The AHIKS MEMBERS'GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

Thisguidehasbeenpreparedtohelp ease newmembersintotheSociety as wellasprovidea readyreferenceofstandardpoliciesandproceduresfor the general membership. If your questions are not answered here, feel free to contact an Officer for further information. You can find current Officer contact information listed in each issue of The Kommandeur newsletter and in the "Members Only" section of the AHIKS Website located at isthe Fifth(2014) revisionedition of the AHIKSMembers'Guide.

The AHIKSMembers' Guide is broken down into the following sections:

Introduction

Code of Conduct

History of AHIKS

The Kommandeur Newsletter

Frequently asked questions

Message from the Ratings Officer

A Message from the Judge

Message from the Match Coordinator

Message from the Unit Counter Pool Officer

How to Play by Mail (PBM) and Play by eMail (PBeM)

More thoughts on error correction

Instructions for use of the ICRK combat resolution key

Completing a Game Set Match

The Hard Core Option

The Honor System

Double Impulse Game System

The Game Storage Cabinet

Some of the information written here was prepared by non-AHIKS members and is used with their permission. Gary Gossettwrotethe article"TheHardCoreOptions,"andDonEisan originally didthe"DoubleImpulseMovement"system inaslightly differentformfortheGeneral.The2014 AHIKSSociety Officersand membersare recognizedforsendingupdates to various sections ofthisfiftheditionoftheAHIKSMembers' Guide,facilitatingits production.

CODEOFCONDUCT

AHIKS was formed to provide afriendly,experienced,dependable,ADULT environmentforPBM orPBEM of games. Inorder to maintain this environment,wemustestablishguidelinesfor the conduct ofgameplay.

TheConstitution ofAHIKSprovidesfor thetermination of membership for anyplayer whois judgedlackingin a minimumdisplayofcourtesy.Elsewhere inthisMembers'Guide, youwill find suggestedmethods of playand recommendedattitudestowardopponents;however,thiscodeestablishestheminimum BEHAVIORdemanded for play.Pastexperience shows that discourteousplaybreaksinto threebroad subjectareas:timelinessofplay,rules of play,andinterpersonalrelationships.

Timeliness of play: given the mature nature of the membership, we must expect some incidence ofpersonal duties delaying game activities; although we prefer game moves to be returned (on the average) within 7-10 days, we recognize that this is not always possible. The primary thrust of our requirement for "timely" play is that you do reply to an opponent's move within reasonable bounds and (most important) inform him if you experience an unusual delay. For example, if two opponents agree to play on a two-week turnaround time, and one of them cannot get his move out by the end of two weeks,he should contact his opponent stating his estimate of how much longer he will take. A member who ceases responding altogether is automatically subject to dismissal from membership in AHIKS.

Rules of play: AHIKS has gone to great lengths to ensure that games do not founder on a rules dispute: the AHIKS Judge is one of the basic services to the membership.With the addition of rulings summaries published for many games and with the rules for PBM error resolution contained in this Guide, there should be no reason for a difference of opinion on rules or procedure to persist. If, after the Judge has issued a ruling, a player refuses to abide by such a ruling, that member shall be subject to dismissal from membership. If a member fails to follow the instructions for play specified in this Guide; he may be subject to dismissal.

Interpersonal relationships: we do not require that you develop friendship for opponents (we prefer it,though). However, treating an opponent with insulting or degrading language will not be tolerated.

Over the years since its founding AHIKS has applied the above principles of conduct to all of itsmembers. This resulting in the "weeding out" of undesirable opponents.Generally, you should notexperience any of the above problems. But please realize how important your help is in maintaining our standard of "adult" conduct. First, observe the above rules.Second, encourage others to do so. Third, ask for action by your Match Coordinator or any Executive Committee Officerif any player fails to maintain these standards. Ignoring an opponent's violation of the above code simply results in his using the same behavior with other members, eventually reducing the enjoyment of our hobby by all members. It is the expected duty of all members of the Society to issue formal complaints to an officer of the Executive Committee whenever discourtesy is encountered in another AHIKS player in order to make sure that this does not happen to OTHER members of the Society.

