Now, it used to be a rare occasion when my wife would play games, let alone ASK to play a game. The times, they are a changin’. Now, my wife is more and more willing to play and try a variety of games. This change in attitude certainly took much cultivating and patience on my part, but it has paid off as she’s becoming quite the gaming enthusiast. Yeah … I’m a lucky guy!
     So what games does my wife play? But more important than that, what games will YOUR wife or girlfriend play? Well, what follows is a list of games (some which are sadly out of print) that I have found to be quite popular with the ladies.

LOST CITIES: This is a gem. It is one of the few games my wife actually ASKS to play on a regular basis. It’s short and simple, yet involves a moderate degree of thought and decision making. My wife always fears that due to my gaming experience I have an undue advantage over her in most games (which, by the way, is certainly not the case!). She doesn’t get that feeling in this Reiner Knizia card game… and she shouldn’t as she usually kicks my butt. Rio Grande Games.

MAMMA MIA: Although she refuses to slip into the bad Italian accents I favor when playing this pizza making delight, she gets a kick out of this card/memory game. Rio Grande Games.

CAN’T STOP: Sadly, this Sid Sackson classic has been long out of print here in the States. However, it is my understanding that it can still be found north of the border and one does occasionally pop up in thrift stores. If you see it, grab it. It’s a how far can you push your luck dice fest which is always a favorite. It plays well with 2–4 players, which is a big plus for the one-on-one games with your spouse. Parker Brothers.

VERY CLEVER PIPE GAME: Don’t overlook this wonderful pipe connecting game from Cheapass Games. Although there is a 4-player version, skip it. The game shines as a 2-player matching of wits. One is forced to constantly balance the desire to score your own pipes versus hindering your opponent’s efforts. The nastiness isn’t too severe, however, to deter my wife. Cheapass Games.

TAKE IT EASY: My wife was so enamored with this puzzle style game of connecting colored paths that she actually plays it solitaire! I can’t think of many other games that play equally as well with 1–8 players. If you get several sets, you can actually play with a room full of people, ala Bingo. FX Schmid.

VOLLE HUTTE: For some reason, wives dig this game. After playing this at Gulf Games, my wife came over to me and said, "Buy that game. I love it!". Players represent tavern owners who must outfit their pub and attract patrons. This is usually accomplished by luring patrons away from your opponent’s establishments, so there is some nastiness present. For some reason I haven’t been able to figure out, this doesn’t bother my wife, who usually doesn’t enjoy games where you can hammer each other. This rates as her favorite game and it has proven very popular with the wives of my gaming buddies. ASS (yes, that’s the name of the company!).

There are others she also enjoys, too many to describe here. However, I’d recommend the following:

In Print: UPWORDS, ELFENLAND, FILL OR BUST, KLUNKER, BOHNANZA, BAZAAR, SAMARKAND, TOP IT, CHEOPS, THE GREAT DALMUTI, FIVE STRAIGHT, PEPPER

Out of Print: CAFÉ INTERNATIONAL, HASE UND IGEL, IRON HORSE

     Gee … sounds like I better start working on Games Wives Play – The Sequel!

Greg Schloesser lives in New Orleans and hosts the WESTBANK GAMERS, a thriving group which meets weekly at his home. He has been a gaming enthusiast his entire life and proudly bears the title "gaming evangelist".

