When I returned to board wargaming in 2000 I started buying up used games and magazines from our local game shop. Fortunately (or unfortunately), it was a time when people were bailing out of the area and selling off games “as cheap as chips.” A few dollars would buy an AH or SPI classic (punched) or a few magazines. You’d see they guys name and address (i.e. John Smith, 11 Elm St. Santa Cruz, etc..)  and I always wondered about the previous owners.  

Here’s the mystery: I’m not quite sure how this “deluxe” copy of SPI’s Oil War came into my life, but the contents showed that this guy was serious about the game.  There were several newspaper clippings regarding the tensions in Middle East. A copy of the S&T featuring the game (inc. the game made for the magazine), the usual Errata sheet(s), an enlarged map board, home-made counters for a variant of the game, and a curious letter on SPI stationary:

I think we KNOW who “Jim” is, but who is “Mark”? He obviously lives on the West Coast (“out there”).  Can anyone shed some light on this game’s original owner?