standard rules implemented and counters redone to conform to the final standards. No idea on cost or actual release dates yet. We would like to have MM back on the market by November 1, but this may be too optimistic of a projection. We will be keeping you advised as to the goings on as usual in the magazine.

Finally, Europa XIII, The Urals

Well, what do you think? Publishing a game is a learning experience. Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. XIII gave me a lot of experience. GR/D had to deal with 5 different vendors to get this game organized and out to you. The next game will be better in several respects. First, the cover art will be improved. This cover is acceptable, but not what I had intended and it could have been better. The maps are perfect to my way of thinking. The charts are good except the damn '43 Scenario chart which did not want to come out of the darkroom or come off the press. We had to reprint that chart three times (ugh).

Deadlines and dealing with the various vendors that provide the product will get better, which means we will be more timely. We had wanted the game out effective 3-189. Well, we were three months late (lightening speed on a strict comparison with past M arcos titles, but not on time). Several reasons for that, none of which I want to go into here. Next game will have that delay factored out of it I hope. I am glad we did not have to deal with counters in this game, but we face that time and expense in the next game, For Whom The Bell Tolls. I guess I should prepare myself for more experience.

Winners of The Ghost of Europa

The last ghost was Sir Oswald Mosley of the League of British Fascists (or Blackshirts). The winners of the contest are Michael Parker, and Cyril M. Lagvanec.

I spoke to Jack Radey (aka Timothy O'Shenko, noted Irish general) and he informed me that this chap's relatives are living in California, working at a defense plant, day care center, granola ranch, or something like that.

Largest Artillery Piece

The largest artillery piece (an unofficial contest) was Little David, produced by the United States for use against the German West Wall defenses. It was never sent to the ETO as the war ended before it was ready. Ron Mazurkiewicz correctly identified this peice and sent an article that states the mortar is residence at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, NM. It had (has) a bore of 914mm (36").

Alternative Answer in EXchange

Shelby Stanton's Unit Symbol Encyclopedia

Shelby Stanton has completed a great piece of work on the unit symbols that are used in Europa. His work shows the symbol, what it represents, who created it, when it was first used, and what games it appears in. The artwork on the symbols is done and we are setting the text for this encyclopedia. A part of it appears in this issue of the magazine. The entire booklet will be sent to you free of charge. Look for it in the envelope when you get either TEN 8 in August or TEN 9 in October.

John Astell's Europa Almanac

John has completed his almanac and we have been through one check of it here at command central. This item should start appearing in TEN 8 or TEN 9 on heavy stock. It will be set up so you can remove it from the magazine and put it in a three ring binder. It comes to about 28 pages all totaled. I think you will like it.

Europa Font and Symbol Disk

We will also be offering you a Mac disk that will contain the Europa font set up for a laserwriter and usable on a dot matrix printer as well. This disk will contain the unit symbols I spoke about above as key strokes for bit files as well. Details are not yet worked out, but we will announce them here in the magazine. This disk will require a 512k E or a Mac Plus as a rninirrum hardware system requirement. The disk was developed by me and designed by our resident computer master brain, Scott Baxter.

Europa Binders

We have received several requests for binders from folks out there. I failed to include the information on binders on the order list so here it is:

We have a green, three ring, two inch binder for sale. It has the Europa logo on the front and spine. It also has two pockets inside for storage. Cost to members is $8 (shipping free) in the U.S. and $20 to non-U.S. members buying direct from GR/D (air mail delivery).