Winter War 15 was a small regional convention held 22 to 24 January 1988 at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana which I was fortunate enough to attend while on temporary duty in Illinois. Conventions such as this one have become somewhat common and it this one is typical of the other regional conventions perhaps the hobby is in better shape than I had previously thought. I was pleased to see that Winter War 15 was well run and efficiently organized. Attendance was small compared to ORIGINS and PACIFICON conventions I have previously attended but is perhaps expected from a regional convention.

The fantasy events were surprisingly minimal. On the first day of the convention only 12 persons were involved in GM roleplaying events. The second and third day this was slightly higher but was still minimal. Not being familiar with the area perhaps this was not representative of the local gamer population. Most of the fantasy events involved D&D and supplements. As with the PACIFCON convention I attended last year (see my news article in Vol V Num 4 of the -S-) the fantasy crowd seemed older and better behaved then in the past.

Miniature events were the largest draw at the convention. WWII armor and WWII naval seemed the best attended. WWII naval had an interesting set of home made rules in use similar to the old Fletcher Pratts original. Micro-armor from the modern era also had a home set of rules. An interesting miniatures battle of the WWI British landing in German East Africa durinS 1914 was conducted. As with history the machine gun really dominated the battle field here although there was some wheat fields and stream beds that allowed advance and maneuver.

A large miniatures battle using AH's VS&IM rules was also conducted. With so many participants (8+) fleet organization quickly broke down and a wild melee ensued. A couple of land forts added to the confusion. This type of game is almost as much fun to watch as it is to play. As is becoming more common throughout the hobby, the WS&IM rules used were heavily modified. Perhaps AH should take a look at updating the rules to this fine game.

The board gaming event had a disappointing turnout. Star Fleet Battles was the best attended of the board game events. The first days even used a map four times as large as normal with participants commanding several ships each.

Diplomacy had a consistent draw each day. Many unusual situations occurred. For example, Austria-Hungary was not only alive and well after 8 turns but was the dominant power on the board with France and Russia both knocked out! Nuclear War card game was also being played. This somewhat mindless game has always had a following of sorts although I do not understand why. One hardy soul tried to organize a TSS second edition game by signing up corp commanders for the third day scenario. Myself and one other person were all that showed an interest. As at PACIFICON, MB A&A was much in play. An average of 2 to 3 games were in play at all times. This was despite the fact no organized events with the game were scheduled. I finally sat down and played a game and ended up enjoying myself despite the simple game mechanics and massive amount of die rolling. I have since purchased the game.

Three dealer roams were set up (each the size of a small classroom). One of the dealers stated he was going out of business. Mostly fantasy items were for sale although lots of miniatures were also on sale. Boardgame coverage asw limited to GDW, AH and earlier TSR releases.

The convention, to its credit, held a well attended game action with 60 plus attendees. As is usual, outstanding deals were obtained. Here is some of the prices obtained: Original RISK $9.50, AMBUSH $4.00, SST $4.00. SPI UP SCOPE $3.00. PEA RIDGE $5.00, SPI BULL RUN $4.50, SPI AUSTERLITZ $5.50, SPI WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN $4.00, IROYBOTTOM SOUND $5.00, WAR AT SEA $3.50, BATTLE FOR GERMANY $2.50, BLOODY APRIL (mint condition, unpunched and the highest price paid at the auction) $37.00, SPI SOILDER $4.50, AH MIDWAY $3.50, OBJECTIVE MOSCOW $26.00, SPI LEE AT GETTYSBURG $4.50, BREAKOUT AND PURSUIT $2.50, FLAT TOP $7.50, PAX BRITANNIA $8.50, CAR WARS $8.00, PORT STANLEY $6.00, MAGIC REALM $6.00, KORSEN POCKET $7.00, RIFLE AND SABRE $5.00, LUFTWAFFE S2.50, SQUAD LEADER WITH ALL FOLLOW ON GAMETTES- no bidders! SPI WV3 $13.00, WE ROMMEL IN NA $5.00, JULIUS CEASAR $5.00.

In general the old SPI magazines (issues 50 and lower) with game included sold for around $5.00. Also sold were model kits, paints and computer games. all around good deals and I would urge wargamers to wait for these type of auctions to pick up that missing game.