HISTORYOFAHIKS

The AVALONHILLINTERCONTINENTALKRIEGSPIELSOCIETYwas foundedMarch14,1966,byFred

Webster,HenryBodenstedt,KenNorris,andChrisWagner.Its initialpurpose was(1) to providea forumwithin whichaninternationallyuseable playbymail systemcouldbeutilized, (2)toencouragethespreadof wargamingoutsidetheUSA,and (3)toprovidemembers withmatureopponents whowouldcompletegames promptlyandfairly. In later years the "I" in AHIKS was changed from "Intercontinental" to "International".

Thefirstobjective was achievedbytheutilization ofthe International CombatResolutionKey(ICRK)which byitsnature was distributed by a central thirdparty(promptlydubbed the"ICRK-Meister," more recentlyrenamedtheMatchCoordinatorOfficeror ("MC").

ChrisWagner,whoplayed amajor partinspreading thewordabout AHIKS in Asia, along with KenNorris,whoseeffortshelped AHIKSgrowinGreatBritain, effectedthe second objective.

The thirdwasthemost difficultchallenge.Howtoseparate themostreliableapplicantsfrom thosewho might blow hot onedaybutloseinterestthenext?Experienceprovidednoperfectmethod,but itwaslearned thatthemore youthfulapplicants werelesslikelyto retaintheir interest.As aresult,AHIKS has followed apolicyof restricting membership tothose 21 yearsof age orolder, althoughexceptionsaremadeformilitaryservicepersonnel,wargamers of national stature,and thosereferredbyother members.Thisrestriction was modifiedto18 yearsof agedue tothechangeof nationallaw.

AsAHIKS grew,additional officers were needed to carrythe load:thefounding president,FredWebster, andJudgeHenryBodenstedt, were joined bytheveryactiveRichard Holcomb,whostarted as Treasurer in1967,but found himselfvirtuallyrunningtheSociety bytheendoftheyear.Thiswasdueto the press ofthe other obligationson theotherofficers.AlthoughAHIKS continuedto grow for a time,HenryBodenstedt, who hadprovided most oftheenergybehind the operations of theSociety,hadtotake a lessactiverole after founding hisown hobby business.

RichardHolcombe,with theassistance ofhis wifeand hisbrotherTed,didthe besthe couldtokeepthingsrunning.He soondeterminedthat either AHIKS must restrictmembershipor finda better,moreviablemethodofdistributing theresponsibility.Duringthefall of 1968,the regionalization wasapprovedby theSociety membership,with(eventually) tworegions in theUS, andonein Europe.

September 1968to1972:New officersarrived on the horizonevenbeforeregionalizationtook place.

OmarDeWitt,beginninghis"career"in AHIKS,providedan excellentJudge; andin BobJohnson,AHIKS

foundanEditorwhocouldgetitsthen-quarterlymagazine The Kommandeur outontime.Soonafter hiselection as President in 1969, RichardHolcombe, becauseofpersonalreasons,hadtoreduce hisparticipation in AHIKS.

BobJohnson,thenFirstVice Presidentstepped into thevoidand carried usablytothe springof 1972.Hedidthis while also holding the officeofEditorand gettingoutThe Kommandeur.Leslie(Les) Deck accepted the positionofMCin1969.During thissametwo-yearperiod,DonTurnbull,as Regional Director inGreatBritain,wasmultiplyinghisregion'smembership intoa trueEuropeanRegion.From themiddleof1971, HarryTuckerandTonyJonestook over fromDonandcarriedonthework.Theendof1971broughtelectionsanda proposalto changetheconstitution,which wasinconclusivelyabandonedaftera tie vote.

In1972,Omar DeWittbecamePresident, withTomOlesonreplacing himasthe Judge,and GeneGardener appearing asthenew ICRKMeister.Atthattime, withthe Societymembership barelybreaching the 100 mark,itisamazingto recallhow theclubfunctionedin thoseearlyyears.Themembership "voted in"eachnew gamethat itwouldacceptfor PBMplay, in a time when newtitlesappearedonlysporadically.Each individual ICRKsheet washand writtenandeach die roll result on the sheet was rolled for and recorded by an AHIKS officer before it was sent out to players.

Theyear 1972 also saw thestartofa powerful growth curveforAHIKS,largelythrough theefforts ofPresidentOmarDeWitt,whose management more than tripledthe size oftheSociety.ThenGeneGardner founded theNew Membership Program,which formeda pool of veteranmembers with whomnewmembers couldbe matched for their firstAHIKS PBM games.

