The South Bay Game Club

Hobby News

by Chris Salander

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January

I am calling this a news note because it is so short. I am sorry that it is late. The January meeting just came up on me suddenly. I hope to see many of you there.

Club News

The good news is that the new Cupertino Library is finished and open to the public. The bad news is that even though it probably has five times as much floor space as the old library, there are NO public meeting rooms whatsoever. They were designed out! A number of you have spoken to me before and said that you would start attending the meetings again or attend them more frequently if and when we moved the meetings back to Cupertino. Now that is no longer an option.

However, we still have an incentive to find another place, beside increasing attendance. There may be a period of time when Scenario Shoppe is closed and the new store is not ready yet. And we do not know exactly how much playing space will be available in the new store. So, I would like to ask all of you who are interested in this to start looking for a meeting place in your area. The place must meet four criteria: 1) It must have large rectangular tables (at least 12), with chairs; 2) It must be inexpensive; 3) It must be in good condition (not disgusting); and 4) We must be able to stay for the evening if we choose to. Now my personal choice is the Program Room in the Los Altos Library, on San Antonio Road at Edith Ave. If you have any objections to that location, please let me know.

TV and Video

Troy is out on video this week. The new SciFi Channel series, Battlestar Galactica will premier Friday, Jan. 14.

February

Club News

The big news is that the Februrary meeting has been relocated to the San Ramon Hilton, to The Shield conference. (Also known as MannyCon II, or the "I don't go to SBGC meetings and am not in a relationship" Convention (or "Grandson of ViciCon", or "I Can't Wait 9 Months Between Conventions Con" or "Historical DunDraCon"). Last year's con was the "Super Bowl Con.") This year Manny has gotten several miniature and book businesses to come, and a bunch of Central Valley guys will be running "walk-up" games. Last year there were more such games than players, so GO TO THIS CON, and don't worry about getting into the game that you like. It's only $10! The tournaments are fitted into just one day each, so competing in one of those will not shut you out of the whole con. If everything works out, I hope to bring boxes and boxes of stuff to sell.

The other big news is the impeding change in our meeting site. I spoke to the Scenario Hobby Shoppe owner, Chuck, and he said that he has to be out of the old bank building this year. The new store will not be ready until 2007. In the meantime, he will move to a temporary location, which *will* have gaming space. He could not give me the details, because he had not yet signed a contract. We will let you know more when we hear it.

The last meeting was quite well attended. Although the first room was occupied by a Cub Scout event to work on Pinewood Derby cars, we packed the second room and were allowed into the inner sanction (Area 51, or room #3). 21 players and another 6 drop-ins, all the scheduled games plus a Wild West 25mm game and two Battletech games from another group, and a 1930's naval combat game in the afternoon.

Hobby News

Don Perrin, owner of Legio X and publisher of MWAN, has purchased The Courier magazine from Dick Bryant. Dick is 71 and has had serious health and computer problems recently, making publishing The Courier too much for him. Don will be combining The Courier with MWAN and selling it in the larger magazine format. The new publication will have a new name, which hasn't been picked yet.

I think this is a good development for several reasons. First, advertizers will have to buy only one ad in one magazine and we consumers will have to buy only one magazine. Second, it breaks the Good Old Boy stranglehold on The Courier, opening up the flow of new material and increases the chances that we will receive something on a regular basis. Finally, it gives MWAN material access to color and a more legible page size, in a format that hobby shops will carry.

In other news, member Bob Burke has just set up a web site. People who play his They Died For Glory rules can go there for errata and other info.

San Antonio Hobbies in Mountain View is selling old folio wargames for half off. So now you can get a ziploc bag full of paper and cardboard for $20 instead of $40. They still carry the British wargaming magazines, but they are now one aisle over from the wargames, in the model painting magazine section.

Kudos for the Canadian hobby store The Saber's Edge for their efforts to support the hobby. I was looking on the Internet for the Trench Wars rules, and they were the only ones in North America who indicated they had it and could sell it to me. They have also become the host site for ChipCo, the miniatures rules company formed by two club members (Chip and Curtis). Fantasy Rules is in its Third Edition.

Cry and Colors

If you like Battle Cry, the hex based miniature ACW game that AH/Hasbro released, or Memoir '44, the hex-based miniature game based on D-Day, then you may be pleased to hear that GMT Games is working to release an Ancient game using the same system. The catch is that GMT usually seeks support for its game decisions before investing in a game, so they have what they call "Project 500". When 500 people or more sign up on their web site to buy a game, then they start developing it, and when the game comes out, you get a copy for a discounted price. The catch is that the components for this game are so much more substantial than for most of the games that GMT puts out that they are asking for 1250 people to commit before they will prepare this game. People who commit will receive several scenarios not in the regular version. To find out more about this game, go to http://www.gmtgames.com and pick Project 500. Look for "Command and Colors: Ancient Battles". If they have to release it with just fancy colors and not miniatures, I will still buy it, and stock it with all sorts of Italieri and HaT plastic miniatures.

Odd Bits

The television show Star Trek: Enterprise has been cancelled. UPN foolishly moved this series to Friday night, where it has to compete with first run original shows on the SciFi channel. The last episode will be shown in May.

In the past I have spoken of the virtue of the SJSU library as a resource for wargamers. Since the merger of the municipal MLK library and the SJSU library, anyone with a City of San Jose library card can check out almost any book in the library. For Colonial gamers, this includes such things as bound collections of the London Illustrated News, describing late 19th century battles around the world. Naval wargamers may need a dolly to take home several years' worth of Jane's Fighting Ships.

Craft Tips

Tip #1 Beauty is in the Art of the Holder. One of the things we have all struggled with is holding multiple pieces of a figure in the right position while we glue the pieces together. Occasionally we may get lucky and have a figure standing upright with an upright spear. They we just lay the figure on its back and lay the spear into its hands. More often, we are required to hold the pieces at some odd angle until the glue dries. I remember all the trouble I had glueing the little separate crossbows into the hands of the 15mm Italian Renaissance figures from Mirliton. Worse yet, in their effort to render exact, correct details on figures, designers are leaving out the old "peg and hole" system that used to hold parts together mechanically.

