Getting towards the end of 1975 The Strategic Review is starting to feel more like a magazine than a newsletter, for the first time it has a proper cover, rather than just a header, and the transition into Dragon Magazine is approaching. 

This isn’t one of the more interesting issues when it comes to D&D, being more dedicated to other games, and some columns of Gygax griping about Avalon Hill or printers, but even so there are a couple of cool articles. One mixes D&D with WWII miniature games, simulating a fight between a German tank detachment and a fantasy gang of troll, orcs, ogres and wizards. 

There are also a couple of straight up D&D additions like magical items (Robe of Scintillating Color and Prayer Beads) and a bunch of new creatures, foremost among them the Rakshasa (Jazz Hands!). Gygax’s article on how GenCon is actually bigger than Origin is a pretty funny strop on his part, but I imagine it was pretty annoying to organize a convention for years only to have people talk about the new kid on the block like it’s the only game in town. There’s also a neat section with biographies of all TSR full time employees, which are like 4 at this time.