~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | Fine Games for Players & Collectors | | 2078 Madrona St., North Bend, OR 97459-2143 | | http://www.FineGames.com/ | ~~~~~~~~ 541-756-4711 866-690-7879 M.Dean@FineGames.com ~~~~~~~~ Games Update 1997 #14 1 April 1997 April Fools Day Special WELCOME again to another Fine Games electronic newsletter.These updates contain news and other info of interest to active board gamers and collectors. They also explain how you can access copies of the many Fine Games' online catalogs at your convenience. C O N T E N T S Fine Games NEWS .......... What's going on at Fine Games - Phone Messaging 101 - Clearance List Due Soon INDUSTRY NEWS ............ Mayfair sold to Iron Crown Ent (ICE) - Settlers back to normal New Sales Manager at Avalon Hill NEW Games ................ New & Pending Releases - Btls of the Forgotten War - ASL: Pegasus Bridge - War in Europe PC v1.0 Your SUGGESTIONS ......... Suggestions Always Welcomed F I N E G A M E S N E W S If you call but don't reach me personally, please please please leave a message with my electronic secretary. I will and do return calls as promptly as possible. Really! BEST TIME TO REACH ME is mid-day and evening, west coast time. That is, roughly 11am-2pm and 7pm-9pm are times when I'm just sitting here, awaiting your call. If you call on my 800 number, I *insist* that you leave a message. Each call costs money. And if you are one of those that prefer to call back a half dozen times without leaving a single message, realize that you're ticking me off! 'Nuff said. A CLEARANCE LIST should be available in early May. This will be roughly 3-4 pages long, double sided, and include great prices on items I've had way too long. I expect to post the list on my web site, and will include copies with orders shipped after it is available (only). Otherwise, you MUST send a SSAE to receive an otherwise free printed copy. MY OWN COLLECTION will offer up some games for sale, too, sometime later this spring. The experience of moving so damn many boxes of games got to me earlier this year. So I intend to thin my collection of games I'd never play even if I won the lottery. Sorry, my copy of Emp Middle Ages stays! ;) N E W G A M E S & P E N D I N G R E L E A S E S Three new releases deserve special mention this issue. Decision Games has finally released a game that many of you have anticipated with relish, its Battles of the Forgotten War ($35 my cash price). This is a large trilogy of grand tactical battles from the Korean War. AH has released Pegasus Bridge, an historical ASL module covering localized & campaign actions during the night before the D-Day landings as paratroopers attempt to secure the northern flank of the landing area. A must have for those of this lifestyle. And, out of right field, Decision Games has released its v1.0 (read "beta") version of its computerized War in Europe. Currently, it comes as two disks for DOS PCs only, with *only* an ascii text how-to-play manual. The game assumes that you know the rules to War in Europe itself. I've installed a copy & demoed it briefly. My impression is that it has many of the qualities of the WiE boardgame: its BIG, very simple and fast to play, with simplistic but functional graphics. Tho programmed for use under DOS, it worked fine in a DOS window under Win95, includes some good sound files (such as an an excerpt from Churchill's Finest Hour speech), and used some easy but sophisticated graphical menu selections. Based on a superficial look, I'd definitely return to it for further amusement. Hardware requirments are pretty basic: VGA, 486+ 4mb Ram, 6mb space, & a mouse. Sound card supported. The v1.0 edition is currently available for $40 direct from Decision Games only, and includes a couple of disks *only*--no manual. A v2.0 version is scheduled for June release at roughly $60 and *will* include a printed manual. This is Decision Games' current thinking of how future SPI games will be re-released. By the way, programming was done by a law student, G. Ploussios. :') I N D U S T R Y N E W S It's finally official: MAYFAIR GAMES WAS SOLD TO IRON CROWN ENTERPRISES (I.C.E.). Better late than never, I suppose. The good side of that is that Mayfair's existing stock, including the exceptional game Settlers of Catan, should get back into circulation in a few weeks. And because the line was purchased whole, the synergy of a solid lineup of train and adult board games remains. Now, will ICE -- a company which has never been a heavy hitter in the board game field -- be able to run with this line? Settlers is now widely avail again, so all orders pending will be processed at $24.50/copy regardless of any previous, higher price. The bad news, IMHO, is that the company that was the logical heir to Mayfair's extensive & attractive line of game once again failed to play hardball for its own future. That company is AH, again drowsy at the wheel. But speaking of The Hill, AH has hired a fellow named Mark Hall as its sale manager. Hall held a similar position with Games Workshop and appears to have correctly assessed the desperate need for accurate scheduling and product info from AH by its distributors, dealers and customers. Now if he can get the rest of the organization to play along with its customer's needs.... Y O U R S U G G E S T I O N S YOUR SUGGESTIONS that help me improve the service I provide to you via this Update or in any other way are greatly appreciated. Michael Dean Fine Games for Players & Collectors