In1974, a continuingrapid growth(Societymembershippassedthe 200markthisyear)necessitatedthecreation oftheMatch Coordinatorposition,essentiallya splittingofthedutiesoftheICRKMeister;BobJohnson wasthefirstappointee tothenewpost.Richard Berg set newstandards ofhighquality asEditorof The Kommandeur,although regular publication stilleludedthe successorsto Bob Johnson.

In1975,thanksto theeffortsofCarl Benton, at thetimea volunteer assistantto Gene Gardner, webegancomputerizingtheICRK: a cheerwentupfrom all theOfficers,who had heretoforebeencreating all thosehand-madeICRKS.

Theyear1976 was a transitionyear forcommunicationsinthe Society,with Pete Menconi switching fromRegional DirectortoEditorand substitutinga bimonthlyKommandeur for the regionalnewsletterswhichwere becomingburdensome fortheRegional Directors to produce.Dave Turnansky wasappointedthenew MatchCoordinatorandthusbecamethefather oftheAHIKS rating system forthose members who desiredtoparticipate.TheEastern Regionsplit in two,givingthe Societya total of four regions:European,West,East,and Northeast.

Virgil Mugler startedupthe PBMmethodsfile.Anew Constitution,primarilyaproductofOmar'sproddingthe other officers,was approved, establishing for the firsttime theExecutive Committee to runa Societythathadchangedgreatlyfromthemodest beginnings.

HenryRadice,formerlyaRegional Directorin Europe,becametheSociety'sfirst non-USPresidentin1977,showing up boththeinternational nature ofAHIKS andtheincreasing importance oftheEuropeanRegion,bynowaquarter ofthetotalmembership.Thenewlycreated postof Secretaryprovedanimportantcommunicationslink, whileOmar DeWittbecamethefirstofficertooccupy the resurrected VicePresidential position.JudgeBill Faroneestablished the systemof"specialists"tohandlethemyriadofgamesnow becomingavailableandensuring the survivalofoneof AHIKS'mostvaluedservices.TheEastern andWesternRegionssplitinthisyear,creating thePacific, Northeast,andNorth CentralRegions.Membership moved above the 400mark.

Theendofyear 1978 elections saw OmarDeWittcontinue forhistwelfth yearas anofficer,JoeHorneentered his sixthyear as Treasurer, and PeteMenconi switched fromEditor to President.Largelythrough

the efforts ofHenryRadice,anewConstitution, the third such in the society's history,wasproposedandapproved by the membership.Bruce Mastonbeganhisfifth year stint as Secretary.

Pete Menconi proved anenergeticpresident,issuing frequentanddetailed PresidentialNewslettersto theofficers.Leslie(Les) Deckbegan his invaluablecontributiontotheSocietyas MatchCoordinator in1969Although thispostis notoneof the"glamorous"offices, itisoneofthemost important.The primaryfunctionof AHIKSis tofacilitate playingbymail,andLesstayed at hispostanddidanadmirablejob while other offices intheSociety werenotasfortunate.WithoutLes'efforts,AHIKS'reputationwouldbemuchdiminished. DuetoLesDeck'sdevotion andexcellentperformanceover theyears he washonored by the Societyinbeingvotedin asaLifetime Member.

Over the years the membership voted to bestow lifetime memberships to certain individuals who had performed long service for AHIKS and had gone"above and beyond" in dedicating their time andunselfisheffort to making AHIKS a better place.All awarded lifetime memberships were awarded by majority vote of the membership. The members so honored by the society are FredA.Webster,ThomasW.Gaddis,JosephM.Hruby,ThomasN. Shaw, Christopher Wagner, Henry H.Bodenstedt, SidJolly,Leslie J Deck,and William Lindow.

AlanWhite late in1980 beganhis longincumbency asheadof theEuropeanRegion.At theend of 1980,the membership totaledover500.

In1981, Bill Salvatore began his long tenureas Judge.Attheendofthatyear,the officersvoted toforma CanadianRegion,andCasey Bruyn becamethe firsttohold thatoffice.In 1982wesaw tirelessPeteMenconi returnto thejob as Editor,whileJohnRatzenbergertookoveras President.Membershippassedthe600 mark.Through theeffortsofCarl Benton,AHIKSsuppliedAvalonHillwithspecial ICRKsfor useintheir PBM tournament.ThanksmainlytoPete Menconi'sefforts; anupdated Members'Guidewasfinallypublished.TheEuropeanRegionbeganpublishingtheirnewsletter inanupgradedformat.InOctober,Carl Benton steppeddownafter sixyears ofvaluable service, and DonEisan tookover asM&SO.

