1. In the last issue, I printed the sketch below, purporting to illustrate a tense moment in our SINK THE TIRPITZ scenario, as our submarine captain looked through his "periscope" to get his bearings. The "submarine,", of course, was defined as the region below Paddy Griffith's dining room table, and this prompted a viewer or two, after an intensive contemplation of the drawing, to ask: "Did Dr. Griffith, in his fervor for historical realism, actually cut out a hole in his dining room table?" I must admit that I took certain artistic liberties with Dr. Griffith's set-up. No, he did NOT cut a hole in his table. Rather did he set out an ancillary small table as shown in the drawing below, and it was between the two tables that the sub's commander poked his head. 2.During my trip to England, Robin Peck was kind enough to give me a quantity of teeny-weeny 6mm figures - He used them for his PONY WAR scenarios, and I've "converted" them for the American Civil War. Each 6mm man has been lovingly detailed, down to the hairs in each nostril and the flower in his lapel. The figures will make their debut at the HISTORICON convention in July, as Bob Hurst and I present a grand-grand- tactical ACW game, fraught with historical accuracy, seminal in its portrayal of the period, and significantly thought-provoking in its realistic simulation of the era Is warfare and weaponry. So there! Now, tell the truth... doesn't.that sound better than WRG, or EMPIRE, or MONOPOLY or even PARCHEESI?? 3.I've been informed that the entire collection in Lynn Bodin's estate has been taken by one purchaser. The planned estate auction mentioned in the last issue has, accordingly, been cancelled. 4.Simplicity just won't work. About a year and a half ago, Phil Barker brought out an extremely simplified ancients set of rules... very few tokens, a quick combat result of either you're- alive-or-you're-dead, and game to last no longer than a half hour. Preliminary copies of the rules abounded... I saw them in England, and I've seen them here. And everyone semms to have taken the opportunity to build on the set... to "fill in the gaps" left by the basic approach outlined by Barker. No one seems to want to play a mere half hour game. 5.Recently received the club notes from the Northwestern US HMGS organization... in the vicinity of Seattle. I mention this because the Treasurer states, under the heading "Good News", that his HMGS group is in the black; the kitty totals $2.03!! Rarely will one encounter greater optimism. I contrast this with our own beloved, tight-to-the-vest Eastern US HMGS, clinging to its over $20,000 treasury. Back to PW Review May 1990 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1990 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