Once again, these have been interesting times for us. As usual, it is difficult to raise one's head rushing from one fire to another. I hate it when events happen so fast that I can't answer the question of what is happening!

Sara Essig on Tiger II at La Gleize. No I couldn't get her to pose the way I wanted...she even wouldn't got for the swimsuit option!

The most important event around here of late was the hiring of Mike Haggett as our production manager. His job (in addition to helping with other areas in all our peak periods) will be the muscling through of our games after the artwork stage to get them produced and ready for shipment. I Will still be handling all the artwork-Mike will handle the post-artwork production. That job requires a lot of leg work and effort in pestering various producers into getting the job done on time. For the fall games, I will work with Mike to show him the ropes. By next year, I should be able to hand him the artwork and let him rim with it. The upshot is that we should be able to up the number of games we can produce each year (to about 6) so that games which seem to be languishing on the schedule can see the light of day faster.

The all-volunteer ADC effort is finally beginning to pick up steam. We have a master symbol set for the CWB (thanks to a whole gang of guys on Prodigy The initial efforts at inputting have begun. The number of people volunteering to input will make it tough for us to get them all done. We need more in putters! If anyone out there is interested in helping in this effort, give me a ring. In the same vein we all owe a great debt of thanks to Rick Delaparra, John Kincaid, and Gerry Palmer who put in all the effort required to make the symbol set-thanks, guys! We all appreciate it; you made it happen.

Steve Newhouse showed off his Game Assistance Program (G-2, see the article this issue) at Origins. The program worked rapidly through the game's tables to tell you the results as well as update the Loss Charts for you. My concern regarding this sort of program is the need to fill in all the modifier information so the machine gets the right answers. Steve's program worked around this matter by making all the modifiers a push-button effort. You click the ones you want with the mouse. (I think it works using just cursor keys, although more clumsily, to be sure.) I might even learn to endure fire combats again. I encourage everyone who hates to keep track of his Loss Charts to pick up a copy. At the time of this writing, the final product has not yet arrived, but it should before Autumn.

The game production schedule has had some interesting events occur recently. The surprise addition of GD '40 to the line up for this year is the big one. At this writing we are in the middle of playtesting and having a blast. I chose this game to add to the series at this point because its combined arms feel will showcase the new 3rd edition rules better than Matanikau can alone. I decided to do both-I hope I will survive the production process.

At one (we did too many-next year there will only be one!!!) of the seminars at Origins, someone raised the question of why we don't publish the number of votes with each game on the Games Rating Chart. My reasoning was that I didn't want to encourage "spot voting" for, or against, games with fewer votes. In this issue, I'm going to give it a shot and I'll rely on your honesty to keep your votes to the games you care about, and not make surgical strikes.

Also, a couple of players asked about the different versions of our series rules (as they developed over the years) and what each one was. Here is a complete rundown of each version and how it changed (or will change) from earlier versions:

CWB

First Edition: Carne in ITQF, Thunder I, and August Fury
First Edition with 2nd Edition Bridge: Came with BV, it included a sneak preview at some of the 2nd Edition changes.
2nd Edition: Came with BRS. A complete rewrite of the original with limited actual rule changes to tighten those rules to a higher standard.
2nd Edition, Revised: Came with P-ville, EAW, and Thunder II. Also due out with Murfreesboro next year. This version corrected some errata and typos from the 2nd Edition.

TCS

First Edition: Carne in Bloody 110.
2nd Edition: Came in Obj:Schmidt and FEW. Same as the First edition with the addition of the Miller Tables.
version 3.0: Due out with GD '40 and Matanikau. A reworking of these rules-from the ground up-to streamline play.

OCS

Version 1.0: Came in GB.
Version 1.5: Due to come out with EatG. This will include all errata from version 1.0 as well as a handful of changes to eliminate certain gamey techniques and other things noticed in repeated play of GB and in the playtests of EatG.

SCS

Version 1.0: Came out in SP.
Version 1.5: Came out in Afrika. Contains a couple of rules changes (Supply Phase position in the Sequence of Play and ZOC costs for entry instead of exit).
Version 1.6: Due out in The Ardennes. This will contain corrections for errata in version 1.5, but no actual changes.

NBS

Version 1.0: Came out in Austerlitz.
Version 1.5: Due out with 2nd NBS game, same as version 1.0 with errata corrected.

As you can see, except for theTCS ver 3.0, the above have been revisions made to insert corrections due to errata or to otherwise tighten up the system. I have also started to use the system of versions used in the computer software industry to keep it all in order. The .5 and other tenth increment changes are all additions of minor errata and the like. The one's version numbers represent large rewrites and the like. Note that in the new system, the "2nd edition TCS" hardly qualifies as a 2nd edition.

This process of correction will rapidly hit the point where each series has the tightest set of rules we are capable of making. It is not an ever-ending, spiral of change, but a continual re-integration of your comments, questions, and ideas. We prefer to correct mistakes we make, instead of ignoring them (leaving you with the problem). We think you would prefer to have these things corrected, so that the latest series rules contain fewer and fewer errors as time passes. That will make each series the end product of our own playtesting as well as the critical eyes of the many thousands of you who are playing these games. We all benefit in the end.

Bob Schindler is opening what I like to refer to (in jest) as "Bob's Discount House of Bruised Game Parts." He has purchased a nearly complete mix of our 2nd quality game parts--all the counters rejected by inspectors and remnant parts (such as rulebooks and maps) which were left over when each game is put together. These parts would generally get recycled. Bob--who was helping with game assembly at the time--jumped up and said, "Hey, I bet guys would be interested in getting these parts so they could have spares or extras of things." So, he is now in business selling these parts at the best prices he can manage. These aren't first rate parts. However, if you're looking for extra markers, another copy of a crusty old rule book, or a spare map so you can keep your good one pristine ... he's your man. Not all parts are available, so send to Bob for a listing.