But help is on the way! Before you get your thumb and index finger stuck together because you held onto the parts for too long, try modelling clay! Originally I bought modelling clay for 3D terrain (surfacing bases) and holding up trees. But it would dry out and shrink and crack. I now use Milliput. But I kept the modelling clay to plug up the overflow drain in the bath tub, gaining another good six inches of water. Then one day I realized that a block of clay would hold up things stuck into it. Place the rectangular block of clay on your painting and gluing table. Holding the figure and the weapon together, push them up against the clay. In the case of the crossbowmen, the front end of the crossbow would stick in the clay and be held at the same level as the hands. If you need to make small adjustments, the clay will give and let you move things.

Recently I had to glue several fiddly 20mm water-cooled machine guns onto their tripods. They were designed to look exactly correct, without the slight attempt to have any notches, bumps, slots, or other features that would hold the two parts together. The guns would always fall over. So I pushed the tripods up to the block of clay, put on the glue, and slid the guns into position, sticking the end of the barrel into the clay.

Tip #2 - You Paint It You Buy It. Whenever you paint or glue, wear a special painting outfit. Keep it next to the table if necessary. You know what to wear - that old flannel shirt with the holes in it, and the old jeans with the house paint all over them. The clothes that the other person in your life told you to put in the rag box. Never wear your good or office clothes while painting. I just trashed a $45 light grey sweater by dropping reddish brown paint onto it. You will never hear a commercial for laundry detergent talk about its ability to remove paint. They don't. It nothing else, put the ragged clothes *over* your good clothes. If no one is watching, consider a full length apron.

March

The Fuss About KublaCon

Almost all of you already know that someone finally noticed on the Kublacon web site that the Flea Market is scheduled for Monday only. Jon Caudill has already spoken on behalf of the KublaCon staff to explain why that choice was made. So it appears as if no amount of bitching and moaning will change the situation. What next?

The Shield, or MannyCon II

A description, for those of you who didn't make it. This year's convention was quite a turnaround from last year, not just because of the healthy attendance and nice number of living, breathing vendors, but also because the emphasis switched around from tournaments to walk-up games. There were six vendors there - Monday Knight Productions, whom I have recommended before; Doug C. from the Miniature Services Center, with his big 28mm figures, painted and unpainted; the Toy Soldier Shop of Los Gatos, with *really big* figures; Games of Berkeley; Mike Tabor of Historifigs in Sebastopol, and Dana Lombardi and his publications. MKP was selling its figures by weight. I bought 6.5 ounces of Aztecs. A lot of people stopped to look at the TSS figures, but I didn't see a single person buy a 70mm figure. GOB brought a bunch of brand new board wargames, which went pretty much untouched. GOB admits that they nuked their miniatures section years ago, but they were distributing a flyer with a new deal. They have declared Tuesday miniatures ordering day. So if you can get your order to them by the Tuesday of each week, they will place it for you. While they claim they will get anything for you, they mentioned by name mainly the smaller, newer, British brands, such as Artizan, Copplestone, and Navigator. The dealer turnout was equal or better than the number of historical products dealers at the larger cons for the last very many years.

It was amusing, early Saturday, to see all the games ready to start and having to wait because so many of the players were going over all of the dealers' tables. Half the players stood around the tables staring at the other half who were shopping. Every single scheduled game was historical. At one point I stopped and counted 67 people. It was very much like a ViciCon or an HMGS West convention. And besides the usual suspects, there were some interesting games, including WWII using ASL for miniatures, and the ancient Siege of Tyre in 25mm. Phillip Viverto came all the way out from New York with a huge scale model of the island city, and hosted the game all day, featuring his Classical Hack rules and featuring naval as well as land battles. (Try storming a wall from a tower on a ship.) The HMGS PSW guys came up from SoCal to run several games, including Guilford Courthouse in 25mm. The De Bellis crowd was mostly AWOL.

Only six guys put out for the flea market, but I sold a significant amount of what I brought with me and found something I wanted for a good price. Food was easy, as the hotel was a short walk from multiple restaurants, stores, and a market. Additional spice was added to the con. by an Indian wedding taking place in another part of the building. Two days of bliss for only $10. Great job, Manny!

April

The Last Meeting

Besides the games listed in the e-mail, there were also two Flames of War WWII games.

Comment overheard at D&J Hobbies from the manager to a games clerk: "Did you see that new box that came in? I ordered a bunch of Copplestone and Artizan miniatures, but they weren't there. Is was all Flames of War stuff, and only half of what I ordered. I think you have to double the orders to get what you want."

The Gorilla Moves West

Games Workshop, the 300 pound gorilla of miniature gaming, has decided to put out a big, bound, glossy set of Western gunfight rules (see Darryl's game listings). Up until now almost all of the western gunfight rules I have heard of were small productions privately published; often the only thing that the author had written. Each gamemaster has his own favorite rules, and several GMs have changed gunfight rules at least once. Is "Legends of the Old West" good enough to sweep all others aside? Stay tuned.

Free Cool Stuff

The San Jose State University History Department presents:


    "War Between the Rivers: Historical Invasions of Mesopotamia"
    Saturday, April 30, 2005 1 pm to 5 pm
    Engineering Auditorium, Room 189, Engineering Building, SJSU

    • Roman Invasions of Mesopotamia by Dr. Jonathan Roth, SJSU
    • The Mongol Invasions of Mesopotamia by Ryan McDaniel, MA candidate, SJSU
    • Aviation in the Mesopotamian Campaign of WWI, Noel Shirley, Great War Society

    The Moderator is erstwhile club member Eric Narveson, Evergreen College

    Directions: Park at the 4th Street Garage at 4th and San Fernando (between Santa Clara and San Carlos). Walk 500 yards East on San Fernando. Circle around to the south side (front) of the large, pale, newer building with a rounded front.

TV and Video

The DVD version of the Japanese samurai battle epic Kagemusha is now available.

If you haven't seen the new Battlestar Galatica show on SciFi, Fridays at 10 pm, look for it now. The first season just finished and the re-runs are starting. New episodes will start on July 10. It is very well done.

Dave's Diary

If you would like to find out want is happening with Dave Partak, come to a meeting and ask him in person! This marks the end of "Dave's Diary."

May

LinCon

The games convention at Lincoln High School still needs GameMasters to run board games, role-playing games, and card games. If you want to introduce some high school kids to our hobby on June 18, go to their web site and enter an event.

Kingdom of Heaven

If by some chance you have not been watching television or reading the newspaper in the last two weeks, then you may not know that there is a marvelous new movie about the Crusades premiering on May 6. It is set in the time when the Crusaders held Jerusalem and the Saracens were trying to take it back. It stars Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom, and Jeremy Irons. Even though Orlando is too too slight for his role, the battle scenes are GREAT, and the love story is limited.

