Work has progressed significantly on Europa since this column last appeared. Over the least two months, Narvik has undergone revision and playtest for the new edition and is now in the hands of the production department. Work is underway on finalizing the maps and orders of battle for The Fall of France; simultaneously, preliminary work continues on the DNO revision.

As reported last issue, Narvik is being reissued with upgraded components and slightly modified rules. As usual, our first quarter games ran somewhat behind schedule, but Narvik should be on retail shelves (and available for mail order) by the end of April. It is anticipated that the next issue of The Grenadier will be running a major piece on Narvik.

The Fall of France remains targeted for release at the Origins 80 convention at the end of June. The usual crew of Europa designers, developers, researchers, and testers is hard at work knocking the game into shape. Europa VIII will simulate the 1940 German blitzkrieg in the West. The strategy of both sides will be affected by considerations of the neutrality of the Low Countries and of Switzerland ... which is not to say such neutrality will be respected. The Italian forces that were involved on the French border will also be included. Information on orders of battle and mobilization should be such that the game can plug readily into Case White with the western campaign beginning at any time from September 1939 on.

The game will contain two full maps, one overlapping Map 13 as far as Berlin and the other extending to the Bay of Biscay and the Spanish border. Both maps will be dropped about 8 hexes south from the north edge of Map 13 so that the Mediterranean coast of France is presented. This configuration means that Vienna, Prague, Berlin, London and southern England, northern Italy, and part of Spain will be on the maps, as well as all of Switzerland, France, and the Low Countries. (it is expected that the same two maps and two maps of the region immediately to the south of them including Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy will form the "Second Front" Europa game of the Allied invasions of Europe, 1943 through 1945.)

Due to the proliferation of other projects and related time constraints, the DNO draft revisions are still incomplete, and the much-heralded postal game has yet to commence. A Soviet team commanded by William Pegues is studying the available rules updates and planning strategy. We hope to be underway in the near future, with battle reports here. Positions are still available in a second game ... contact this column if you are interested in participating.

Robert Beyma has organized a Drang Nach Osten tournament at the upcoming Origins. The convention is 27-28-29 June at Widener University (nee College) in Chester, PA.

Europafest has drawn so-so response up to this point. We are moving tentatively towards a late August weekend for playing and testing Europa games, especially the DNO revision. Contact this column to get on the Europafest.