Happy New Millennium. The Solo Wargamers Association now has a Website at http://www.lonewarrior.com, which I have been visiting quite regularly and I am very impressed by the quality of what I have seen so far. It is early days yet but with support from the membership this site could become a focal point for the future. If you have a PC and internet access, I would urge you to take a look and see if there are any areas where you can make a contribution. The millennium bug seemed to vaporise never to be seen again - so much for the doom and gloom prophesy. Like a lot of computer games really which start life as vapourware and never make it out onto the shelves. Kenn is still waiting for Shogun Total War, which I believe is due out now in May - or should that be maybe. I am sure it will arrive sometime and patience is a virtue but as of February all that is actually out there is an alpha demo version (note to Editor I actually have a copy if you are interested plus a write up - yours at no cost). [Write up would be great but I will wait until the eventual release because by then my Finals will be out of the way and I can concentrate on wargaming! Kenn] Maybe you are all still recovering from the celebrations since my in box has been very sparse on reviews and news and views. I have managed to get hold of a few of the stalwarts who have managed to send in a few bits and pieces (especially after I twisted their arms and offered liquid refreshments in a hostelry at next meeting). Again I would emphasise that this column is reliant on the members to fill the column inches and is not mine personally. If you don't send me the reviews and views they can't get printed. My thanks to Andy 'Flight Sim' Midgely for the following little snippets: Knowing how short of funds everyone is after Christmas (just bought myself a new Apple Mac for my work you understand) I have been looking out for re-releases on a budget and spotted these which are more in your area than mine. I discussed these over a pint with Michael so here it is. 101: The 101st Airborne in Normandy now on Red Hot for £9.99. This game has beautifully detailed background information even to the extent of using documents from the actual D-Day in the briefings. Though it is a turn based system which to an extent delays the action, it is still no pushover. Though it didn't get rave reviews first time around at under a tenner it must be worth some consideration for the patient among you. Battleground Ardennes now on Red Hot for £12.99. This is a classic turn-based WWII strategy game and was Talonsoft's first outing I think {quite right it was and I have an original}. Effectively it fights out the Battle of the Bulge through a number of scenarios and you can play either side. It's a good game but lacks the refinements of Talonsoft in graphics renditions of the later games such East and West Front. Still all in all it's got to be worth a look if WWII is your game. On a final note I have just spotted that Hasbro - who absorbed Avalon Hill amongst others - has released a PC version of Diplomacy. Unfortunately for the world it seems that it plays just like the Boardgame with the exception that the AI lacks any semblance of intelligence. This is a graphic illustration that direct translation from Boardgame to PC does not in any way guarantee a resultant classic computer game. It may be that as a PBEM it has some kind of future but only time will tell. If any of you know better them please let me know. Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #130 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com