A New Game in Town

The ladies of Paint My Mini have opened a game store in Campbell. The store is one small block south of the intersection of Campbell Ave. and Bascom Ave. Besides carrying Warhammer products, European board games, the Flames of War accessories, and various role-playing games, the store also features playing areas. There are five 4¿ x 8¿ playing tables, all of which can be split into two 4' x 4' tables, and two of which are in rooms with windows and doors that can be closed. There is also a room full of lockers where you can keep your things at the store, for $2.50 to $10 a month, depending on the size of the locker. There are also several display cases full of painted 25mm figures for sale. Painting classes and other events will be scheduled soon. On that Saturday that I visited, there were 12 people playing and painting and shopping.

To get there: if you are coming north on Bascom from Hwy 85, turn right on Arroyo Seco Drive, one short block before you reach Campbell Ave. If you are coming south on Bascom after getting off of Hy 17 at Hamilton (Campbell Ave. does not have an exit), go through the Campbell/Bascom intersection, and using a left turn lane cut into the median strip, make a U turn, then a quick right. The store is across the side street from Denny¿s and down the street from Tower Records, Baja Fresh, and The Pruneyard. The store is called Paradox Playground.

The Eastern Empire

The new Byzantine supplement for Warhammer Ancient Battles has come out. It is called Beyond the Golden Gate (how appropriate for us), and the cheapest price I have seen so far is $34. There are 9 lists going from about 500 to 1200 A. D. (or Christian Era if you are trying to be trendy).

A New Era in American Wargaming

The first issue of the new American wargaming magazine Historical Miniature Gamer (yes, the name is lame), is out now. This is a combination of MWAN and The Courier. It is a large format magazine with glossy pages and color pictures and graphics, just like the British magazines. There are "how to" battle articles, with maps and orders of battle. I will bring my copy to the May meeting if you want to look at it.

Misc.

I am thinking of including a military history cartoon with the next newsletter. It would be black and white, but if this is a problem for any of you, let me know.

Be sure and check the club website in the next few days. More games may be added, including a Punic Wars battle and maybe something from WWI.

- Chris

British Pound: $1.89

June

Club News

Scenario Hobbies must vacate their old bank building by August. Chuck expects that it could be the better part of two years before a new building is available for him in the new strip mall. (He was not allowed to own his own building as he does now. The City Council, influenced by the developers, is forcing him to lease.)

In the meantime, Chuck wants to keep his business going and is negotiating for an interim location. He cannot give any details until the negotiations are concluded, but he promised that the interim location will have gaming space also. Look for more sales to reduce moving costs. If we do not have a resolution by August, we might start scheduling games at the Paradox Playground in Campbell. (As someone recently said to me: "We are the South Bay Game Club, after all.")

New Things at Kublacon

Rather than rehash all the details of the con, which many of you went to, I will just touch on the new stuff I saw or heard about. A new feature this year was "Kublabucks", large bills in various denominations with the Khan's face on it. You could take these to a booth and purchase various items donated by or purchased from vendors that were priced in Kublabucks. This prevents those terrible moments at past conventions where you have just won the battle of the Alamo, and you are rewarded with a bag of Zombies. The only problem was that people often did not have enough Kublabucks to get what they wanted, and the booth could not accept cash. An impromptu swap session was organized for 7 pm Sunday, to allow people to buy and sell Kublabucks to get the amount they needed.

Innovative Rules -- Brian Witt has a remarkable set of command and control rules for medieval battles that I recommend. Each commander is given a command budget according to his abilities. This budget limits how many command chips he can acquire and hold each turn. He must decide whether he purchases Move, Shoot, Rally, or Combat Bonus chips, or a special black chip that allows him to apply another chip immediately, instead of in his command phase. This allows units to respond when they are attacked in the other player's phases. Dan Gunther (now living in Redding) has made a very good version of DBA called DBA Big Battles. All it took were three simple changes. One, each army is made up of three commands of 12 units each; two, each unit is two stands side-by-side; and three, movement rates are doubled. It played very much like other non-WRG rules sets, with units maneuvering more naturally and the game playing much faster.

Ancient Warmaster -- This ancient version of the 10mm fantasy rules set is due out in a few weeks. The Games Workshop booth had one sample copy that you could look at. It ended up becoming the grand prize in the WAB tournament on Sunday.

Bowen Simmons of Sunnyvale has created a game of the battle of Marengo (Napoleon at Marengo) using rectangular, painted wooden blocks and a mounted map board with area movement. He had a booth at the con where he was also marketing Fredrich, a game from Europe which a mounted map that looks as if it was printed in the 18th century, painted wooden counters, and 18th century playing cards to resolve movement and combat.

A Sea Change in Wargaming?

There is no question that the 15mm WWII system Flames of War is catching on. There were pickup games at Kublacon and games at every SBGC meeting. The Sacramento club has gone into it in a big way, and every hobby/game shop in that area carries the vehicles and figures. Many people agree that this will bring fantasy players and new, young players over to historical gaming. However, this whole phenomenon is above to break wide open and altering wargaming as we know it.

Hasbro/Avalon Hill/Wizards of the Coast are preparing to release their own 15mm fast play WWII rules set along with assembled, pre-painted plastic models of many different vehicles for the six major nationalities. The vehicles will be considered collectible and be considered common or rare, but you will be able to get 12 vehicles and the rules in a single package for just $25! That is just $2 per vehicle, with no gluing or painting, compared to $8 to $15 for Flames of War vehicles! I am ready and waiting to buy into this in a big way.

We could have swaps at the meetings, so that each person could get what he wants. (I'll swap you a King Tiger and a Chi-Ha for two Pz IIIHs.) For more details go here:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=3Dah/article/pr20050506a

http://www.wargamer.com/articles/on_board_specialedition/Default.asp

$24.99 (MSRP) - Starter, 12 miniatures, rules, maps, etc $14.99 (MSRP) - Booster, 9 miniatures

Basic infantry units are considered "common" and units such as leaders and some tanks are considered "uncommon." The "rare" class of unit is reserved for marquis armor pieces, such as, wait for it, the Tiger tank.

Nationalities covered will include German, British, American, Italian, Soviet, and Japanese forces. Boxes will be sold in theater selections so we hopefully won't see a bunch of Russians and Japanese all mixed up.

