Gamers Alliance REPORT 

Fall 2005 Vol. 2 No. 16

EDITORIAL

20 and Counting

   It really is hard to believe. I mean, after all, where does the time go? Can it really be TWENTY YEARS since Gamers Alliance Report published its first issue? Yes, it can. 

   I was always interested in games. Some of my earliest memories involve receiving a big Parker Brothers or Milton Bradley game as birthday presents. We played boardgames a lot in my neighborhood, often playing in the basement of my home. I remember a Monopoly game held there which went on for hours until, finally, there were only two of us. At that critical juncture, the phone in my house rang. Now this was well before the days of cell phones and our house had no phone in the basement. So, when I scrambled upstairs to answer the phone, I told another friend (who had been eliminated from play) to step in for me until I got back. When I got back (it couldn't have been more than five minutes), my opponent, Brian, waved a fistful of money at me! "Look at all this money I have", he boasted. It seems that Brian had decided on an unusual ploy. He SOLD ALL HIS PROPERTIES! The game quickly came to its inevitable conclusion as Brian soon discovered that he had to pay for everything he landed on. One of the strangest victories in my long history of game playing. 

   I was introduced to Avalon Hill games soon after when another friend bought a copy of D-Day. I never saw a game like it and neither did he. It was up to me to decipher the rules. We played that game so much, we could feel the sand in our shoes from Normandy Beach. 

   But, despite our enthusiasm, there didn't seem to be an connection between our group and the rest of the world. Then, I discovered Games & Puzzles. 

   Inside an Avalon Hill game I purchased was an ad for this English gaming publication: Games & Puzzles. I signed up for it immediately. G&P was a publication unlike any I had ever seen before. It talked about games, featured articles on game strategy and, even more incredible to me, reviewed current games in their "Gamesview" section. Gamesview only ran for a few pages each issue but it was, for me, the best part of the issue. Unfortunately, after going through a bunch of ownership changes, the magazine folded. Bummer! Surely, some other publication would rise up to take its place. Surely, someone else would address gaming the way it should be. Surely... but no. It didn't happen. So, by the time 1986 rolled around, I thought that if I wanted this done, maybe I would have to do this myself. 

   With the supreme confidence of the uninformed, I decided to give my idea of game reviewing a shot. Gamers Alliance began with the publication of the Fall 1986 issue of Gamers Alliance Report. It was a small issue, only 12 pages long, pounded out on a typewriter and mailed to a select audience. Primitive? You bet! But, you know, I'm still proud of it! It was the first step down what has proven to be a very exciting and a very long and winding road, a road that has become 20 years long! 

   Gamers Alliance has gone through a heap of changes throughout our double decade. We've gone from hard copy to cyberspace, from a "one man operation" to a team effort as we have been benefiting from contributions from terrific gamers full of insight and knowledge and an unselfish desire to share! And a lot of our original GA members are still with us! A tribute to their tenacity and love of games - and an honor for us!

   In kicking off our 20th year, we're looking ahead to more great games and great gaming. And in counting our years and counting our issues, we're counting on all of our members (and those new members who will be joining us) to keep us company on this wonderful and exciting ride. 

   In this landmark 20th anniversary issue of GA REPORT, we supersize the issue to offer 20 reviews and features! We dominate, twist dungeons and conquer empires. Frank Branham operates and is horrified, Paul Sauberer plays ball, Kban gets dynastic while Rob goes robotic! In another first, Larry Levy becomes the first writer (besides me!) to offer an entry in our Game Classics series. Plus we play 20 Questions with one of today's leading game designers: Al Newman! And, of course, much more. Until next time, Good Gaming!

                                                                                                    Herb Levy, President