Twobylaws wereaddedtothe constitutionin1983:the"Under-21 Bylaw" spelledoutthe agerequirements,and the "EuropeanRegionBylaw"gave the EuropeanRegion moreautonomy.JohnRatzenberger was forcedbypersonal reasonsto resignaspresident,andVPOmar DeWitt juggled thehotpotato brieflybefore passingoff toBill Watkins,whotookoveraspresidentearlyin 1984.Alsoin '84,BruceMaston retired aftermanyyearsoffaithfulservice, withBill Lindow becomingSecretary.Themembership total reached 700.After devotingovertenyearsto the Society as Treasurer(and,ifthereweresuch a post, as Conscience),Harold"Joe"Hornepassed theSocietycheckbookandfinancialcoffers toSidJolly.TheSociety isverygrateful for themany, manyhoursJoegave his job.JohnBurtt,whohad takentheEditor'spost in 1984 (afterPete Menconihad published his30th Kommandeur),replacedBill towardtheendof 1985.ChesterHendrixthenbecameEditor,bringingatouch ofprofessionalismtotheoffice.

Volume 21 issue 1 of The Kommandeur printed in January 1985shows John Burtt - President, Omar DeWitt - VP,Chester Hendrix - Editor, Bill Lindow - Judge, Sid Jolly - Treasurer, Les Deck - Match Coordinator, Bill Salvatore - Secretary, and Don Eisan -Match Services Officer. AHIKS was divided into six regions, Northeast, West, North Central, South East, Pacific, and Canada, each with its own Regional Director. AHIKS Europe was essentially a sister organization with their own treasury and officers.

The European Region Representative was Allen White and The European Region Editor was Dave Stead. AHIKS also provided other services to its members including a Multiplayer Coordinator - Roy Hendricks, An PBM IDEA Coordinator - Harvey Grove and an Archivist - Bill Perry. The organizationcontinuedto grow.The Kommandeur newsletter was averaging 12 pages and membership numbers had reached 1,115.

Unfortunately, no records are available to this writer for the period between early 1985 and mid 1989. Volume 24 Issue 2 for August 1989 shows some changes in the AHIKS Officer Corps. Kevin McCarthy is the newly elected President. Chester Hendrix- Editor, Sid Jolly - Treasurer, Art Dempsey - VP, Randy Heller - Judge, Les Deck - MC, Bruce White - Secretary.Only Three issues of The Kommandeur were printed for Volume 24 during 1989. AHIKS issued ID Number 1277 in October 1989. Computers were just starting to come into fashion, and AHIKS was discussing how to best use the new technology The computerization of the mailing list for The Kommandeur was AHIKS' first step in that direction.

Between 1989 and June of 1993 the AHIKS Officer Corps saw Robert Chenoweth take over the Judge's position from Randy Heller. Robert turned the position over to Joey Sabin in 1992. Steve Ball became Secretary. The MSO position which had been vacant for some time was split between two people. Ken Nied became MSO-Roster and Tom Hammer took the MSO - Ratings job.

1991 saw AHIKS celebrate its 25th Anniversary! Chester Hendrix published First Blood- The Guadalcanal Campaign game which all members at the time received as Volume 26 Issue 6 of The Kommandeur. Chester later sold the rights to the game, and it was published commercially. The unit counter pool was also established in the same year with able assistance of Randy Heller. 1991 also saw the beginning of the downturn for the wargaming industry. Wargamers were discussing both Play by Mail and board gaming"burnout." AHIKS membership renewals were down, and game companies were also beginning to feel the pinch as new and old gamers alike were turning to a new brand of gaming - The computer!The gaming conventionOrigins was combined with Dragon Con and 10,000 people were expected to attend that year yet barely 5,000 actually attended. Through it all our Officer Corps continued to serve withdistinction andwith the fullestinterestof the Societyat heart.

The Presidency changed in 1993. Mark Palmer became President with Bryan Eshleman as his VP. The other officers continued to serve in their respective positions. Jim Denier - Editorcontinued to do an excellent job producing The Kommandeur witheach issue averaging about 12 pages in length. AHIKS issued member number 1432 in October 1993. Membership retention was a big issue at this point in time.

In early 1994 Ken Nied replaced Jim Denier as editor. Jim had open-heart surgery and could not continue as Editor.Also in 1994 Andy Johnson took over as MSO-Ratings.