Odds and Ends

Many people have been asked for the information to subscribe to the new Historical Miniature Gamer magazine. Here it is:


Legio X, Inc.
947 Vernon Avenue
Beloit, WI 53511
(262) 432-1789
http://www.hmgmagazine.com
$35 per year.

The second volume of WWI Wings of War card game, "Watch Your Back", has finally reached the United States. But I had to go to Gator Games in San Mateo to find a copy. (The best selection of family and fantasy games I have ever seen. No historical miniatures, but plenty of historical board games, usually for $5 less than they cost elsewhere.)

WYB introduces damages cards for single machine guns (WoW was twin guns only), and cards and special events for two-seaters with an observer. Two seaters included are two versions of the DH-4 and the Ufag C1, (no jokes, please!). New fighters are the Halberstadt DIII, the Hanriot HD1, the Nieuport 11, and the Siemens Schukert DI (a knock-off of the Nieuport). To American wargamers this choice of aircraft may seem odd, but the designer is Italian and he has chosen aircraft that were common on the Italian front and for which he could find Italian aces. Half of the scenarios require aircraft from the first set, but this box also includes a plastic card and counter holder with enough spaces for both games.

I was really amazed at how many wargamers at KCon have not yet seen the movie Kingdom of Heaven, even players in a game of the Crusades. It is not just a must-see movie, it is a must-see on a big screen movie! Much better than Troy. I checked this weekend and it is still showing at the AMC Mercado 20 in Santa Clara, the Saratoga 14, and the Union City theater complex.

July

Saturday's Meeting and Scenario Hobby Shop

The MiniCon scheduled for this Saturday, June 9, is still on. You may have read that Chuck has sold the remainder of his stock to another store and has locked his doors. However, he will be there Saturday and open them for us to meet. This just means that you can't get that Osprey book you wanted for 60% off.

The August 6 MiniCon is scheduled to take place at Paradox Playground in Campbell. Directions are given below. Ix will also put the location on the club web site. The store opens at 11 am and closes at 11 pm, so evening games are definitely encouraged. It will not cost the club any money to meet there, but we will use club funds to help the owners make any changes to accommodate our meetings. (Such as more tables and chairs.) There are vending machines inside and food and parking close by. However, table space is limited. You must contact the webmaster in advance to reserve a table. Tables are available in 4'x4' sections. Come down and see what you think of it.

To get there: if you are coming north on Bascom from Hwy 85, turn right on Arroyo Seco Drive, one short block before you reach Campbell Ave. If you are coming south on Bascom after getting off of Hwy 17 at Hamilton Ave. (Campbell Ave. does not have an exit), go through the Campbell/Bascom intersection, and using a left turn lane cut into the median strip, make a U turn, then a quick right. The store is across the side street from a Denny's and a Russian deli (sit down or take out) and down the street from Tower Records, Baja Fresh, Taco Bravo, Der Weinerschnitzel, and The Pruneyard, which includes 7 movie theaters, and The Outback, Johnny Rockets', a Togo's, and various sources of ice cream. If you drive a short distance north, you will also find Rasputin Records and a Whole Foods Market.

LinCon

For me, the game convention at Lincoln High School was a failure. Only one vendor showed up, and she was selling almost all card games. Before I left I counted 32 students, either playing card games with their friends, playing RPG and card games put on by the vendor, using a Playstation, or watching Japanese anime films. 5 middle-aged guys showed up to run board and miniature games. None of the kids would play. Given how late I had stayed up the night before, getting ready for this, I became exasperated and left. Bob Bergman had better luck, putting away his Vietnam game and putting out the Wild West, which attracted four people.

New Plastic

HaT has released 1/72nd scale WWII Polish infantry. They have extended their WWI line with German and Turkish heavy weapon boxes, and German and Turkish artillery boxes. (The German box has 77mm field guns and the Turkish box has 105mm field howitzers, but you can swap them back and forth.) They are now working on Canadian and U.S. infantry. (And French.) They have also come out with a box that contains two models of the Renault FT-17 tank. One box (for $10) will have two with a cannon or two with machine guns. San Antonio Hobbies has them in stock. The plastic is hard. Heavy Weapons boxes have 100 pieces, so they cost $10 instead of the usual $7.

[Pete, take note!] The Spanish miniature company B.U.M. has long been know for making bad recasts of old Airfix figures and throwing in something extra, such as an airplane, or tents or fortifications or a building. Now they have come out with their own figures for the Spanish Civil War. The quality is much, much better, and they seem determined to represent all of the different factions. The only place I have seen these on sale is on eBay, from a guy in Spain, but San Antonio carries BUM figures, so perhaps you can get them to order you some.

Speaking of San Antonio Hobbies (again), they are having a book sale, 20 - 60% off. Most books are 25 - 33% off and tend to be about modern warfare or naval battles, but there are some other gems in there, including the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, Aachen, etc. And, in the 1/35 scale miniature section I spied a new item from Russia - plastic movement bases. There are no numbers on the box (mostly Cyrillic), but it appears to hold 12 figures, 4 wide and 3 deep. (80mm x 60mm) You get 8 stands for $7. The stands have tabs on all sides so that you can lock multiple stands together.

East Bay Armchair Generals

I had the opportunity last weekend to visit with EBAG at Endgame in Oakland. The store is right across from the Oakland Convention Center and was built from scratch to be a game store. It has a loft-style second floor with at least 8 large game tables above the game store. Some tables have built-in terrain. EBAG had two games while I was there -- Seven Years War Austrians versus Russians in 28mm, using Manny Granillo's latest set of rules, Fredrich d'Or. The other game was a Spanish Civil War battle for a town in 20mm, using Hail of Lead by Warwick Young. Endgame has the usual games for the usual prices, but they had several unusual things, besides the gaming tables -- a brand new public bathroom in the store, lounge areas with soft chairs and magazines, an excellent Pirates card game display and supply, and a collection of used board games for sale, mostly SPI, mostly $20 each. (Rare ones went up to $50.) Gee-- ah, computer professionals from Pixar drop in. (They are in Emeryville now.)

I have started into collecting the cards for Pirates, for the Spanish Main series. Let me know if you have any S.M. cards that you would like to trade for the Crimson Shore or Revolution series. (That last word is plural). For $4 you get two punch-out, preprinted sailing ships, two ship crew characters, an island, a set of treasure counters, a tiny die, and collecting treasure and combat rules. In theory the cards are collectible, but personally, I don't care. Three packs per person will give you a nice little squadron action.

What Games?

