You all know me as Sticky. Dave and Dean have enshrined my name in Gamers' legends as, shall we say, a good sport, and a willing opponent. From them, I take this as high praise, indeed. I would like to take a few moments of your time, however, to mention some aspects of The Gamers, and my part in this continuing evolution, which you may not have thought about. I have the perspective of both an insider and an outsider.

I have been very fortunate; as a friend of Dave and Dean, I was given the opportunity to become a part of The Gamers almost from the very beginning. Dean's reminiscences in issue #6 of Operations about the "learning experiences" he and the company had to endure are still very vivid in my memory. In the many years since Dean first had the idea to produce In their Quiet Fields, The Gamers has come a long way, and I feel privileged to have had at least some small part in that journey.

Unlike most of you reading this, my personal history in wargaming only dates back about twelve years. Before meeting Dean, I was a friend of Dave Powell's, and he basically introduced me to the hobby. By the time I was introduced to Dean, I was hooked on wargaming and jumped at the chance to be part of this new company.

Over the years, The Gamers has brought out some incredible ideas to further the hobby, but I feel the greatest one of these was the first: producing games in a series. We all had the common experience of never having the time to play all of our games, because we just didn't have the time to learn and relearn the individual rules. From the very beginning, with the introduction of the Civil War Brigade series, The Gamers has addressed this problem and set a new standard. In a move which at the time was a tremendous gamble, Dean allowed us to begin playing our new purchases almost immediately, using the knowledge from earlier series games. For those of us with very limited leisure time, and that's all of us, this simple stroke of genius has allowed us to get a level of appreciation of Gamers products almost impossible in other products. [Forgive Sticky his remarks on the series concept as a Homer-born stroke of genius. As a wargame fanatic of "only" twelve years, he missed the original blossoming of Europa and GBACW.]

In the beginning, at least to me, The Gamers was a small company which needed to cultivate the trust and loyalty of each one of its customers. Although I was only able to participate sporadically with The Gamers, the immediate level of support and service shown from the very start was unheard of. I remember our first few small conventions in the Midwest, when we would be happy to sell just a few games; I also remember seeing our first response cards. Even to this day, though my activity remains limited, seeing your responses still gives me a lot of pride in this company.

Never having been part of a growing compary, I have found what I witnessed in The Gamers absolutely fascinating. I have been able to watch this company literally grow from nothing, set in Dean's living room, into something to really be impressed with. I remember going to Homer in the early years of The Gamers, and the various ideas for more efficient collating of the games. We went from sitting on Dean's floor and passing the boxes from person to person, all the way to the almost choreographed efficiency of the present system, which allows all of the packaging and shipping steps to be done in a fraction of the time, and with far better reliability.

I have had an opportunity to playtest all of the series The Gamers has introduced, and I have also had some input into several of the finished games. This always makes playing the actual game just a little more fun for me. While I enjoy all of the series, I still think my favorite is the CWB. Although the command and control system is more involved than most other Civil War games, I think the level of realism in well worth the effort. Even though I have never defeated my constant opponent Dave in a CWB battle, I know that, in the end, the battle went as I directed, and was influenced by my level of preparation. I like knowing I have no one to blame but myself. [Ed. note: Please notice how Sticky refrains from mentioning bad dice.]

That also means, someday I will have nothing to detract from my inevitable victory.

In 1990 we were all excited when we heard Dean was planning on moving the operation out of his home and into a new facility, dedicated solely to The Gamers. When we saw the building at first, it needed a lot of work. I still remember that rough weekend, when all of us went down to Homer for a Labor Battalion routine. We got a lot done in those few days, but somehow it didn't seem like all the sweat was too bad. The way the building looks now, the operation is really something to see.

It was a few years in the making, but Operations finally came out. I had never been a terribly big fan of the existing hobby magazines, but this was something different. When the magazine did arrive, it was everything I had expected and more. Operations, to this day, remains the only magazine I receive which I read every page of. Even when it has been several months since I have been in Homer, I still I devour every article and letter. Needless to say, all of your letters and game-related questions have aided my skills dramatically, though Dave may not have noticed! Also needless to say, I have been thrilled every time I see my name in Operations [Ed. note: We aim to thrill our readers. Watch: David "Sticky" Combs!]. Usually it's on the losing end of an after-action report, but sometimes it's just from a good weekend with The Gamers.

One of the things I can't take any credit for, even facetiously, is the steady advancement in the graphics for both maps and game pieces. While I was impressed with the level of quality in the original ITQF, I am always awestuck with our newer products. Every game also has a more impressive style of cover, though I must admit, I still like the first cover best. You see, I'm on the cover of In their Quiet Fields. That lends a certain amount of majesty to anything!

Over the years, The Gamers has come a long way from Dean's living room. Dean allowed me, a virtual stranger at the time, to be a part of that journey. I've always been proud of the small contributions I have been able to make along the way. I'm also grateful for the opportunity to witness something truly impressive, from both inside and out. Dean and The Gamers have given me not only some great memories, but also the satisfaction of seeing something I took part in grow past any of my expectations. I'm very proud of The Gamers, and all the people it has brought me in contact with will always be very special to me.

[Ed. note: Loyal readers, I can almost hear you remarking on how self-serving it is for us to run Sticky's glowing article in The Gamers' house magazine. Besides "I love The Gamers," there is a point here. Playtesters, Ops writers, callers, and even people who fill out feedback cards all have an influence on the final product. So rather than be a passive consumer, you can follow Sticky's lead and participate in shaping the games the way you want them.]