We suffered what seemed at the time to be a major catastrophe here just before Christmas. We had scheduled four sets of System 7 Napoleonics for publication in early December, and kept encountering delays which pushed the actual shipping date back two or three days at a time, until finally it was virtually Christmas Eve, and nothing on hand. It was December 21st when Rich Banner and I drove to Chicago to oversee the final die-cutting of the System 7 sheets, and then drove them back to Normal for packaging and shipping on Friday. In Chicago, we encountered a few problems, but nothing insurmountable (they included staying for the Christmas party at the factory). Back in Normal that evening, we had set up a night packing session for the sets, and had already run the orders through the computer, preparing shipping labels on the assumption that the sets would be ready.

At that point, we came to the indisputable conclusion that the diecutting was faulty, and that we couldn't send the sets out in that condition. As a result, the next day was a hectic menagerie as we put together notifications for all outstanding orders. Customers got credit slips, plus a letter of explanation, while dealers with advance orders had to be informed that delivery would be delayed. We took care of everything, just barely.

What is System 7? Briefly, it is a set of specially shaped die-cut counters which represent military units for use in miniatures combat. The current releases are Napoleonic era units, including sets of British, French, and Russian units. Each set contains cavalry, infantry, and artillery units; the historical designation is clearly marked on each unit. Our current flyer describes the system quite adequately.

Works In Last-Minute Preparation

We currently intend to release several new titles in February. These include:

TacForce: We had originally intended to release this rules set in early 1978. One year later, it looks like the game is finally coming out. TacForce is a set of official GHQ Micro-Armour miniatures rules. The set, co-published by GDW and GHQ, is intended for micro-scale armor (1/285) in the modern period (1955-present). Frank Chadwick has come up with an innovative, comprehensive system to allow a lot of tactical detail in small scale battles. The heart of the system is the die-cut battle card: one side of the card details the attack capabilities of a single weapon, while the reverse details the defense capabilities of the vehicle. Specially configured and formatted cards reveal the proper factors when the attacking weapon is lined up with the defending target. Hit probability and penetration percentage determine any effects. TacForce is not simply a set of rules booklets; it includes supporting charts and other items, including the battle cards and the percentile dice necessary for the game.

Double Star: This one is our latest science-fiction release, one of several to be expected in the next year or so. Double Star is a game set in a binary star system. The concept originally arose because it allowed more than one planetary system without requiring long range interstellar flights. In addition, planets could orbit the central star, actually moving in the course of the game. This corrects the major criticism that we received on Triplanetary. Also, smaller worlds (moons) can actually be wrested from orbit for use as travelling bases, or as weapons, directed to impact planetary surfaces.

Animal Encounters: This 48- page booklet is Supplement 2 to Traveller, containing over 100 pre-generated animal encounter tables for Traveller. The tables eliminate the need to generate the tables called for in Traveller Book 3, and should prove useful to referees who want their characters to venture out into a specific world.

Further Down the Pike

Scheduled for later in the year are the following games:

Science-Fiction Games: Several titles are in preparation, not counting the stuff in the works for Traveller. Titles include Belter, Asteroid Mining in the 21st Century; Bloodtree Rebellion, Guerrilla Warfare on the planet Somber; and Outpost, Lunar Surface Combat, 1999. Also scheduled is an enlarged revision of Triplanetary, which has been out of print for lo these many years.

Traveller Stuff: Quite a few items for Traveller are in preparation. They include at least two Series 120 games on personal combat, an adventure, a supplement on naval operations, and a supplement on patron encounters.

In addition, we are working on getting some 15mm Traveller miniatures produced, and we have licensed Judges Guild to produce Traveller play-aids. (They're already hard at work; they released a referee's screen in December for only $2.50.)

There has been a fairly major schedule change, with European Theatre of Operations replaced by Desert Victory, our own entry into the Benghazi Handicap. Actually, the change isn't as radical or sudden as it may appear, as this title has been close to Frank's heart since he first got into gaming.

Desert Victory is, as you might expect, a campaign game of North Africa. It uses five maps and about as many counter sheets to cover the North African coast from Alexandria to Tunisia (scale: 8 miles per hex) and covers units on the regiment /brigade level with selected independent battalions. Air units are differentiated by type and are handled in groups of about 50 aircraft, although the air system is not the same as in Europa. Tanks are by type and in groups of 15 (about, but not exactly, a company each) and are held off-board in headquarters boxes, the the regiment /brigade headquarters doing the actual moving on the map. Armor is handled in much the same way as in Fall of Tobruk and its descendents (Avalanche and Operation Crusader) with separate anti-tank factors.

Supply is important, but not nearly as dominating (or intimidating) as in Operation Crusader. In fact, what sets Desert Victory apart from most big games is that it is designed for maximum playability, and the playtesters' reaction to that feature is the main reason we've decided to go ahead with it. All in all, it looks like Frank's finally come up with a desert game that plays a lot like Afrika Korps but remains remarkably faithful to the subject.

Gripe Session:

This section is devoted to a complete non-gaming item. It seems that the advertising for The Lord of the Rings movie has very scrupulously avoided saying that the movie is only part one of two. I think the greatest disappointment I have ever had in a movie is watching the entire film only to find that it doesn't end. It's a shame that they used this ploy on a great topic like LOTR.