Very sorry Otto,
I threw everything away ten years or so ago.
I wonder if Umpire George Scott is still around someplace.
He might still have oodles of stuff.
He might have lived in New England or the Eastern USA. Why not put out a call on TMP or ask some chaps from the old USA Courier magazine?
-----
General Synopsis:
1) Made up world map with 3-5 large islands or small continents with several countries. My island had three countries. I was in the middle and was about to be invaded by Brig. Young and the country to the north when I suggested the three of us ally. Amazingly we did. So we sent forces elsewhere to cause mischief. Eventually when Brig. Young was getting sicker with his heart ailment, he asked me to take over his country. I did. George was okay with that.
2) Each country had several cities connected by roads. The usual terrain features existed such as forests and mountains, etc. Not too much but enough.
3) We started with a basic amount of infantry/cavalry, artillery and ships.
4) Every month we had money (taxes?) to add to military forces, fortifications, transport ships. George provided costs for different kinds of combatants/equipment/fortifications et al.
5) If a player came up with a clever whatever, George gave that player extra money. I invented Excedradine to more quickly heal sick/wounded people and was given a pile of money for same. I promptly built up my army and navy. The purpose was to keep people involved and thinking to make the experience better. A reward of sorts. Good idea.
Eventually I had enough to sail to the northwest to invade a country with a troublesome diplomatic reputation from IWG II which I began to experience first hand in IWG III. That was my reason to invade aside from my main motivation in this hobby which is to game-game-game with miniatures. (Not to paint-paint-paint though I do plenty of that.)
I eventually met him in Chicago and he was the nicest chap! We gamed a few IWG games at his home or a friends. Usually these were lopsided which on balance made for some uncompetitive but fun and nerve-wracking games. Often when the axe was going to fall, he or others negotiated a surrender and alliance. Miniatures games over. Erg!
4) Turns might have been a month long. Unsure. Maybe a couple of weeks. It took time to sail from one place to another but not too long.
5) Every turn we negotiated with whomever we pleased. Then George would call for movement. In those days we had huge blueprint maps for the world. Six or more? I would photocopy places on those blueprints and draw my movement orders on same. Day 1. Day 2, etc. George gave us movement rates to plot whether on land or afloat. Orders of battle and tactical orders were on same or on separate paper. We would mail these to George by a deadline. He would compare maps and see if there were any contacts. He would rule what happened or farm out a miniatures game.
6) I got to play 1-2 naval games and a small number of land miniatures games. We could use whatever miniatures we had. I naturally used my SYW stuff with my Napoleonic age of sail ships. I suppose others might have used Napoleonics. It was horse and musket and anything could be used.
7) Countries could ally, form coalitions and what not.
8) Snail mail was the method of communication which today may seem awfully ancient and useless. Well, yes. On the other hand it built in a delay for all of us to take a breather and wait just like nations had to really do in those days for results. If I were the Umpire I would want these delays for reasons of my own sanity. Today the volume of emails might make an Umpire seek a deserted tropical island within six months. Too much and too fast. Too changeable too.
*****
I was sad to see it end. A lot of fellows could not see it through to the end. You know that parable Otto about the seeds falling and growing for a time and then wasting away. Kind of like that. So the chaps who sign on should not be like those seeds.
*****
Quitters never win and Winners never quit.
Bonne chance,
Bill P.
-----
PS I just remembered the name of the fellow in Chicago. If he is alive, he'll be in his eighties. I'll see if we still have him on an old Christmas card list. If yes, I'll write and see if he is alive and if he saved his IWG rules and maps.