1. The WASHINGTON GAMER (WG) is the publication of the Washington Gamers Association, a local boardgaming group. The editor's column of the WG June 87 issue stated, in part: "...an embarrassing erratum -- The Table of Contents in our last issue of WG incorrectly listed Ben Butterfield's story as 'The Berserker Quadriped Swam From Trifid Who Have No Regard For Life As We Conceive It'. It should have read 'The Berserker Quadriped Swarm From Beyond Trifid Who Have No Regard For Life As We Conceive It'..." The editor, obviously an honest fellow, apparently has a low embarrassment threshhold. 2. I FINALLY WON ONE! Although I don't embarrass as easily as the editor of WG, it was becoming embarrassing in the Great 30mm Civil War when I lost the first four battles. Simon's Federalists could do nothing right each time they encountered Bob Hurst's Unionists in the ACW campaign. A new era is adawnin', however; I now have a winning streak of two in a row... a victory in the battle at Fort Peck, and then another not-so-glorious victory in which I talked General Hurst out of a victory. The campaign set-up - the rules of which were published in the May '87 REVIEW - has required no tinkering at all, and our ACW tactical rules have had few changes since they were outlined in the March and May issues. If anyone out there wants a copy of the rules, send in a stamped envelope. I should note in passing that this ACW set is one in our series of GREAT* rules. *Genuinely Realistic, Excruciatingly Accurate and True 3. Fort Peck, the centerpiece of my victory, arrived a couple of days before the battle. It was made by Robin Peck of Norfolk, England, whose advertisement for his model shop SMALL WORLD is carried in the REVIEW. I had asked Robin about the design of a fortification suitable for use with 25mm, 30mm, and 40mm figures, and the final product far exceeded my expectations. Some of the features: Sketch 1 illustrates the usual design of a fortification. The width of the parapet is usually about one inch, leaving little room for figures and no room for artillery. Sketch 2 shows the parapet of Fort Peck ... a nice, wide area with lots of room for men and guns. The height of the parapet is about 1 1/2 inches. Fort Peck comes in 8 pieces ... 4 wall sections about 12 inches long and 4 right angle corner sections. The corner sections may be used by themselves to form a small redoubt. One of the wall sections contains a tower, about 8 inches high, and a gate, 3 inches wide. The surrounding stockade wall is well ported for musketry and artillery fire, with the height of the wall just fine for a variety of figure sizes. The workmanship and detail are fantastic. The sections appear to be based on 3/16 plywood and built up with some sort of spackle. Fort Peck, therefore, cannot be picked up and knocked about with impunity ... but since it will remain forever in the Simon game room, there's no problem here. 4. Dick Sossi's Annapolis based SHIP SHOP has moved... and why? Because his landlord wanted to put in a Chinese restaurant. Does this prove there is more money to be made in egg rolls than in toy soldiers? Where did he move? He moved two ten's digits... no longer at 75 Maryland Avenue, he's at 55 Maryland Avenue. We're all on the edge of our seats waiting to see the type of restaurant which his new landlord will use to displace him. 5. A Duel In The The Sun. Bob Hurst and I traveled to Cumberland, Md. where, amongst other things, we had a shoot-off 'twixt the two of us in the International Multi-Small Arms Marksmanship Contest. When the smoke had cleared: The 22 caliber Iver Johnson pistol shooting match. 1st place: Hurst 2nd Place: Simon The 32 caliber Mauser Automatic get-him-before-he-gets-you contest. 1st place: Hurst 2nd Place: Simon The 38 caliber S&W Snub-Nose (2 inch barrel) hit-the-terrorist competition. 1st place: Hurst 2nd Place: Simon The 38 caliber S&W (4 inch barrel) right-between-the-eyes shoot-off. 1st place: Hurst 2nd Place: Simon We each acted as spotter while the other shot. During one round, Bob fired, and I shouted "0 for 1!". Another BANG! and "0 for 2!" A third shot and an "0 for 3!". When this was followed by an "0 for 4!" Bob protested, and it turned out that I had been monitoring the wrong target. There's more than one way to win a shooting match. Back to PW Review August 1987 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1987 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com