I just returned from TwisterCon in Oklahoma City, OK, put on by the Tornado Alley chapter of HMGS ™. It was a small con, but it was run well. I think it was a major success, and everyone had a good time.

HMGS Tornado Alley did a very nice job of making game masters and gamers feel welcome and appreciated. Because I had been focused on Cold Wars for the past few months, I called to schedule to run a game rather late -- really last minute. Still, when I showed up Friday afternoon to run my event (a Mexican-American War game with Old Glory's Santa Anna Rules tm), Richard Hourston handed me an envelope with a program, a pre-printed name badge, and prizes. Each game master was given a special gold medal for running a game, and we were provided with a silver medal to hand out to the "best" player in our game. This was a nice touch. I was not at TwisterCon in the past, but I was told they do this every year.

By the end of the convention, some guys were walking around looking like Turkish Admirals! More importantly, I felt welcome at the convention. More than once, Jeff Lawrence, one of the convention organizers, came by and thanked me for running my game. (In fact, since some GM's cancelled for Saturday, I ran a second event on Saturday morning.) I have harped on this (to the point of being annoying) in my discussions of other (notably HMGS-East) conventions. You don't have to give free admission (GM's DID get free admission to TwisterCon and Cold Wars), money, T-shirts, prizes, etc. to make GM's feel appreciated. I really felt good that Jeff took the time to come by and say something. While it takes more planning and effort at larger conventions, this would go a long way toward making game masters WANT to come back and run games next year.

The convention was small. My guess is that attendance was in the 150 - 200 range. There were more games than game masters at some points. I was sorry to see Danny Dodson's 15mm Fuentes del Orno game cancelled due to lack of interest. It was a nice game, and I saw large batches of people having a good time playing in his scenario at Millenium in Austin. All the games looked good, and there were lots of shouts during the games that indicated that critical die rolls had been made or missed.

HMGS MidSouth was represented by four game masters. I ran two Mexican-American War games, which game me an opportunity to further test Santa Anna Rules tm. I was gratified that I did not feel compelled to make any rules changes as a result of either this convention or the three games I ran at Cold Wars, so I think the rules are just about finished. Rick O'Brine ran his exceedingly beautiful Rorke's Drift game. He ran this twice, both sessions were full, and everyone walked away smiling -- even the British who got smucked Friday evening. Kelly Krieble ran a Ship-of-the-Line tm game, a small portion of Trafalgar. This was the first time Kelly had run a convention game, and it went extremely well. (I was in the Santissima Trinidad, and participated in the wrecking of the Victory and the death of Nelson. Jacob ("Bob") Kovell ran a Wild West shootout with modified Desparado tm rules. I got to play in this.

While I did not accomplish all of my goals, the Smith gang was able to kill a lawyer, ransack his office looking for money, and escape -- leaving the town in the clutches of rampaging Mexican peons from across the border.

Some TWISTERCON games of note: Richard Houston put on a really pretty San Juan Hill game featuring his Battle-in-a-box tm kit. Really excellent. Cal Kinzer ran a 15mm Pickett's Charge game twice with Fire and Fury tm that went over well. Steve Miller ran a pretty Beau-Geste-like scenario that seemed fun. The Johnny Reb III tm attack at the sunken road at Antietem looked good. This Game went well past my bedtime, but I understand the Union broke through. And Jeff Lawrences Bannockburn game looked quite exciting. I think the Scotts eventually prevailed, since I saw no cavalry left on the table at the end.

The dealers seemed very satisified with the convention. Jacob Kovel (another MidSouth member) of Silver Eagletm said the show was particularly profitable for him and that he would be back in the future. If did not talk with the other dealers, but sales seemed brisk all around. The dealers included: Bryan's Legacy, Buffalo Books, Games H.Q., Houston's Ships, Military Miniatures of Texas, and Silver Eagle Wargame Supplies.

The venue was a little cramped. Jeff told me that this venue -- different from last year -- was a third larger than their previous venue. Next year, they plan to move the DBM tournament to another room at the hotel to make room in the main room for more games. The dealer area was near the gaming area. I personally like this, because it gave me time to browse breifly between turns, etc. I think the dealers liked this too. Jeff told me that the convention made money, so we can count on this event happening again next year!

All in all, TwisterCon was a major success. I encourage any HMGS members within striking distance of Okalhoma City to attend. We drove six hours to get there, and we really enjoyed ourselves.