I am getting very frustrated playing just Tactica at every club meeting, but we are on the hook to Conliffe to playtest his new system.

However, with the evening slots available in August, and ConQuest coming up, I have a backlog of games I would like to run. If you are interested in any of these, please let me know, so that I will know what to run.

  1. 1. ACW ironclads, Battle of Plum Point, 1/1000, Smoke on the Water
  2. WWI - 1914, Square Bashing, 20mm, battalion-level, Battle of Mons (BEF)
  3. WWI - 1918, Square Bashing, 20mm, bn.-level, Cheateau Thierry (US Marines)
  4. WWII Air, Squadrons (Blue Sky series), 1/144, Battle of Britain
  5. Napoleonic, 1809, General de Brigade, 20mm, Tamanes (Spanish)
  6. Napoleonic, 1809, Gen. de Bg., 20mm, Oelper (Brunswickers versus Westphalians)
  7. Nap. sail, 1806, 74, 1/1200, Battle of Santo Domigo With more to follow, if there is interest in these first choices.

- Chris

August
Early Edition

So many things have been piling up lately that I wanted to get another newsletter out right away. If there is enough material later, I will publish again, just before the club meeting.

Scenario Hobby Shop

Here are the facts: Scenario Hobby Shop is still open for business. Everything in the store is now 40% off. Some things, such as dominos and chess and cards are 50% off. Almost all of the board games are gone, but there are still some miniatures and lots of models and paints and Osprey books. Although some other stores are considering acquiring groups of stuff, the only set of goods picked up by another store so far has been the Girl Scout and Boy Scout supplies. Everything else that is gone has been purchased by individual buyers. Scenario's last day is August 18.

I take my job as a reporter seriously, so if you hear any rumors that you do not have the time or opportunity to investigate, please let me know. My personal schedule is more flexible now that I am retraining for a new job.

Paradox Playground

Some notes about PP that I have not mentioned before:

  1. They allow and even encourage painting in the store.
  2. The tables are covered with green felt, so you may not need a table cover.
  3. The selling of personal items will follow the same agreement that we had with Scenario: You can sell anything used of your own at the store provided that
    1. it is not something that the store sells, and
    2. all exchanges of funds take place outside the store.

My previous driving directions assumed that you had started on or had already reached Hwy 880, 85, or 280 in Santa Clara County. To get there, you probably know what to do: From the Penisula: a) 101 to 85 to 280 to 17 to Hamilton. b) From Santa Cruz: 17 to Hamilton. c)From the East Bay: 880 across 280 to 17 to Hamilton. d) East East Bay: 680 to 280 to 17 to Hamilton.

Gamescape

The Gamescape store in Palo Alto is closing. Everything in the store is 20% off. They have a few wargames, many fantasy and family games, and some cards and a healthy supply of Games Workshops miniatures. When I complained that they had sold out of the thing that I wanted to buy, the clerk offered to order it for me and have it in the store in a week, with 20% off of the price. It must be competition from the Internet. I can see why. I can get Axis & Allies: D-Day for $22 on-line, as opposed to $40-$45. The store is on El Camino Real "north" of Arastradero Rd. They will close at the end of August.

D&J

D&J is still trying to sell off its 25mm historicals. You can get 25% off of the Foundry miniatures (Ancients to Renaissance), and 50% off of the Old Glory (Dark Ages and Medieval). If the clerk you are dealing with does not know about these discounts, ask to talk to the manager.

Games Day

Games Day is a once every 2 or 3 months event held in the Community Room of the Los Altos Library on San Antonio Road. I attended the June gathering. All 14 tables were in use, with 58 people playing board games. There were four wargames in progress, including Friedrich, 1815 (by GDW), The Struggle of Nations, and an ACW game from The Gamers. The dominance of family games was being challenged by SciFi variations, where players explore and economize in outer space on other planets. The next Games Day is August 13. Same place, all day. If you want to play something, bring it with you.

To Boldly Go . . .

Come on, you know the rest, even if you won't admit it: Where No Man Has Gone Before (TOS), ("Where No One Has Gone Before" (Next Gen.)). IMEX, the plastic figure company has actually come up with 20mm Korean War figures!! Their current offering includes:


    IM529 United States Army (Korean War)
    IM530 Republic of Korea Troops (Korean War)
    IM531 Chinese People's Liberation Army (Korean War)
    IM532 North Korean KPA (Korean War)

HaT has recently released WWII German motorcyclists and German Military Police boxes (with motorcycles). Also, they released Panzergrenadier MGs and Mortar boxes a while ago. Expect 37mm AT, 75mm AT and 75mm Infantry gun releases too. (And bicyclists).

Beware of Pirates

I have been trying to recreate historical combat scenarios using the Pirates sailing ship collectible cards for the 16th and 17th century. But I discovered that I needed forts, and those are only available in the Crimson Coast and Revolution series, and not in the original Spanish Main series. So I started buying the Crimson cards, to get forts. No luck. I bought some more. Still no luck, even though the fort cards are described as Common. Jamie at PP told me that she had one guy buy a whole display box of Crimson Coast ($145 for 36 packs) and he did not get a single fort of any nationality. She attributed it to bad sorting.

I started thinking about breaking into the "piggy bank" at home and buying so many CC cards that I would just have to get some forts. The experience of that other fellow only slowed me down a little. I realized that I could put up notices and trade cards with other people who owned Pirates cards, but that would be too slow. I wanted the cards Right Now. Then I realized that I was acting like a drug addict. I calmed down and had another thought -- I bet that some people have put the cards up for sale on eBay. I was right. Now I can bid on the specific cards I need and no others, and get what I need for only a small fraction of the total dollars I was going to spend before.

I hope this does not happen with the collectible "Axis & Allies" 15mm WWII vehicles and infantry due out in September.

- Chris

August
Late Edition

Hobby Shop News

Scenario Hobbies is open for two more weeks. Everything is now 60% off. Most of what is left is plastic models, Osprey books and balsa wood. Most of the Ospreys are for the Napoleonic period. San Antonio Hobbies has added more books to their book sale pile; mostly books about aircraft. I got a $100 reference book for $40.

General News

An Italian army is due out for Flames Of War. It is supposed to be very low in points cost.

TV, Video, Cinema

Longs Drug Stores are having a DVD sale. Look for the MGM cardboard display stand near the checkout counters. Buy 1 DVD for $10 and get the second for free. Available DVDs include Alexander the Great (with Richard Burton), the Battle of Britain, Platoon, The Great Escape, and various dramas and musicals.

