Gaming remains an active proposition in the TriCities. Events at the last Decon (97C) went smoothly, as we returned to the CBC Student Union Building, which will again be the site of DeCon 97D on August 2, 1997.

Rick Matthews and I, with the assistance of John Hayes, re-fought Gary Swearingen's 'Battle of Coronel' (W.W.I naval) yet again, this time with the British deployed for baffle rather than in a search line. It remains an unbalanced scenario in which the advantages all go to the Germans. Longer Guns, better armor and better gunnery all spell inevitable doom for the engaging British. No wonder the British admiral left the battleship at home and went down with his ship. A competent professional, he must have known it was suicide.

The piece de resistance for me at DeCon 97 was a large-scale Spearhead battle which I game mastered. Using the lobby floor, an American assault column tangled with a German hasty defense, using HO and 1/72 scale models. Once again it was proven that Americans without air cover can't match German tank technology. The lack of familiarity with the rules added to the fog of war, and the Americans failed to sweep the entire area of the advance, leaving a German spotter in their rear. The M-36 Jackson assault tanks suffered heavy casualties from German artillery for that oversight. Terry Banta of the SF club put together a creditable assault on a farm house strongpoint with infantry and light tanks, but took heavy casualties. The advance was stalled, and the scenario was called a German victory.