In addition to checking out the fantasy gamers and drinking beer, we spent some enjoyable and productive time at Origins '96 talking with wargame designers, artists, and publishers. I'm happy to say that one result of our conversations is The Gamers Consortium, a collaborative marketing agreement with Moments in History.

Let me start explaining this arrangement by telling you what it is not. The Gamers and MiH are not co-designing or co-producing any games, nor are we consulting with each other on what titles to produce, what game systems to design, or even what die-cutters to use. Each company continues to do its own thing. You can buy our games direct or find them in some stores (see Dean's "Out Brief" from last issue), and MiH games are still available retail and direct from MiH. We're not even officially endorsing each other's games, though I'll come right out and say it: MiH makes outstanding games.

I will point out also, though I shouldn't have to, that The Gamers Consortium is not part of a conspiracy to destroy retailers, distributors, or mail-order discounters; is not an expression of any not-so-secret agenda to annoy any other game publishers; and is not part of any fiendishly clever master plan to coerce all wargamers to eat their bread butter-side down.

Here's what we are doing. The Gamers is providing order fulfillment on MiH games and even extending our Operations subscriber's discount to cover MiH titles.

(Note: MagWeb members not eligible for the discount--you must be an Operations magazine subscriber to be eligible.--RL)

Also, you can expect to see coverage of the Moments in History line in the pages of this magazine. We two publishers gain some mutual benefits by combining our direct-marketing efforts. You game buyers benefit from the discount and free shipping.

If you subscribe to Operations or bought a game from us in 1996, keep an eye on your mailbox for the replacements and variants counter sheet, which includes the "vanity" counters some of you have designed for the interest and amusement of your fellow wargamers. Attention contributors: I am working my way through notifications to authors, with emphasis on people whose work I want to publish soon or whom I need to contact about rewrites, uncorrupted electronic files, and so on. Also, the Operations writers' guidelines are available on paper and by e-mail. If you are interested in writing for the magazine, contact The Gamers. In an attempt to both reduce the space in this magazine taken up by my own words and to preserve some choice moments from HomerCon, I contrived a user-friendly program (ruunning on a user-pestiferous PowerBook, sorry) to collect quotes and war stories from the attendees of this year's Gamers Retreat. So the after-action report in this issue is a tossed salad of remarks from those who were there. Enjoy.