Alex the Great with Colin Farrell comes out on DVD on Tuesday, August 2. It includes both the original release and a "director's cut". Oliver Stone thinks his cut is a little better, but nothing can save the whole movie. In the next newsletter I hope to have information on what scenes you can jump to just to watch the marvelously animated battle scenes and skip the drek inbetween.

New out on video: Saints and Soldiers, a direct to video movie about US troops on the Western front during the winter, behind enemy lines, trying to get back with vital information. The Long Engagement, a French love story set against flashbacks of WWI from a French soldier's point of view. In the next newsletter I hope to have an estimate of whether there is enough military material in the movie and whether it is easy enough to be worth renting. Warriors of Heaven and Earth, a Chinese epic set in the Gobi desert during the Renaissance period. The latest club members' impressions of ABC's Imperial Roman TV series is a big thumbs down. (It sucks.)

Reviews of War of the Worlds indicate that the special effects are great, but that you do not get the impression that the world is at stake and don't care if the aliens get Tom Cruise, as long as the kids get away.

AOL Edition

The early edition of this newsletter bounced back from every member who has an AOL address. Here are the key items that you missed:

D&J

D&J is still trying to sell off its 25mm historicals. You can get 25% off of the Foundry miniatures (Ancients to Renaissance), and 50% off of the Old Glory (Dark Ages and Medieval). If the clerk you are dealing with does not know about these discounts, ask to talk to the manager.

Games Day

Games Day is a once every 2 or 3 months event held in the Community Room of the Los Altos Library on San Antonio Road. I attended the June gathering. All 14 tables were in use, with 58 people playing board games. There were four wargames in progress, including Friedrich, 1815 (by GDW), The Struggle of Nations, and an ACW game from The Gamers. The dominance of family games was being challenged by SciFi variations, where players explore and economize in outer space on other planets. The next Games Day is August 13. Same place, all day. If you want to play something, bring it with you.

- Chris

September

ConQuest

I will only touch on a few new items and issues about the con. RPG and card games were almost nowhere to be seen. Much of the convention seemed to be about miniatures and board games. This was the best dealers' room in a long time. GMT was selling copies of its Zero aerial combat game for just $10. (I already own a copy.) I was playing in a DBR game when the gamemaster pointed out that WRG and Phil Barker (God love 'em . . .) had come out with a new version of DBR, and this game was based on that version, which the GM had purchased at Historicon. So I and my co-commander got up walked over to RLBPS (?) and bought the lastest version. "I got my copy at ConQuest" I told the GM.

I did well at the flea market on Saturday and Sunday. Now I actually have a little cash to buy the odd thing or two. Friday was a zoo and the notice that there would be a flea market that evening was issued after I had registered. I would not mind if it were dropped. The board game events were unusually healthy. Now if only there was a parking shuttle for GMs.

One new thing that Kent Reuber introduced me to is Conflict for a Continent, a new board game from a new company -- Worthington Games. This is a Battle Cry/Memoir '44 style game with large hexes and unit counters mounted on wooden blocks. There are 15 scenarios and modular terrain. They are about to come out with a second game for the War of 1812 that includes something like 12 land scenarios and 11 sea scenarios, with rumors that the ship pieces will be metal. If my order arrived before the meeting, I will bring it to show off. I am seriously thinking of using miniatures as playing pieces. You can buy these games from GMT or go directly to www.worthingtongames.com.

Miniature and Board Game Fusion Continues!

If you really like Battle Cry or any of the other games I just mentioned, you might be thrilled to learn that GMT has finally gotten enough pre-orders to put Command & Colors: Ancients into production. It is supposed to ship in December. Units are represented with wooden blocks. (Watch how quickly I replace them with miniatures.) The scenario set emphasizes the Punic War and Republican Roman era, but there is already a web site set up and waiting to go for additional scenarios.

The Axis & Allies collectible miniature game has arrived at D&J Hobbies. (I am sure they are at Paradox too.) They weren't priced and stocked yet, but the clerk pulled out the boxes from behind the counter and let me buy one of each - a starter set and a booster box. I will bring them to the meeting for show and tell. Starter - $26: 3 vinyl maps, rules, dice, 3 vehicles, 2 guns, 7 figures Booster - $16: 2 vehicles, 1 gun, 6 figures, unit list (Figure 50 cents per figure (MGs and guns = 2) and $6 per vehicle.

Everything looks like 12mm to me. The game is unplayable unless you combine units from different fronts and periods in the same game. For instance, the British can do North Africa 1942 - 43 pretty well, with Crusaders, Stuarts, Grants, Shermans, 6 lb AT guns, and infantry with heavy weapons. However, if you keep things historical, your opponents will have access to only the Italian M13, and the Pzkw II (as in 2.0).

And there are some startling oversights in the initial release. No MGs or mortars for Russia; no AT guns for Russia, Italy, France, Japan.

Even though German and US units predominate, all nationalities can occur in the same box, with no separation by front.

Miscellaneous

I will be bringing even more stuff to sell at the meeting. I am still combing out folio games, boxed games, and figures that I need to sell.

I finally got the pictures from the Museum of Flight in Seattle developed and mounted. I will try and remember to bring them. For you gunslingers out there -- I forgot to mention that the 2 DVDs for $10 sale at Longs Drugs includes The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly and The Magnificent Seven.

Current project: figuring out how to fight Belleau Wood 1918 with the Contemptible Little Armies rule set.

- Chris

October

The Last Meeting

While the scheduled Taiping Rebellion game had to be cancelled, every other game came off well. I was particularly pleased to see denizens of the store who were not regular club members joining my Squadrons game. I hope to have another game soon, but first I have to overhaul all of the flight stands. There were several impromptu games using the Axis & Allies miniatures system, as people bought up multiple boxes to pull out their contents and see what they got. (Oh, look; he's gotten two Panthers so far. Can you believe that?) Apparently Soviet tanks are very rare. There was also a Blood Bowl game.

Beware of the History Book Club

Any of you who have read a mainstream history magazine know about this club. Originally they were modeled on the Book of the Month Club, where you buy a few books up front for a very, very low price each, then agree to buy a new book at full price each month. Well, not only is the low price introductory offer dropped to include only three books; if you read the fine print you will see that you will be sent a new, full-priced book 19 times a year!! What a rip-off.

