Archived from groups: alt.games.wargames (
More info?)
"Michael A. Breen" <writefool@aol.comdiespam>
> Can anyone tell me the status of GRD/Mill Creek? I was looking for a
website
> and found nothing and I am curious to know if they are still around.
"Historical Military Services (HMS) is pleased to announce that it has
purchased all of the assets of GRD Games. The Europa, Glory and The Great
War series, The Europa Systems Magazine, this website and the Europa
Association List on Yahoo Groups, are under new ownership. We will continue
to do business as Games Research/Design or GRD."
http://hmsgrd.com/
GRD Games purchased by HMS
We had wanted to wait until we were fully moved, set-up and had TEM 86 at
the printer but the current level of frustration is understandable and
deserves a response. We hope the following announcement from the upcoming
TEM 86 is seen as good news. Arthur, Cory and Gar.
GRD Games has been Purchased by Historical Military Services.
Historical Military Services (HMS) is pleased to announce that it has
purchased all of the assets of GRD Games. The Europa, Glory and The Great
War series, The Europa Systems Magazine (TESM or TEM), the GRD Games website
(www.grdgames.biz) and the Europa Association List on Yahoo Groups, are
under new ownership. The new GRD owners are Gar Olmsted, Cory Manka and
Arthur Goodwin.
As part of this purchase, HMS has specifically agreed to accept all
obligations GRD Games had at the time of the purchase for all subscriptions
to The Europa Systems Magazine (TESM or TEM); for all pre-orders for the
games Wavell's War, Total War, and Return to Iraq; for all investments in
the East Africa Terrain Company; and for the A Winter War Refit Kit
previously promised to 1999 subscribers to TEM.
For those who may not know, HMS has been working with GRD Games in various
ways for several years. We have tried to help the company whenever we could
and feel that our working relationship will help us with the transition. It
has certainly given us a better idea of the work involved in publishing
these games.
What does this purchase mean for you? For starters, it means that HMS will
have more funding to publish gaming products than the old GRD Games had
available and more help to move those products into production. This means
that several products long stalled in the old GRD Games production queue
will be forthcoming. Specifically:
.. If you are a current subscriber to TEM, you should receive issue #86
before the end of the month. TEM issues 87 and 88 will be out shortly,
fulfilling the subscription year you paid for. These two magazines will be
released with a month separation between them. For those who have already
subscribed for the next subscription year, your subscription will be honored
in full.
.. If you have pre-ordered the Wavell's War game module you will be receiving
the module sometime later this year. Wavell's War still needs the scenarios
and appendices booklet, some of the charts, the maps, and the boxes to be
produced (the counters, several of the charts, and the Rules and OB Booklets
are already printed and in the HMS warehouse). The remaining components are
either ready to go to the printers (the maps and boxes) or undergoing final
review (the others). All will go to the printer shortly.
.. If you are an investor in the East Africa Terrain Company your investment
will be honored by HMS. Individual investors will be receiving a letter
shortly that will describe how their share investments and Wavell's War maps
and modules will be delivered.
.. If you have pre-ordered Total War you will receive periodic updates from
HMS regarding that product's status as it moves to completion. The Total War
playtest was a major success and has resulted in a very good design that has
now moved into the development stage. John Astell will help to complete the
game as his time permits and we will be working closely with him. But
significant work remains to finalize the game including work on a simpler
naval system, final digitization of the maps and completion of the Soviet
1939-42 Grand Europa OB.
.. If you were a subscriber to TEM for the 1999 subscription year will
receive the long-waited A Winter War Refit Kit at some point during the
coming year. The counters for this kit cannot be printed until the Soviet
1939-42 Grand Europa OB is finalized as part of the development of Total War
so it is not possible to give a more definite date at this time.
.. Those who have pre-ordered Return to Iraq (RTI) will be contacted
separately. RTI is not a core project for this company and it will not be
produced by HMS. Credits or refunds for preorders will be available shortly.
The game is a good one and we hope to find a publisher for it but we firmly
believe that we need to focus on the core Europa, Glory, and The Great War
game series and what brought gamers to the old GRD.
We have put several other projects on hold (Eisenhower's War, Samurai
Lightning, Bloody Eagles, Partizan!, etc.) while we concentrate on getting
back on track with the magazine, Wavell's War, and Total War. These projects
are still in the "production queue," but all work on them by HMS staff has
been stopped until we have the magazine caught up, Wavell's War out, and all
components of Total War at the printer. In most cases work on these games
continues "out-of-house," however. For example Frank Watson and Robert Brown
continue design work on Eisenhower's War and Partizan; and there are Bloody
Eagles and Samurai Lightning "playtest commands" established in California
and Australia, under Eric Pierce and Michael Tapner, respectively, that will
continue work on their respective games.
We are committed to moving forward with the Europa, Glory and The Great War
series. Grand Europa will happen in our lifetime. The Europa Magazine is
continuing and we hope to expand it in the future. A number of games that
are out-of-print will again be available over the next year. There will be
more about these projects in later announcements.
Our immediate priority will be to move the company to Colorado and to
reestablish the website, telephone connections and set up the inventory. We
should have the same toll free telephone # (1-800-236-7442) and web address
(www.grdgames.biz) as the old GRD Games but we will let you know by separate
announcement when our contact information is finalized. If you experience
any difficulties in reaching us, please be patient.
Our major goals for the next six months are to at a minimum publish three
issues of TEM, get Wavell's War completed and shipped, and to move Total War
along as close to completion as possible so as to release it no later than
April 1, 2005.
We want to ask for your continued patience and support. GRD customers have
been the most loyal in the industry. We have all waited years for some of
the games. Now, 'we' are on the other side, representing the company. As
owners and publishers, we will do everything we can to reward your loyalty
and will continue to improve the quality that drew you and drew us to the
series. The games will be published.
Historical Military Services 540 South Forest Street #G Denver, CO 80246
toll free telephone #: 1-800-236-7442 website: grdgames.biz e-mail:
garolmsted@earthlink.net or arthur@millcreekvent.com
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