Messire, nous requiérons la possession des Chemins de la Gloire pour les laboratoires de tests de l’Académie du Wargame afin de rédiger une véritable étude sur ce sommet de l’art ludique. Si vous êtes d’accord pour transférer vos droits sur le jeu à Vieille Garde, nous vous ferons Chevalier de l’Académie et peut être même, Comte de Vancouver et des Iles de Victoria, ou un autre Titre à votre convenance et qui serait reconnu par l’Assemblée pléniaire des maîtres. Ainsi pour quelques bouts de cartons vous pourriez devenir membre honorable de la noble academie du Wargame. Que le coquin de sort vous conserve heureux jusqu’à la prochaine partie!

Sir, we need Paths of Glory for the test labs of the Academy of War games, to write a real study on this gem. If you agree to transfer your rights in the game to Vieille Garde for glory, we can make you knight of the academy and perhaps even Count of Vancouver and Victoria Island, or another title you choose that would be recognized by the plenary assembly of the lords. So for only a few pieces of paper, you could become an honorable member of the glorious Academy of Wargames. Use the force with the dice!

Twisting the Misericord

Hi. I just got the latest Simulacrum issue. Looks great. I humbly must submit that I am not in the same league as the Art (Lupinacci) of Toronto and Streets of Stalingrad fame.

Here are the gory details one more time for anyone who may have missed this fiasco. In issue 7, Art Lupinacci wrote a review of Battle for the Factories. I attributed it to Art Kritzer (mea maxima culpa) who also happens to write reviews for Simulacrum. The fact that they’re both Canadians means only that I have not started an international incident. I have done the only honorable thing and recalled my ambassador. -ed

Lay It On Me, Brothers

John, issue #7 was excellent! Payment enclosed for a re-sub.

Hi John! Got the new Simulacrum ... yesterday. Everything arrived intact despite the best efforts of the postal service. The latest issue looks great from a quick read through. The illustrations are definitely much better with the new software! As for the capsule profiles, I prefer the boxed data format you used in the last few issues so hopefully you can squeeze that in again next time (I thought this might have had something to do with my late submissions.) Also, great profile article!

The lack of boxed tables has got nothing to do with lateness, Joe, and everything to do with the relatively primitive and awkward way PageMaker deals with them, which is by means of an add-on program. I prefer the boxes too, and will attempt to overcome the limitations of the software in future. -ed

Unabashed Braunnrsing

Is begging sufficient, or should I grovel? I’d be interested in either Hannibal (Aker Siegel) or Raiders & Traders. Why? (1.) Hannibal: I don’t know the game, but assuming the title is apt, I know the period and believe I have all of the other games on the topic (Rusiecki, Aulic, SimCan, DG, AH). I’d love to see this, and do a comparative analysis. (2.) Raiders & Traders: This is one that should have been German-ized. With all of the “civ” games out there today, I think its worth a second look. My credentials? They’re probably in my other pants with my scruples. I own a large collection of games, and have a regular gaming group willing to serve as guinea pigs pioneers. Frank Watson of Europa magazine would probably be willing to vouch for my writing ability and knowledge of games. Oh, and by the way, you are confusing tanstaafl (Afrikaaner for “somebody’s going to have to pay”) with the notorious Tanzstafel or Dancing SS, the crack precision boogie commandos famous for infiltrating music halls throughout Europe in order to steal the free mints.

In fact, there is a delightful and little-known pun in the word tanstaafl, for there was a rumor, that had not been scotched, that after the commandos had minced through the music halls of Europe and filched all the mints, someone usually had to pay. -ed

I just received issue 7 and it was most impressive. So much so that it inspired me to write. First, a question: Regarding the review of Beast Lord: for years, I have owned this game, even played it a few times. I like the format, but the holes in the rules were big enough to drive a Mack truck through, and there were apparent errors on the counters. I’d really like to get a corrected version of the rules and give the game another shot.

Second, I would like a copy of your Contributer’s Guidelines, if I may. I can turn a decent phrase, I’ve been playing wargames for nigh on to 30 years now, and I have time to send a review in now and again.