Video, TV, Movies

The terrific Crusader drama The Kingdom of Heaven should be out on video by the time of the next club meeting. Even if your favorite period is WWII, rent it. You will not regret it. The super SciFi series Farscape has gone into syndication. You can watch it at 7 pm on Sundays on channel 36 or at 8 pm on channel 50 (Santa Rosa). If you are interested in a merger of the Wild West and science fiction, make sure you get out of the house and watch the Serenity movie on the big screen. It is getting good reviews, even from people who never watched the short-lived TV series. (Personally I thought the series was 90% western with 5% scifi grafted on, but movies always have those nice, large, FX budgets.)

The $20 Wargame

For some time I have given up the idea that there would ever be a $20 wargame again. Most folio games now run $40 and boxed games run $60. Sure, if it is War of the Ring, with those fantastic figures and a mounted board and cards, I might pay that, but not for a lot of sheets of cardboard and paper. Those crackpots at the Against All Odds game company want $65 for their folio games and $95 if they come in boxes. So, I did a double take at Paradox Playground last month when I saw a small military history wargame (Gazala 1942) on the shelves between the fantasy, family, and kid's games. And it was only $20. Since I had just made some money selling some things, I snatched it up. It turns out to be a series of four small $20 games from Avalanche Press, including Alsace 1945, one about the initial invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, and on about the final battles in Germany in 1945. They appear to be DTP games that have been given the old GDW "120" series treatment, i.e., 120 counters, a hard box the size of a large paperback book, simple rules, and a map that is folded many times. Stay tuned for a review of how it plays.

Satellite TV

Recently, to save money, we switched from Cable TV to Satellite TV. (Our bill dropped from $80 per month to $40.) To my surprise, for less money, we got more channels. How is this relevant to wargaming? Well, I added $5 per month to our bill to get an extra set of channels. Included in the set is the Military Channel. In one day you can see hours of live footage on all sorts of battles and equipment. Many of the shows are heavily padded, and share the same material (I wondered how they could do a whole hour on the Ilyushin-2 fighter bomber). I usually wait for marathons, then let the VCR run to create background tapes for games. (I just got 5 hours of World War I in Color.) Also in this set is the Boomerang channel, which shows nothing but old cartoons. Now you can see all those Warner Brothers cartoons which we used to watch for free on Saturday mornings.

Run a Game

We need YOU to run more games. And several people have told me that they would come more regularly and stay to play if there were board games. So, if you don't feel like fixing up 500 figures, sorting terrain, and scratching out orders of battle and collecting markers and dice with the right number of sides, just bring a few of your favorite board wargames. But first make sure that you send the announcement of your plans to Ix so that he can get it into the notices. Mention whether you will be willing to teach the game or whether only fanatics need apply.

The Next Meeting

Note the late start time of my WWI game. I have to be somewhere else earlier and cannot be sure of how soon I can get to the store and set-up. Still, Square Bashing plays quickly and we should be done by 5. If SB does not work well enough with a battle of the size of Belleau Wood, then we can try again with the more traditional Contemptible Little Army rules.

- Chris

November
Early Edition

Disaster!

Word has gotten around that San Antonio Hobbies is going out of business. Everything in the store is 20% off. A member who went to the store on the same day as the meeting said that of the things he was familiar with, he believed that items had been marked up first, before being put on sale. However, he felt that bargains could still be found in terrain and older models.

The official reason for the closure is that the couple who own the store are ready to retire. Rumors also indicate that the store has had trouble making a profit for the last five years, while its rent has continued to rise steadily.

The Last Meeting

In the Crimean War, entrenched Turks soundly beat off attacking Russians. In the Wild West, the action reached a climax as all of the players had to sit down and play poker. In World War I, the US Marines took only part of Belleau Wood after half their force was diverted to the wrong woods due to vague orders. However, they did stop the German counter attack cold. (10 MG companies per brigade helps.) As I left, tanks were brewing up in North Africa.

Carts

During the ConQuest convention I hurt my back rather badly by using a small luggage cart that was too small for the boxes of figures and games that I was trying to haul around the convention. The boxes also flew off of the cart several times. Then while I was sitting in my seller's square at the Flea Market, a guy walked buy with the answer. A big nice cart that had a base as wide as my boxes, was tall enough so that I did not need to lean over to pull it, and 7 inch wheels that could get over almost any bump or crease and would flip sideways when the cart was folded.

The cart in question is the Safeco luggage cart. They come in four sizes. I bought the medium for $120. They are sold at Office Max, where you can look at them, but they are also sold through Amazon.com, supposedly still coming from Office Max, but $20 cheaper (and no sales tax). The cart folds up until it is only 2 feet long and 3 inches thick. (and about 18" wide.) Later I found a cheaper and less well built version of these carts called Magnacarts, hanging on the back wall of an Orchard Supply Hardware store. They are about another $20 cheaper than the mail order price.

Before you buy one, take a yard stick and measure how high off the ground the palm of your hand is when your arm hangs at your side. Make sure that you choose a model that is that tall or taller. A small Safco cart is 38" tall. A medium is 41". These carts are a Godsend. It is no longer such an ordeal to host a big game or sell a lot of stuff.

Follow-up on the History Book Club

A member who belongs to the History Book Club pointed out to me that when he joined he got 4 books or $4 and that even though books come 19 times a year, you can send them back and only have to take two or three a year. (I am used to BMG Music, where you MUST take something every time.)

Follow-up on $20 Wargame

I was mistaken about the prices for Against All Odds wargames. The $65 and $90 are subcriptions for one years worth of games, which I believe is 4.

Follow-up on Farscape Besides channels 36 and 50, channel 2 is also showing Farscape on Sunday.

Bring a Friend

Please consider bringing someone you know to one of our meetings who is not a member or is a member hiding out.

Great Terrain Tip

One good piece of advice I got at ConQuest was to go to Model Railroad conventions and check the flea markets. RR guys will be selling the rather expensive trees and buildings and terrain made for Model Railroading for just a few bucks. You can get a bargain on some real estate.

Accept Walk-Ins

Try to tailor your games so that people who arrive late or people who are just there to use the store can just join in after a game has started. Now this may be easy for something like a Wild West game, where you just have a new character walk in, but it is possible with other games as well. You can split up commands between players or create joint commands. ("Here, you can take the troops on this flank. We are losing there anyway.") I want to applaud Stephen Montgomery for his WWII game techniques. He recreates historical games, but he breaks the forces up into similar if not identical modules. Each module includes armor, infantry, and guns, so that everyone gets about the same sort of troops. When other players join, he splits off a module of troops or introduces a new one.

