(David sent this letter to me awhile back, but it was lost in the dim recesses my computer's files. Iapologize to him and you for its tardiness! -- Editor)

GL member mourns loss of HMGS group for military

Last month, HMGS lost its ability to reach out to Historical gamers who are located either overseas or, due to frequent relocation, not able to participate in the activities of a regional chapter. Pete Panzeri, for reasons his own, has taken the decision to end the effort to establish the Garners International (GI) chapter of HMGS. This is unfortunate for all historical gamers, whether they are in a local chapter, or need the services that GI would have delivered.

While Pete will continue GI as an affiliated club with East and Midsouth, this is not the same as a dedicated chapter for what is a considerable number of historical gamers. I would like to think that Pete's demanding schedule as a military officer, educator and author was the only factor in his decision. Those of us who had to access to the internet over the preceding months, may arrive at a different conclusion.

Fortunately, for those of us in historical gaming, Pete is continuing to be a driver in the advancement of our hobby. While he is handing off the HIVIGS at Origins effort to Great Lakes, he is still very active in this area. All historical gamers owe Pete a debt of gratitude for the hard work and long hours he has put in on behalf of our hobby. '

Pete, thank you very much for all of the hard work you have done on behalf of all historical gamers and may continued success follow your footsteps.

-- David S. Doty, Dayton, OH

Wargaming demo a hit at Indiana college seminar

Sorry I didn't get back with you sooner. Work has been pretty crazy.

The event (at Ivy Tech State College) went well. The college had about 1,400 people attend. At times; it seemed like everyone of them was at our demo! We played a simple French & Indian War scenario and had a number of young people join in. Lots of interested onlookers as well. I had handouts with web sites, a basic painting guide, and the F&IW rules we were using. Every copy of the HMGS color pamphlet was picked up an hour into the day as were the extra copies of The Herald. I made three or four dozen copies of the membership renewal form from the back of The Herald and about half of those went as well.

I'm doing follow-up demos at the college until May. I did a simple DBA demo a couple weeks ago. The local newspaper took lots of pictures and one of the reporters played a game with mel I'll be doing a painting demo next week. In April, I'll do another DBA demo. In May, during finals week, I'll do a Wild West Shootout.

My hope is I'll get a couple students interested and then maybe we'll get an informal club or student activity group going. So far, so good. After a couple more of my monthly demos, maybe I'll write a short article for the Herald about them.

Thanks again for all your help.

Brad Thurmond, Kokomo, IN

"Check out COGA," Columbus member suggests

I just wanted to let you know about a recent experience I had with a group of historical gamers here in central Ohio. Up until about two years ago, I lived in Dayton, OH, where there is a very active gaming group (specifically, the Greater Dayton Wargamers Club). After moving to the Columbus area, however, my gaming has really dropped off. Although I knew that there were active gamers here in Columbus, I had not taken the initiative to meet them.

I finally made a New Yew's resolution to get in touch with some local gamers and start playing games again. I noticed that one of the regional groups listed in the Herald is the Central Ohio Gamers Association (COGA). I alread knew about COGA, as I had attended some of their conventions (COGACON) back in the 80s. COGA meets on the second Saturday of eac month at the Whitehall Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. I finally decided to attend one of their meetings, and I'm glad I did.

COGA's February meeting featured a very enjoyable 25mm British Colonials game, with the Redcoats taking on a larger Turkish force. The fictional battle was a playtest of some home-grown rules, which were somewhat reminiscent of Sword and the Flame. Included were some colorful items like a man-eating lion that appeared now and again to munch on some artillery crewmen, and a reporter from the London Times, who accompanied the British force. Although we British players were soundly defeated, the game was still great fun. In addition to this miniatures game, there were some boardgames being played at the meeting, including Kingmaker and Advanced Squad Leader. About a dozen gamers attended the meeting. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. The Whitehall library has large meeting room, which provided a very nice place to game. The COGA guys were very friendly and made me feel welcome.

COGA seems to be a fairly organized group; in fact, they have commitments from their members to run their monthly games for the rest of 1999. In addition (according to their newsletter), the group plans to run games at CAPCON and ORIGINS, both of which will be in Columbus. Also, COGA will be holding a Games Day at the Soldiery's East store in Reynoldsburg on the weekend of Oct. 30, 1999. This event is still in the planning stages, but it may actually span the entire weekend.

I would encourage all gamers in the Columbus area to check COGA out, if you haven't alreadyl

-- Scott M. Savory, Columbus, OH