PLAYER’S NOTES
by Peter McCord

     I've spent most of my recent gaming time playing GMT's new "Bulge" game, TIGERS IN THE MIST. At first glance, it appears to be an area movement game, with familiar Ardennes town names surrounded by clumps of woods and gray borders. However, the areas are connected by a network of minor and major roads, and only road movement is allowed. The area borders that have no roads are impassable, and so units hop only from one road junction to another, and what you really have is a point-to-point game.     
     Combat takes place in each junction, the defenders fire first, and the attacker then fires only after taking losses. Each unit rolls one d-10 for each strength level, and most units have either 1, 2 or 3 levels. There are a few 4s, but not many. Stacking is fairly strict, only four units and no more than 10 total strength, and so commonly a German attack will bog down (not clear the junction), and a lonely allied unit will hold up the German advance, as follow-up attacks are impossible if there are 4 German units left over from the attack. Each day is divided into 3 impulses, but units may only move and attack in one of those three pulses. This simple rule puts both sides into a tricky position and is key to the game. Too bad Berg [Richard Berg, well-known wargame designer—known by the French as "The Pol Pot of Wargaming". --ed.] missed it in his first game!
     Having played the game correctly 3 times now, I can honestly say that this is both a good game and an original Bulge treatment that is worth nearly every wargamer's attention. The game is simple (rules are only about 6 pages) and frustratingly short (only 7 turns). In a loose and complimentary sense it is similar to VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC: a great tournament game that captures the essence of the situation with only the bare minimum number of rules. One walks away from this game with the distinct feeling that the developers removed rules, rather than adding them, as the game neared publication.
     Those of you who waste your time on the internet (as I sometimes do) may have noticed an analytically challenged discussion over the lack of fuel rules (for both sides, no shortages and no captures). The game ends very quickly on December 22, and there are hefty traffic penalties that tend to channel and slow the German advance, so much so that a good chunk of the German mobile forces are rendered, well, immobile. Some may say fuel is thusly "factored in" while for others, it is "factored out."               
     Semantics aside, the game plays very well and historically, and it is very easy for both sides to panic and/or make mistakes along historical lines. Plenty of bulge games out there with 20+ pages of rules can't make that claim. It is also damn tough for the Germans to earn a marginal victory, as they will have to cross the Meuse in all likelihood in order to get enough points to win.
     A pleasant surprise was handed to me in the form of a new folder game from Critical Hit, the guys who used to make only ASL supplements. IN FLANDERS FIELDS is an operational treatment of the second battle of Ypres (say "wipers") in 1915. Something about the production and game system here harks back to the good old days of GDW. A lot of work was put into unit strengths, artillery rules and fire charts, but the rest of the game is very simple and clean. A real player's game but still with a lot of detail. For the second issue in a row I was impressed at first by STRATEGY & TACTICS. The latest issue is #196, VIETNAM BATTLES. They cover Hue and Khe Sahn and have excellent graphics, and a system very similar to the

old SPI MODERN BATTLES QUAD. However, the games have two different scales (one is 1000m/hex, the other 500), but use essentially the same system and units, with only slight range modifications. The result is, sadly, that neither game feels quite right, and the old SPI system reminds you of why it is old not often used anymore, it just doesn't feel right or in line with today's standards. In my Hue game, there were way too many exchanges, for example, and the game degenerated into a rag-tag circling match between remnant forces, and the NLF/VC finally lost all of their combat ready units due to exchange results against ARVN supply companies. Not exactly a simulation high moment.
     Next time (hopefully) I'll have a few words to say about XTR's IRON DREAM and DG's WAR IN EUROPE reprint, plus a few others.

Peter McCord has been playing wargames for 20 years. Some of his favorite games are STORM OVER ARNHEM, BARBAROSSA: ARMY GROUP SOUTH, TUNISIA, A RAGING STORM and PROUD MONSTER.

