Last year I helped introduce a veteran gamer, Gary Perkins, to Panzergruppe Guderian, which he hadn't got around to playing when it came out 25 years ago. Now that we've played a few scenarios from Enemy at the Gates, he is experiencing OCS enlightenment. Another guy in our group, Jim Brady, gained a good sense of the system from a couple teaching scenarios of Tunisia and EatG. Both these guys are sharp, and I can tell you that the teacher soon became the victim. For me, teaching the game has reminded me of my initial enthusiasm when I first got a taste of the OCS. The experience also showed that while the games may look intimidating in the box, they are easily learnable. Once you understand the key subsystems, you're ready to rumble. With a little guidance from an experienced player, people pick this system up very fast. To paraphrase the slogan on the EatG mug, don't be afraid of the big one.

You may be curious about the new EatG maps. You do not need these for EatG per se, but if you want to link GB II with EatG, then you should order a set so that the map edges will link properly. On the new maps a few cities and roads have been downgraded. We have also received a few questions about an "upgrade kit" to convert the original Guderian's Blitzkrieg into GB II The new edition has a new and much bigger map based on new terrain analysis, a newly researched order of battle (see Lynn Brower's article from last issue), an expanded countermix, and a time span that goes roughly a year and half beyond the end of the original GB's span. Furthermore, GB II uses the version 3.0 OCS rules, charts, and tables. Trying to upgrade the 1992 edition to the 2001 edition is pretty much like asking to upgrade a 1961 VW Beetle to this year's model.

Come by and say hello to Dean and the gang at The Gamers' Table at DonCon. GB II will be available there.

Be sure to visit The Gamers booth at Origins and come to our seminar as well. This year we won't be presenting any other official The Gamers events because the powers that be decided such event should be by admission fee only, and we don't want to charge you admission.

The time to vote for the 2000 Charles S. Roberts awards is drawing close. Again this year you can vote online: see http://members.aol.com/TheCharlies/CSRawards.htm.

Operations continues to get good article submissions, and I encourage anyone out there with an idea for an article to contact me or, better yet, write and submit the article. Writers' guidelines are available on www.tgamers.com, or you can write to me for a copy. If you can't submit an electronic copy, then send it on paper. Be sure to include all of your contact information (name, address, phone, email address) and put your last name on every page. Number the pages. Turn in the neatest copy you can (typed, doublespaced, one side of the paper only). Some of you use a word processor to prepare your submission print it out, and then send only the hard copy. If you have it, please send the electronic copy also. Acceptable formats are MS Word, RTF, and ASCII. Some of you send graphics too. Vector graphics should be in Encapsulated Postscript; bitmaps should ideally be TIFFs with LZW compression. I can deal with bitmaps in other formats if necessary, but one thing I can't do is add resolution. While low-res (around 72 dpi) is good for the web, I need images with at least 300 dpi to look decent in print.

On the topic of graphics, a mea ultima culpa for the messed up example in the gaming techniques article. Dean and I both proof the pages, but sometimes (I still can't predict when) we have an EPS train wreck. I'm looking at different software and technique options to stamp out such problems; till then, I'm including the make-up graphic in this issue.

Make plans now to attend HomerCon 2001: A Corn Odyssey, a weekend of gaming and socializing in balmy Homer, IL, 27-30 September 2001. Call, write, or see our website for details. Registration is not required, but we appreciate your telling us in advance if you plan to attend.