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Origins Award Winners for 1997


1997 CSR Winners


Murphy's Laws of Combat


Can You Name This Country?

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Origins Awards Winners Announced at Origins 98! (03 Jul 98)

At a gala ceremony at the 1998 Origins International Game Expo and Fair, the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design today announced the winners of the 1997 Origins Awards, the premier awards for design and production excellence in adventure games. In addition, the Academy inducted eight classic games and game magazines into the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame.

The Origins Awards are a 24-year tradition of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Each year, nominees are selected by the Academy membership, then voted on by the gaming public (using ballots published in many gaming magazines) and the Academy. Winners are traditionally announced at the Origins game show. This year's Awards ceremony was held the night of Friday, July 3rd, at Origins in Columbus, Ohio.

The winners of the 1997 Origins Awards are:

Best Abstract Board Game of 1997
Kill Doctor Lucky
Designer: James Ernest
Cheapass Games

Best Historical Board Game of 1997
Successors
Designers: Mark Simonitch, Richard Berg
The Avalon Hill Game Company

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game of 1997
Roborally Grand Prix
Designers: Glenn Elliot, Adam Conus, Tom Wylie
Wizards of the Coast

Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game of 1997 (tie)
Wadjet: a Family Adventure Game
Graphic Designer: Dee Pomerleau
Timbuk II, Inc.

Successors
Graphic Designer: Kurt Miller
The Avalon Hill Game Company

Best Action Computer Game of 1997
Tomb Raider
Eidos Software

Best Roleplaying Computer Game of 1997
Final Fantasy VII
Eidos Software

Best Strategy Computer Game of 1997
Sid Meier's Gettysburg
Designers: Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, Brian Reynolds
Firaxis

Best Amateur Game Magazine of 1997
Starry Wisdom
Editors: Dustin Wright, Eric Vogt, Shannon Appel, Drashi Khendup
Chaosium, Inc.

Best Professional Game Magazine of 1997
Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine
Developers: Jolly Blackburn, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, David Kenzer
Kenzer & Co.

Best Trading Card Game of 1997
Shadowrun Trading Card Game Limited Edition
Designers: Mike Nielsen, Jim Nelson, Mike Mulvihill
FASA Corp.

Best Traditional Card Game of 1997
Give Me the Brain
Designer: James Ernest
Cheapass Games

Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement of 1997
Time of the Void
Designer: Dave Williams
Five Rings Publishing

Best Graphic Presentation of a Card Game of 1997
Shadowrun Trading Card Game Limited Edition
Graphic Designers: Jim Nelson, Mike Nielsen
FASA Corp.

Best Game-Related Novel of 1997
Planar Powers
Author: J. Robert King
TSR, Inc.

Best Game-Related Short Work of 1997
A Forty Share in Innsmouth
Author: C.J. Henderson
Chaosium

Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1997
Independence Day
Designers: Chris Snyder, Matt Forbeck
Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.

Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1997
Delta Green
Designers: Dennis Detwiller, Adam Scott Glancy, John Tynes
Pagan Publishing

Best Roleplaying Game of 1997
Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game
Designer: John Wick
Alderac Entertainment Group

Best Graphic Presentation of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement of 1997
In Nomine
Graphic Designers: Jeff Koke, Derek Pearcy, Dan Smith
Steve Jackson

Best Historical Figure Miniatures Series of 1997
Charlie Company U.S. Army Figures
Designer: Bob Murch
RAFM

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Figure Miniature of 1997
Sisters of Battle Battle Squad (Seraphin)
Designer: Jes Goodwin
Games Workshop

Best Vehicular Miniature of 1997
Call of Cthulhu Roadster
Designer: Bob Murch
RAFM

Best Historical Miniatures Rules of 1997
Flint & Steel
Designer: Richard Kane
Clash of Arms Games

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures Rules of 1997
Deadlands: the Great Rail Wars
Designer: Shane Lacy Hensley
Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.

