Malcolm Epstein writes:

Sorry it's taken me so long to answer your note, which was included with the latest booklet. Since I have to write for two publications, as well as a research paper for a graduate class in History, I'm going to have to decline the review - this time. But please ask again.

By the way, the Vol. V n 1 SAGA was the best so far, both in content and layout. I want to try out the rules set too.

Wargaming in Jeff. City has never been stronger, especially in ancients/medievals. We held a weekend gameday (1st one ever) and got 41 people to play ancients and medievals (WRG 7th, TACTICA and one skirmish game). We must have ten players painting Dark Ages armies at the present time. Mostly we're using WRG 6th rules, which don't seem too difficult. I think we'll move on to 7th edition at a later date.

Anyway. keep up the good work and do try to get someone to write more or less frequently on tactics for WRG 7th (or whatever) along the lines of Jim Kasper's article in SPEARPOINT on Irr. D's.

(Ed. I believe that SAGA will be presenting a series of articles starting next issue on tactics for use with MRG 7th. I've also started a series on designed armies for beginners/intermediate level players who would like some suggestions... should be in this issue)

From Glen Boise:

Scott Holder is chairing the annual rules interpretation effort this year. We need to start now to avoid last year's last minute rush. Send him your questions and comments. I am especially interested in seeing questions on matters not covered last year, nor arising from the 7.3/7.4 (or will it be 7.5) amendments. Hopefully, neither Phil nor the "East Coast Crowd" will attempt foisting off rules changes in the form of interpretations. Remember, Terry, the new skirmish rules saw first light of day last year as an "interpretation". Also, a friend of mine had an opponent at HISTORICON claim that mounted could not "roll up" in woods. (This is one of the stupider misinterpretations to appear.)

If Phil and the members feel a need for further rules tinkering, then let us add an experimental rules section to the interpretations or have them form a special interest group. Then, they can propose and test their ideas without interfering with others play.

[Ed. This whole argument is specious. At Free Trade Mars, over 45 gamers played WRG 7th as written, no 'interps' etc. In my four games, any minor problems which arose were handled in a reasonable, intelligent manner. Perhaps the temperment of the players had something to do with this, but we had four NCT qualifiers play as well as a half dozen beginners. I still can't see the need for all of this time and energy going into trying to figure out what the rules writer 'means' when all you gotta do is ask him]

Brent Oman writes:

I'm working on finishing up a DBA early German army. I also bought an early Imperial Roman DBA army, as did a friend. This may sound strange to you, but as a 1700's+ onwards collector/painter/gamer, I find it hard to paint ancient armies. Too much tempatation to individualize each figure!

[Ed. How true, but it sure looks great when you get those six knight figures done, each with his own coat of arms, color of tunic and emblazoned banner!]

This from John Stafford:

Nice note with my order. I quickly read books on Gaul and England. excellent! Great campaign material. Everyone always says campaign battles are better than 1-on-1 1500 point battles, but it's tough to get off your duff, do the research, get the players, etc. But your Pallas Armata books were very impressive. I'm not much on the Crusades, so I'll have to wait to see what you come up with next.

[Ed. The next Pallas Araata booklet will deal with three seperate campaigns/battles of the 13th century, centered around the battles of Hurst, Bouvines and Lake Peipus (immortalized in the Russian film ALEXANDER NEVSKY). I hope to finish this before the New Year, but only time will tell.]

I've enclosed money for a trial subscription to SAGA. My current favorite magazine is MWAN, but it's going out of business! Hal's going to hang up his hat. Too bad. I also receive the COURIER, plus the occasional issue of several others. SLINGSHOT is not bad, but the editors do make some gaffs re: Phil Barker. I've never understood why some people get so upset about this game or that (WRG vrs. TACTICA. etc.) [Ed. Come on, who would do that?] Just play what you want. And if you're going to run a sanctioned tournament, clear rules interps or add-ons with the author. If it's homebrew add-ons just say so.

My Master's will be in Social Science with an emphasis on Soviet Studies. I should finish up my work around the Christmas holidays. I'm doing a mini-thesis, the full length one not required. It will discuss contemporary and future relations between what's left of the USSR/Russia and the Baltics. Tough area to get research on as I only speak/read Russian poorly (1 year college), and I get overcome by events all the time. My undergraduate degree was Military History. Great stuff.

Finally, from William John Hupp:

In the 70's I built up 25mm medieval armies with Airfix and Garrison/Greenwood & Ball Norman figures. It was college time, with lots of time for playing, painting, and rules writing and argueing! It degenerated at the end into D&D and, while I still liked the medieval period, my armies didn't have opponents.

After a 10+ year hiatus, TACTICA and The Thistle and the Rose 15mm figures motivated me to buy Norman, Saxon. Viking and Byzantine (Essex) armies. I'm sure I'll be a long time in painting these figures, but I look forward to trying out TACTICA, DBA, WRG and KATMA.

I look forward to receiving the magazine and wargame guides. With me, reading always pushes my painting and, gaming.

[Ed. No too. Milliae. Unfortunately. I've gone back to 25mm. and it 's real expensive to read all those historical accounts of 13th century Teutonic Knights. Albigensian Crusaders and Imperial Germans!]

From Michael McVeigh 

Dear Terry:

It was a great pleasure having dinner with you and playing at the mega WRG 7th game at Hiostoricon 1991. While I certainly don't feel ready to play a game by myself yet,a lot of the sequence of play was clarified for me. Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to play you one on one sometime--I learned a great deal from your advice during the megagame.