SOME BASICS FOR DESK TOP PUBLISHING (DTP)
by Randy Moorehead

     What gamer out there hasn't played the most recent game from a mainstream wargame publisher and said to themselves, "Well, is it just me, or does this game suck?" Maybe it doesn't totally suck, but they left out a few units, the map is as attractive as puke, and the rules are as clear as day old oatmeal. What gamer hasn't thought, "Hey, I could do better?" Most of us experimented with blank maps and spare counters, hacking out a variant or correcting what we felt was wrong with that game. But, unless the wargame publisher was willing to produce your variant (usually in their magazine), there was little else the gamer could do.
     Along came home computers, affordable graphic packages, the Internet, and DTP games were born. Welcome to the democratization of wargaming. In an age when you can brew your own beer and reload your own ammo, DTP is another way of doing it yourself. I have been producing DTP games since 1995, and have had the chance to learn from a lot of different people. You can, too.
     The first step is to have some ideas. Yes, computers and DTP tools can make your design more professional looking, but wargames do not design themselves. You still have to have something to say. Research the topics that interest you. Don't fall victim to the YAGG syndrome ("Yet another Gettysburg game"). Try a topic or battle that hasn't been done to death. Better yet, try one that hasn't been done at all. Use your imagination. Draw up your rough design using those blank maps and homemade counters.
     Scratch out those rules in pencil in a notebook. Get it all down on paper.
     The second step is to playtest and develop the game. Games should not go unchanged from initial concept to finished product (witness the later 3W games). Have your gaming group play the rough designs, and ask for honest criticism. Yes-men should not be welcomed. Change the mechanics that don't work. The game should be fun to play, and meet your standards. Once you have a finished design and complete components list, you are ready to try your hand at DTP.
     Home computers can be bought for $1200 to $2000, depending on the chip speed, memory, and accessories (printer, scanner, etc.). Be warned that graphic programs need lots of memory to run well, and graphic files (like maps) are huge. Get the maximum speed and memory you can afford. Should you go with a PC or a Mac? Well, I have used both. In the early days, the Mac was the only way to go. But, even given my love for Macs, I must admit that PC's have come a long way. Today, the basic tools are available for both, and once you are in the programs there really isn't much difference (heresy, heresy!). If you are interested in one day trying to professionally publish your game (got $10k to $20k?) and will need to do four-color separation and prepare plate-ready film, then get a Mac. Otherwise, the budding DTP'er can do fine with a Wintel box.
     Rules can be typed into any word processing program. Word Perfect and MS Word (included in the Office suite) are the best known. Any word processing program that can handle two-column output and drop-in graphics will do. If your program is new, it will handle the page layout for you. Some of the older versions will not do page layout very well, and mean you will need a page layout program. No need to go for Quark, since it has a high learning curve and is expensive. Aldus Home Publisher is a $49 package that could be described as "Quark Lite" and similar programs exist. Steer away from Print Shop and other "greeting card" programs; they are a waste of time for DTP gamers. Don't forget to run the spell check, adding gaming terms as you go. There is no excuse for sloppy rules. As you write your rules, you will develop a new sense of admiration for the game companies you used to bitch about. Writing coherent rules is a chore.
     Counters and maps can be done in either a draw or an illustration program. Corel Draw, Macromedia Freehand, or Adobe Illustrator are recommended. I create my counters in Freehand, using a customized template. Maps will take a while to master, especially color mixing. Always work using a CYMK color scheme, as most printers use this four-color method for printing. Using RGB colors will produce darker output, as your computer monitor is backlit and brightens them when viewing. Create a basic hexgrid, and save it as a template. This can be your basic tool for maps, even for b/w and playtest copies.
     The easiest way to print is to buy a good quality (600dpi or better) color inkjet printer. If this is not an option, try your local Kinko's copy shop. Most of them have hourly rentals on Macs and PCs that can print to a color laser printer like a Techronics or Kodak. The main problem with color printing is the size. DTP'ers are usually forced to think in terms of 11 x17 as the biggest sheet available, or a series of 8.5 by 11's tiled together (although Bill Ramsey debunks this with his Omaha game!) [BLOODY BEACH: OMAHA —ed.]. If taking this avenue, you only have to print one master that can be color copied.
     Once you have printed your map, counters, and rules, you need to decide if you will mount the counters or not. I use either rubber cement or 3M Artist's Spray Mount to glue them onto a 6-ply posterboard. 3-ply is too thin, and thicker will mean you can't cut them apart with scissors. Several DTP'ers use Avery labels and do not mount their counters. It is a matter of economy vs. convenience: the more you do the higher the retail cost. Ziplock bags for packaging can be found at most local paper warehouse outlets like Xpedx or Paper Warehouse.
     In order to cash checks made out to your business you will have to open a separate bank account in the business name. This usually requires a business license from the city (here it is $35 per year), some bureaucratic forms, and registering with the state for a tax ID number. Yes, you must keep records of sales and add these to your federal and state income tax returns (Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business). Save your receipts of legitimate business expenses for deductions to offset the meager amount of income from these games.
     Advertising on the Internet should include a web page. Free web sites are available from places like Tripod and you can cram a lot of information into 12mb of free space. Free email is available from sites like Yahoo and RocketMail.
     And, of course, you will want to send copies to Boulder Jim. What better way to gain widespread distribution, eh?

Randy Moorehead’s SIMULATIONS WORKSHOP is one of the the oldest and best DTP companies and produces an amazingly eclectic line of games that always generate good customer comments and good reviews.

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