Hope you were not late for too many events because you just had to get in one more game of Tour of Duty. You addicts should try to remember that The Gamers published more than just TOD last year: Seven Pines and This Hallowed Ground also have a lot of good gaming in them. The year was unique in that Dean, Dave Powell, and Chris Volny had to deal with their plane crash and its aftermath. Also, Dean took on what consultants call "workflow reengineering" -- he reorganized his process to add quality to the final product. That means that the games you'll see from the "first batch" under the new system will include Gazala (SCS), Malvern Hill (CWB), Burma (OCS), and Aspern-Essling (NBS), all slated for 1999. The second batch will be A Frozen Hell (TCS), Drive on Paris (SCS), Sicily (OCS), and probably This Terrible Sound (RSS).
While you all are busy playing this year's fine games (and a whole lotta DAK, This Hallowed Ground, and Seven Days, I dare say), Dean will be turning to a couple new projects, in this order: the Operational Age of Rifles series and War in Europe for the SCS. A poll on The Gamers e-mail list determined the relative timing of these projects. There is no release schedule for games in either of these projects, as it is still far to early stake out dates for them.
Age of Rifles will be the OCS, so to speak, of the era from the Thirty Years War to the introduction of the machine gun. Yes, that chronological scope takes in the English Civil War, the War of Spanish Succession, the campaigns of both Frederick and Napoleon, and the American Civil War. The scale focuses on campaigns, and those of you familiar with the sizes of armies and the capacities of logistical systems during the eras covered will quickly realize that, in a constant-scale series, some of these games will be a good deal bigger than others. The smaller campaigns will probably come bundled, with multiple campaigns in the same game package.
The War in Europe project will take the converse approach to packaging: several game-size modules (probably East, West, and Mediterranean) adding up to one overall strategic game. As in the Seven Days sub-series, each module will be a complete game in itself, with multiple scenarios.
HomerCon 99 is coming up on 16-19 September. Contact The Gamers office to request a Retreat Packet with driving directions, motel information, and other helpful stuff. You need not register for the con; walk-ins are welcome! If you're in Europe this spring, don't miss the EuroHomerCon, 13-16 May in Barunfels, Germany. Judging from the interest and enthusiasm shown on the e-mail list when the idea of a European Garners convention arose, this should be a fun-charged event.
The next supplemental countersheet is planned for December 1999; the 1998 sheet came out earlier than usual, but that doesn't mean the traditional release date has changed. If you are an active customer of The Gamers this year, expect to receive the supplemental countersheet free of charge. The definition of "active customer" includes anyone who orders a game directly from The Gamers or who sends in a response card from a game. Qualification by response card is a new option to cover those who buy their Garners titles by more roundabout means.
If you have signed up for a game subscription plan, be sure to provide our front office with up-to-date credit card numbers and expiration dates. The whole idea of a subscription is to give you smooth, uninterrupted, and hasslefree delivery of the games you want at pre-pub prices. An expired credit card is a monkey-wrench in that machine.
Aide-de-Camp users: be sure to check out the selection of modules available now.
We have just changed our policy towards contributors. Now, rather than subscription extensions, writers will get a $20 credit per page of published material. This can be converted into hard cash if you let us know that is what you want. I'll look forward to seeing your words in print! Credit will be given to those who already have unfulfilled credit on file for older issues.
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