Enclosed please find a scenario for DBA for publication in SAGA, if you can use it. If you are interested in this one, let me know as I plan to do several more.Another pr ject I'm working on is a solo system for DBA. To this end, if you can find any of your old standing order sheets you prepared for WRG 6th, please send any you have available.

Well,that's all for now.

From Jim Waters

Dear Terry,

I enjoyed Vol. V no. 4 and so glad you're going to the newer, cleaner format.

Paul Siffen of Fresno asked about The Mahabharate. It ran for 6 hours on PBS last spring - we saw it and thought it one of those artistic experiences that change your life. The audio-visual people at the university where I teach referred me to a distributor in Chicago called "Facets', at 1-800-331-6197. I called "Facets" and learned that they sell The Mahabharate, their ordering number S 13333, for $99.93. Not really too much for 6 hours of beautiful presentation of one of the overwhelming epics of all time (in the real sense, not the contemporary hype). It's probably available on the rental circuit too, though I haven't looked into that.

The goulash recipe on p. 35 looks delicious -- my only problem now is finding a well-stocked Visigoth fare and a Roman settlement. Who gets the credit for this recipe? It's not clear from the magazine. (Howard Whitehouse)

I enclose $7.30 for a copy of Saladin's Campaigns.

Is anyone out there willing to Xerox copies of SAGA vol 5 nos. 1-3, since you're out of them? And does anyone know a U.S. dealer who carries the boardgame Cry Havoc!?

From William Hamblin

Thanks for your booklets: they were very interesting. I think this type of publication is the way to go in the future for wargaming. Your booklets take the right approach for wargamers: give the substance to specific campaigns with details, sources, and then a wargaming section. Desktop publishing will increasingly allow the production of such inexpensive small print run, but high quality booklets in the future.

My only suggestion is that I feel period specific rules and a greater "role playing" element to wargaming could expand interest in the hobby. Tournament rules are exciting at one level, but should not preclude the use of specific rules tailored to provide all the look and feel of a specific period. Also, the abstract, chess-like feel of tournament rules is again enjoyable at one level, but there is no reason to preclude a more "role playing" approach. where you have scenarios and campaigns beyond just the single battlefield

From Craig Tyrell 

Dear Terry,

Please find enclosed my latest submissions for SAGA -- a short article and my regular columns. You should be receiving the fall issue of the MGM News shortly.

I had an excellent time at Jia Kasper's tournament in Cleveland about two weeks ago. I tried out yet another new look for my Burgundians and was rewarded with a fairly good showing (losing draw - winning draw - winwin). I still have not discovered the secret for handling horse archer armies with these guys.

The level of sportsmanship was extremely high throughout the event - I had four outstanding games, my opponents to a man were gentlemen, and all of the games were very well played (my measure of the success of any tournament - enjoyable, low key, well played games).

Our resident horse archer expert, Craig Bowser, won the event with his Hsiung Ku. All of our crew had a great time, and Jim Kasper did a great job of organizing and ref-ing the event.

Take care and I look forward to seeing you again at Historicon.

From K. Wilkes

I have stumbled across a wonderful little book called, "The Lay of the Warfare Waged by Igor". It concerns the 12th century campaign of a Russian Prince Igor against the Polovtsi, (probably better known in the west as the Kipchak Turks). The cover of this book is one of the most gorgeous I have ever seen. The pages are adorned with traditional Russian decorative motifs, and stunning woodcuts. The Lay itself was written in or about 1187. It is presented with archaic Russian on one page, which is opposed by the English translation on another, a dual text. There is a long intensive introduction in English. The entire book consists of 122 pages. Terry, you must buy this book for your library, if only to admire the front cover. Now, believe this if you will: it costs $5.75. I ordered my copy from the Victor Kamkin bookstore in Washington D.C., there is a small shipping charge added to the price. This is too good a deal to pass up. No, Kamkin is not paying me a commission to sell books.

The August Saga with its larger size and cleaner layout was, if I may say, an improvement. The presented material was interesting, informative, and the content as usual, excellent. I would prefer to see more emphasis on the "Ancient" aspects of our hobby, but to realize that preference night entail some effort on my own part, God forbidl one of the theses I have been playing with recently is the Global Politics of the Greek and Persian Wars. It has possibilities. 

From Gareth Simon

Dear Terry,

Sorry for the long silence, but I have been, and still am, very busy in the office with system testing, which requires me to work six, and occasionally, seven day weeks, with the odd twelve hour+ day thrown in for good measure. It should be over by the end of the month, and the overtime will pay for a big batch of printing. I did get a weekend off, the weekend before last. which.was a bank-holiday here, and my friend who is working in Florida at the mount was beck for a holiday at the same time, so I got in three days of gaming with him. (East Front from Columbia Games, on the 41-45 war in Russia - excellent game.)

The latest SAGA arrived this morning. I will try (again) to get something to you for the next one. I have a three-page review of the Alexandros game already done, and I have started work tidying up my medieval campaign system. I will enclose (if I remember) a copy of the latest official clarifications from WRG for 7th edition, which were handed out at the weekend at our National Wargames Championship. I met Clive McLeod on the train Sunday night, who was returning from there and he gave me a copy. Phil may have already handed them out at Free Trade Wars. The NASAMN amendments are denounced in the first paragraph. 'Ammendment' is misspelt in the first line. Some rule system are born unlucky.

While in Greenwich on Sunday I found copies of volumes 3 and 4 of ITALY AND HER INVADERS, covering the Lombard invasions and the Imperial recovery. If you are still interested in them I will ship them out to you.

I have not yet printed SALADIN, but it will be part of the "big bang" later this month. The latest Arquebusier escaped from the printer two weeks ago, having been there since May.

The end. For now.