Best New Play-by-Mail Game of 1997
Middle-earth PBM Fourth Age Circa 1000
Designers: William B. Feild Jr., Peter G. Stassun
Game Systems, Inc.

Best Ongoing Play-by-Mail Game of 1997
Star Web
Designer: Rick Loomis
Flying Buffalo, Inc.

1998 Inductees to the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame:

Nuclear War
Designer: Douglas Malewicki
Flying Buffalo, Inc.

BattleTech Mechs & Vehicles
Developer: Charles Crain
Ral Partha

Berg's Review of Games
Publisher: Richard Berg

Illuminati Play-by-Mail
Designer: Draper Kauffman
Adventure systems, Flying Buffalo, Inc.

Middle-earth Play-by-Mail
Designers: William B. Feild Jr., Peter G. Stassun
Game Systems, Inc.

The Courier
Publisher: Dick Bryant
Courier Publications

Fire & Movement
Baron Publishing, Diverse Talents, Inc.,
Steve Jackson Games

Strategy & Tactics
SPI, 3W, Decision Games

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1997 CSR AWARDS

Here are the official results of the 1997 CSR Awards. Thanks to everyone for casting their nominees. We had a great vote turnout this year...highest in some time.

Best Pre-World War II Board Wargame (name specific box or magazine game)
All Quiet on the Western Front (MIH)

Best World War II Board Wargame (name specific box or magazine game)
DAK (Gamers)

Best Post World War II Board Wargame (name specific box or magazine game)
Semper Fi (Gamers)

Best Wargame Graphics (name specific box or magazine game)
DAK (Gamers)

Best Pre-20th Century Era Computer Wargame
Great Battles of Hannibal (IM)

Best 20th Century Era Computer Wargame
Close Combat II: A Bridge Too Far (MS)

Best Game Review or Game Analysis (title, magazine, issue #, author)
PanzerGruppe Guderian, SPI Revival #1 - Ted Kim

Best Historical or Scenario Article (title, magazine, issue #, author)
End of Empire, Parts I and II, by William Marsh, Command No. 46 (XTR)

