The Tenth Annual Seven Years War Association Convention was held Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20, at the Harvey Holiday Inn in Harvey, Illinois. The convention was organized and hosted by Brian Vizek, capably assisted by Paul Petri.

The gaming kicked off Friday night and continued all day Saturday with three separate sessions. A total of fifteen games were run ranging from role-playing to skirmish games to grand-tactical encounters. A total of 72 people attended the convention of which 48 partook of the sumptuous banquet Saturday evening.

Those of us who wished to add to our collections of miniatures, rules, books, and accessories were rewarded by the presence of many vendors including RSM, Elite, the Reiter, Wargames, EHQ, and "Bill Protz Books." Many gamers were also hawking books, buildings, and painted armies. There was a little something for everyone.

I have always enjoyed the Seven Years War Convention as being just about my favorite gaming event of the year, and this one was no exception. It is truly a delight to be able to meet once again with wargaming industry movers and shakers and good buddies alike. Those attending included Duke Seifried (who was a featured speaker), Jim Purky, Brian Vizek, Paul Petri, Bill Prom Hal Thinglum, Todd Fisher, Tod Kershner, Ken Bunger, Dean West, Rich Black, Tony Adams, Herb Gundt, Bart Redmond, Rob Oldenburg, Dana Homo, Keith Leidy, Hap Jordan, and many others whose names I have inadvertently left out through premature senility. It was great to meet once again with all these really creative and imaginative people!

Many different rules sets, both published and unpublished, were represented at the convention, including Drums of War Along the Mohawk, Rusty's Rules, Warfare in the Age of Reason, Yankee Doodle, Tomahawk, Mike Schundler's Rev War, Turks & Jerks, Petri's Rules and The Final Argument of Kings. The varieties of rules afforded gamers a diverse opportunity for enjoyment. The fifteen games were each unique and well attended.

Time periods represented ranged from the Seven Years War through the American War of Independence. Armies of a variety of nationalities were represented including French, British, Americans, Indians, Hessians, Prussians, Austrians, Russians, and Turks. In large part the visual representations of the various games looked superb.

I had the opportunity to play in a most unique game that Bart Redmond put on entitled The Marquis of Granby's Cup. This was literally a role playing horse racing game in which Officers of various nationalities in the western theater of the Seven Years War decide to call a temporary truce in hostilities in order to see who is the best horseman around. Each player had different levels of horsmanship, degrees of honor (or dishonor), and particular axes to grind with other riders. Needless to say the course was rife with various obstacles ranging from marauding bands of French hussars who would rob friend and foe alike to broken down wagons, fallen trees, flocks of sheep, and even ladies of easy virtue. Cheating was allowed, if your honor permitted (I had none), so more than one pistol shot and sword blow was traded before the game ended.

To show how chaotic the game was, it should be noted that the winner, Hap Jordan, fell off his horse three times before crossing the finish line. I finished nearly dead last, in spite of having the best equestrian skills and one of the best horses, because I took a short cut, met up with a woman with a bottle of wine, and proceeded to waste my lead through various bouts of inebriation and indulgence.

I hadn't realized that role playing had all that much a place in historical gaming until now. I must say that in spite of my poor showing, I had an absolute blast. I hope to play in more games of this type at future meets.

Saturday Afternoon

I put on my own game, Yankee Doodle, an unpublished set of Rules on the American War of Independence based upon the Johnny Reb rules system. I created a hypothetical scenario in which a four-brigade force of Continentals and militia posted behind stone walls is attacked by four brigades of British, Hessians, and Loyalists. I had room for eight players and ended up with seven, one American player commanding two brigades.

Because of time constraints - Duke Seifried needed to use my table for his evening game - we were not able to play the game to a definite conclusion. Although the Americans had inflicted more casualties on their enemies, both flanks of the Continentals were in the process of being turned at the time I called the game. I declared it to be a draw, but there is no telling what may have occurred if we had had more time. All players covered themselves with glory in my opinion.

The banquet commenced at 6:00. The meal featured chicken as the main course and was quite tasty. Duke Seifried was the featured speaker, and he gave an informative and insightful talk on the French and Indian War. As usual, everyone who attended got some very nice prizes and we all got to catch up on what's new with everybody else.

Saturday night, after the banquet, Dean West and I retired to our room with a group of very special guests, whose names will not be mentioned to protect the guilty, and there we all indulged in some serious elbow bending ... er, conversation, that is. The social aspect of this convention is one of the things that I enjoy the most as it gives us all a chance to kick back, relax, and share ideas about the hobby (women, sports, politics, etc.) and give and get feedback about the day's gaming.

In conclusion, the convention was a great success. If you've never come to the Annual Seven Years War Convention, you're really missing a real treat!