During the mid to late 1990s AHIKS new memberships slowed. Revenue declined as postage and mailing costs increased. AHIKS continued to support not only The Kommandeur and its mailings but smaller budgets for the six Regional Directors putting even more of a strain on the Treasury. During 1994, AHIKS had 366 dues-paying members. Yearly dues were $20.AHIKS issued ID number 1475 that year.

March 30, 1995, saw the Bylaws rewritten and updated. One of the effects of the new Bylaws was setting back the election of officer positions whose terms expired in 1995 to 1996. The new Bylaws required that all officer positions would be 4 year terms. The elections would be held in the same year as the American Presidential elections. The entire slate of officer positions on the Executive Committee would be open for re-election during 1996.

During April 1995 Mark Palmer resigned as President. Bryan Eshleman took over as President and Bill Lindow was appointed Vice President. Bruce Monnin becomes AHIKS Play By eMail Coordinator. AHIKS had 37 members playing games on-line during 1995.

March 14, 1996, marked the 30th anniversary of AHIKS. The first election was held under the new Bylaws. The following individuals were elected. Bryan Eshleman - President, Roger Estep - VP, Ken Nied - Editor, Joey Sabin - Judge, Bill Lindow - Treasurer, Les Deck - MC, Steve Ball - Secretary, Ken Nied - MSO -Roster, and Andy Johnson - MSO - Ratings. There were only 5 issues of The Kommandeur printed in Volume 31 for 1996. Member ID numbers reached 1497 in 1996.

In April 1997 Bryan Eshleman resigned as President followed by Roger Estep's resignation a short time later. In June Ken Nied resigned as editor. Chester Hendrix volunteered and was appointed President by the Executive Committee. Ray Labarbera, stepped up and volunteered to be VP. Joey Sabin resigned as Judge. Mike West volunteered and was appointed Judge. Steve Ball resigned as Secretary.Issues 32-4 and 32-5 of The Kommandeur were combined into one issue and no issue 32-6 was printed in 1997. AHIKS issued member ID number 1505 in October 1997.

1998 saw the following Officers at the helm of AHIKS. President - Chester Hendrix, VP-RayLabarbera,MC - LeslieDeck, Treasurer- Bill Lindow,Editor - Thomas Pavy,Secretary - Clyde Longest Jr,Judge -MikeWest and MSO RatingsOfficer- AndyJohnson were all members oftheExecutivecommittee. AHIKS published its firstPBeM game listing on the web. Clyde Longest also took over as the Unit Counter Pool Officer, and Duncan Rice became Recruiting Officer for AHIKS. Glen Petroski stepped into the new position as Publisher of the newsletter. OurSupport ServiceOfficers andGeneral CommitteeMembers included: HankBurkhalter -PBeMCoordinator,TomButcher- Multi-Player Coordinator,Bob Ryan - ChitHolding Officer,WilliamPerry - Archivist Officer,andLeslieDeck - WebsiteManager.

AHIKS continued to support the six Regional Directors and their operating budgets.

The Avalon Hill Gaming Company was acquired by Hasbro, the toy making companyin August. The entire gaming staff of Avalon Hill was let go in the acquisition. Due to a surplus that hadaccumulated,AHIKS yearly dues were reduced to $10. Membership ID numbers reached 1506 in 1998. Just four issues of Volume 33 of The Kommandeur were published in 1998 with Volume 33-4 carrying a publication date of January 1, 1999. Volume 33 issue 3 carried a roster of all active members of AHIKS at that time. The list contained 240 member's names.

During 1999 the Executive committee consolidated the MSO - Ratings and MSO - Roster position into one.AHIKS' first website was up and running on September 11, 1999.The newsletter contained only five issues published forVolume 34 during 1999. There was no issue 1of volume 34 as it was labeled Volume 33, issue 4. ID numbers reached 1527 during 1999.

Entering the 21st Century, board wargaming was becoming a niche hobby. Many gamers were moving to personal computer gaming, Role Playing Games and card style games such as Majic had become increasingly popular.Hasbro's board wargaming sales figures were disappointing. Otherlarge and small game companies reported similar drops in sales.AHIKS was working hard to make a place for itself in the emerging world of computer-assisted gaming and was working to improve its website and provide services to dedicated board wargamers who remained in the hobby. Only three issues of Volume 35 of The Kommandeur were published during 2000.