John M. Astell is a game designer who took over from Frank Chadwick as the principle game designer for GDW's Europa series of wargames. In 1985, he along with Winston Hamilton, a developer and designer of WWII games, formed Game Research/Design, a company committed to the enhancement of Europa. They also began a newsletter that became the magazine, Europa. In 1989, GDW transferred the copyrights and trademark of Europa to GR/D.