Bad Buildings

Normally I use paper buildings, because they are very light, you can put things inside of them (surprise!) and the sides can be printed with nice color images of a building. However, one day I left my paper buildings somewhere else and had just one day to create new ones. After digging through the piles of stuff that I have not used yet, I discovered a bag of plaster houses about the right size. I did a blitz paint job, but I thought it was rather good, with shading in the stones, roof tiles, window panes and door panels. They game went off and I was relieved. But afterwards I discovered the problem with plaster houses. Several of the buildings had been banged into or had banged into each other during transport. A little piece of the building chipped off very easily, exposing this very bright white bit of plaster on my otherwise nicely painted houses. Ack!! Now I can paint them over pretty quickly, but this is going to get old, since it will obviously happen every time I use them. Now I remember why I didn't use them.

Try This At Home

I have hit upon an great aid to setting up and running a game. Before you run a game for the first time, set it up at home. Clear a space our a table and lay out all the terrain and tools and figures. You will discover right away if you have everything that you need. And you will see if the figures and terrain pieces fit into the spaces and that your ideas will work out or not. Better now than later, when you are trying to play with other people.

If you do not rent and watch Kingdom of Heaven you will be excommunicated.

- Chris

November
Late Edition

New Publications

There are a number of new printed items out:

  • Warhammer Ancient Battles: Hannibal and the Punic Wars $35

  • Warhammer Frontier: Blood on the Plains $35
    An expansion set for Old West.

  • Warmaster Ancients $38
    Finally widely available after much buzz this summer.

  • Command Piquet $30
    A standalone system for wars in the 18th Century.

  • Piquet: Jump or Burn $25
    What a lovely title - a standalone system for WWI aerial combat.

  • Hoplon #2 Nicolas Protonotarios $24
    DBM-style wargame rules, but with an emphasis on historical battles, not tournament play.

  • Kampfgruppe Commander II $25
    The long awaited second edition of a WWII system played in the club last year. Scenarios, OBs, and playing aids, and unit data have been added.

  • Days of Knights II $13 (PDF file)
    A refinement of the popular medieval rules set, with more graphics and and new unit and character types. Available from Saber's Edge Hobbies on-line.

If You Aren't Doing Anything on Nov. 19th . . .

The Perpetual Wargaming Committee of the Landwehr Society will be holding a 15mm ancient battle between the Romans and the Pontics at the Endgame game store in Oakland. The game will start at 11 am and is a playtest of Tactica II.

They Came From Outer Space

Monday Knight Productions is selling a wide variety of science fiction rules sets (big glossy ones like Dirtside and Full Thrust) for only $5 each. At a time when Mars is at its closest approach in two years, we must be ready for anything.

The Mess That Was San Antonio Hobbies

Only a 20% discount was enough to bring shoppers out in droves to devastate the contents of San Antonio Hobbies. The wargames are almost all gone. The railroad section and terrain section have been heavily looted. Mostly models and books remain. The RC section has been moved to the side of the store where the wargames were. If you want to try and get a bargain on some 15mm Napoleonic figures, or a few bits of micro armor or micro naval, go the RC cash register, lean over the counter and point to the lower shelves. Say you want those lead figures stashed there and see if they will make you a deal.

Financial News

The British Pound has eased down a bit to $1.77.

The cost of Lead has risen almost 10% over the last year, to $985 per metric ton.

- Chris

December

A Game A Week

If you can't make this Saturday's club meeting, there are other wargaming activities scheduled. On Saturday, Dec. 17, there will be another Ancient Tactica game at Endgame in Oakland, starting at 11 am. It's 15mm Marian Romans versus Late Pontics. (I guess those are the Pontics who were late to the last game.)

Also, every Friday night at the Paradox Playground the Friday Knights play DBA, Flames of War, Blood Bowl, and a few other things.

New Figures

If you want to play Warmaster in the original 10mm, as set up by Games Workshop, you have only GW figures to buy. (Otherwise you can try and scale it to 15mm.) Now Copplestone has come out with 10mm fantasy figures, so you have a choice. These are expensive and detailed figures. ("high end"). Copplestone, Artizan, Black Tree, Eureka -- who would have heard of them a few years ago? There are new companies coming along all the time. I like to take this as a sign of health in the hobby. Consider the extensive new crop: Battlestandard, Reivers, Grand Elites, Pegaso, West Wind, Baueda (Spain), Rise of the West, Arsenal, Crusader, Knuckleduster, Sash and Saber, Venexia (Italy).

Trivia

1066

Army lists do not refer to King Harold's army as Anglo-Danish just because many English were descended from Danish settlers in the Danelaw. When the King of Denmark heard of the invasion threats against England, he sent a force of huscarls to help. They arrived in London and were included in the English forces at the Battle of Hastings.

In 1066 the English fleet was bigger and better than any fleet on the continent. Harold knew that his succession to the throne would be threatened, and he kept the fleet patrolling the Channel coast all summer. As the autumn storms started, the fleet was ordered to pack it in. The admiral in charge (I don't think they called them admirals back then) decided to make one last sweep before withdrawing to the Thames, and lo and behold, he ran into Duke William's invasion fleet. They seriously maul the Norman/Breton/Flemish fleet and send it fleeing to Le Harve. However, history was made when William fixed up his fleet and sailed across again during a rare calm period.

Napoleonic

Some people can get pretty worked up about how destructive and despotic Napoleon was. Few books about him relate his civic accomplishments, focusing instead on his military activities and generally characterizing him as an opportunist. However, consider these exerpts from a recent British book:

    Having driven the Austrians out of Italy, his aim was to bring the liberties and benefits of the French Republic to the northern Italians. With the backing of the Directors in Paris he set up the Cisalpine Republic as a free and independent state with a constitution modelled on that of France. This proved so successful that the people of Genoa overthrew their feudal and aristocratic government and Napoleon set up the Ligurian Republic in its place.

And although most authors mention Napoleon's inclusion of scientists and academics on his campaign in Egypt (they found the Rosetta stone); they fail to mention his other work:

    He began work on a hospital for the poor, and established quarantine stations to check the spread of bubonic plague, which was endemic in the country; he built windmills to raise water and grind corn; he set up a postal service; and he erected the first street lamps in Cairo. He established the Institute of Egypt...
    [The Billy Ruffian, David Cordingly]

- Chris

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