This past May, Sara and I had the delightful opportunity to travel to Europe. We attended the Games Spectacular II in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. It was our first trip abroad and our 10th wedding anniversary. I could write volumes on the trip and what we were able to do and see in our one week there, but not for this magazine.

GB at Eindhoven. From left to right: Joseph Vanden Borre, Bernard Sperling (obscured by Joseph almost completely), myself (with coffee), Chrisloph Ludwig (Gamers' T-Shirt), Dirk Blennemann (partially obscured) and Michael-Peter Sturz (while shirt). Note that all the Germans (with the exception of Bernard) elected to play the Russians.. I guess they learned their lesson the first time around!

I would like to talk about my observations of our hobby in Europe based on what I witnessed during our short stay there. The Games Spectacular was held by 999 Games. Michael Bruinsma (see the magazine cover) is the owner. Michael was our host during our stay and attended to our every need as best he could while singlehandedly running the show. I don't know how much speed he took to run about with the energy level he showed, but all I can say is he will need more assistants next time. (I thought I was manic!)

Michael runs a mail order house that serves much of Europe. Because of that, there were only a few of our European business customers in attendance at the show. Andy Ashton in England summed it up by saying that it was 999's show and he didn't feel right as another retailer there. I do not know if this affected the show. However, it was a bit disappointing not to meet some more of the people who have helped us over the years.

The show itself was in a good hall with excellent booth facilities. Some other American companies in attendance were Clash of Arms, GHQ Miniatures, Flying Buffalo, and GMT. Of these, only GMT was not represented by one or more principals. Gene sent Richard Berg and John Kranz to occupy his booth.

GHQ put on two great miniature game/displays--a full scale Tarawa game and a Russo-Finnish battle. They always had a large crowd whenever they had an event running. Greg Scott and Ed Harris ran things and seemed to attract a lot of attention.

Ed Wimble showed up in a blaze of glory just before the show started (about the time I learned how to drive an Opel truck on the main drag between Amsterdam and Eindhoven). He had two players set up and run through a massive combined game of Ligny, Q-bras, Mt. Saint-Jean (what else?). It was fascinating to watch.

The highlight of the show, for me, was meeting and talking with Ulrich and Dirk Blennemann, Hans van Deventer, Bernhard Sperling, M.P. Sturz and his constant companion Chrisoph Ludwig, and the entire population of Belgium led by Joseph Vanden Borre. (Joseph was also noteworthy for showing up each day with one or more new Belgian beers to try ... ) All were delightful people and excellent game players-Joseph, you're still too darn slow! From them, I learned valuable lessons in dealing with players in other countries from quibbling over translating numbers in multiple languages, to ordering at a McDonalds in Dutch.

The German contingent taught me about conditions for gainers in that country. It seems that German gamers are essentially underground-open "war"gaming is both rare and socially unacceptable. On the other hand, just about anything goes for the Dutch. (Although, they tell me the red light district in Hamburg is better than that in Amsterdam.) Belgium is much the same except their roads and signposts seem worse now than during the war.

Strangely, the weakest presence at the show was from France. I met at least a couple of fellows from Spain, at least two Scotsmen (Ellis Simpson & John Evans), numerous Englishmen, and some Italians, but I don't recall any from France. Perhaps the show's advertising was unable to penetrate France. Sara had the opportunity to meet the gentlemen from ORIFLAM which is a French distributor.

Discussions with Ulrich Blennemann (editor of Der Musketier) and Ellis Simpson (editor of The Letter) indicated an intelligent, capable, and sympathetic audience for wargames in Europe. However, besides the other problems, there appears to be an insufficient infrastructure (at least in Germany). It seems retail shops carrying games are quite rare in Europe, especially so in Germany. Distribution is fairly weak in a number of European countries which leaves an opening for aggressive distributors (US or otherwise) who can push product into the assorted hobby shops on the continent.

The convention showed a good foundation for excellent success as it informs more Europeans of the existence of Wargaming. The population is well educated and likes many types of games. Were it not for the recent tragic, memory of what real war is like, Wargaming would be incredibly popular in Europe. With today's neofascist movements and the like, attempting to bring Wargaming out of the closet might well get a player labeled as "one of them." The conclusion is that the potential for enormous growth (beyond even the US market in size) is there, but recent history and current turmoil cloud its progress.

The trip was a resounding success and I hope we can go again next year. Many were responsible for our good time. Our customers in Europe went out of their way to show us uncommon hospitality. Michael Bruinsma took great care of us despite being so busy. Dirk Blennemann & Hans van Deventer planned and guided us on a tour of Aachen and the Ardennes, and the wives and girlfriends put up with and entertained us graciously. Now, if only imported German beer tasted like the real thing...