James F. Dunnigan Award for Design Elegance and Playability
Dean Essig

Clausewitz Award: HALL of FAME
Dave Powell

Best Professional Wargame Magazine
Command

Best Amateur Wargame Magazine
Berg's Review of Games

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Murphy's Laws of Combat Operations
  1. Friendly fire - isn't.
  2. Recoilless rifles - aren't.
  3. Suppressive fires - won't.
  4. You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
  5. A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
  6. If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
  7. Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
  8. If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.
  9. If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
  10. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
  11. Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.
  12. Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
  13. If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
  14. The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.
  15. The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
    - when they're ready.
    - when you're not.
  16. No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.
  17. There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
  18. Five second fuzes always burn three seconds.
  19. There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
  20. A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
  21. The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
  22. The easy way is always mined.
  23. Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
  24. Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.
  25. Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
  26. If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.
  27. When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
  28. Incoming fire has the right of way.
  29. No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
  30. No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
  31. If the enemy is within range, so are you.
  32. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
  33. Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.
  34. Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.
  35. Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.
  36. Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather (and especially during both.)
  37. Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.
  38. Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able to get out.
  39. Tracers work both ways.
  40. If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.
  41. When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.
  42. Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.
  43. Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
  44. Fortify your front; you'll get your rear shot up.
  45. Weather ain't neutral.
  46. If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed towards you.
  47. Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.
  48. Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it'll go.
  49. The Cavalry doesn't always come to the rescue.
  50. Napalm is an area support weapon.
  51. Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
  52. B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.
  53. Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.
  54. Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity.
  55. The one item you need is always in short supply.
  56. Interchangeable parts aren't.
  57. It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.
  58. When in doubt, empty your magazine.
  59. The side with the simplest uniforms wins.
  60. Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
  61. If the Platoon Sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
  62. Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep.
  63. The most dangerous thing in the world is a Second Lieutenant with a map and a compass.
  64. Exceptions prove the rule, and destroy the battle plan.
  65. Everything always works in your HQ, everything always fails in the Colonel's HQ.
  66. The enemy never watches until you make a mistake.
  67. One enemy soldier is never enough, but two is entirely too many.
  68. A clean (and dry) set of BDU's is a magnet for mud and rain.
  69. The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
  70. Whenever you have plenty of ammo, you never miss. Whenever you are low on ammo, you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
  71. The more a weapon costs, the farther you will have to send it away to be repaired.
  72. The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ of the weapon's operator.
  73. Field experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
  74. No matter which way you have to march, its always uphill.
  75. If enough data is collected, a board of inquiry can prove anything.
  76. For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. (in boot camp)
  77. Airstrikes always overshoot the target, artillery always falls short.
  78. When reviewing the radio frequencies that you just wrote down, the most important ones are always illegible.
  79. Those who hesitate under fire usually do not end up KIA or WIA.
  80. The tough part about being an officer is that the troops don't know what they want, but they know for certain what they don't want.
  81. To steal information from a person is called plagiarism. To steal information from the enemy is called gathering intelligence.
  82. The weapon that usually jams when you need it the most is the M60.
  83. The perfect officer for the job will transfer in the day after that billet is filled by someone else.
  84. When you have sufficient supplies & ammo, the enemy takes 2 weeks to attack. When you are low on supplies & ammo the enemy decides to attack that night.
  85. The newest and least experienced soldier will usually win the Medal of Honor.
  86. A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
  87. Murphy was a grunt.
  88. Beer Math > 2 beers times 37 men equals 49 cases.
  89. Body count Math > 3 guerrillas plus 1 probable plus 2 pigs equals 37 enemies killed in action.
  90. The bursting radius of a hand grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.
  91. All-weather close air support doesn't work in bad weather.
  92. The combat worth of a unit is inversely proportional to the smartness of its outfit and appearance.
  93. The crucial round is a dud.
  94. Every command which can be misunderstood, will be.
  95. There is no such place as a convenient foxhole.
  96. Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything.
  97. If your positions are firmly set and you are prepared to take the enemy assault on, he will bypass you.
  98. If your ambush is properly set, the enemy won't walk into it.
  99. If your flank march is going well, the enemy expects you to outflank him.
  100. Density of fire increases proportionally to the curiousness of the target.
  101. Odd objects attract fire - never lurk behind one.
  102. The more stupid the leader is, the more important missions he is ordered to carry out.
  103. The self-importance of a superior is inversely proportional to his position in the hierarchy (as is his deviousness and mischievousness).
  104. There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work.
  105. Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when the General is watching.
  106. The enemy never monitors your radio frequency until you broadcast on an unsecured channel.
  107. Whenever you drop your equipment in a fire-fight, your ammo and grenades always fall the farthest away, and your canteen always lands at your feet.
  108. As soon as you are served hot chow in the field, it rains.
  109. Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
  110. The seriousness of a wound (in a fire-fight) is inversely proportional to the distance to any form of cover.
  111. Walking point = sniper bait.
  112. Your bivouac for the night is the spot where you got tired of marching that day.
  113. If only one solution can be found for a field problem, then it is usually a stupid solution.
  114. All or any of the above combined.
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CAN YOU NAME THIS COUNTRY?

WHERE WOULD YOU FIND THIS SUPERPOWER ???
  • 709,000 regular service soldiers;
  • 293,000 reserve troops;
  • Eight standing army divisions;
  • 20 air force and navy air wings with 2,000 combat aircraft;
  • 232 strategic bombers;
  • 13 strategic ballistic missile submarines with 3,114 nuclear warheads on 232 missiles;
  • 500 ICBMs with 1,950 warheads;
  • Four aircraft carriers, and;
  • 121 surface combat ships and submarines, plus all the support bases, shipyards and logistical assets needed to sustain such a naval force.
Is this country Russia? No. Red China? Nope. Great Britain? Hardly!

Give Up? Well, don't feel too bad if you are unable to identify this global superpower because it no longer exists. It has vanished.

These are the American military forces that have disappeared since the 1992 elections.

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