10th Anniversary of HMGS "Just who the (expletive deleted) do they think they are?" It was these stirring words, voiced by a certain well-known game convention organizer, that spurred the creation of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society those ten years ago. In response to his strong hint that their absence from national conventions would hardly be noticed, a hardy band of pioneers -- the "Wally's Basement" boys -- began to consider the possibility of holding conventions intended solely for the type of games, and gamers, they preferred best. It was from this incongruous beginning that Historicon emerged. Dick Bryant (l) and Don Featherstone (r) at Scruby Awards Banquet. Photo by Jim Butters. Or so goes HMGS lore. Whatever the truth of the legend,the fact is that Historicon '91, the tenth of its kind, drew nearly 2,000 attendees to the Penn Hanris Inn in Harrisburg, Pa., over the weekend of July 25-28 for what surely was the largest and best event of its kind ever. Although this figure was only slightly higher than last year, it still represents an exceedingly healthy total for any sort of convention anywhere. Beginning with a refight of the ancient battle of Metaunis and ending (as I walked out the door) with Capt. Pete Panzeri being prevailed upon to set up his battle of Ghazlani game again late Sunday afternoon, while most of the rest of us were stumbling off toward our vehicles,the convention drew a total of over 1,400 paid attendees, 200 dealers spread across 160 tables, and about 200 camp followers of all description -- the entire seething horde managed, with remarkable efficiency in my opinion, by an unpaid, unheralded staff of 15 volunteers, led by Bob Coggins. Bob, who to my knowledge has received no plaques orother honors for his annual devotion to this pilgrimage of players, was, however, awarded the highest appellation by Col. Keith Hubbard,late of Patton's Third Army: "You're a credit to the regiment," declared Keith. Col. Hubbard's creative homemade armies of painted doormats and pipe cleaner horses -- including the near-legendary plastic pigs in elephant garb -- have always been a favorite sight of mine, and they were present this year, too -- I believe they may have won an award in the painting competition. In addition to the abundant offerings from dealers, attendees were treated to the prospect of being able to play in one ormore of 230 planned events, 229 of which focused upon historical miniatures combat. Many more impromptu games were organized as well. The mysterious inclusion of one science fiction game was doubtless done for some sort of legal reason, presumably to avoid anti-discriminatory lawsuits from envious sci-fi gamers. This writer did witness one late-night pickup game of Space Hulk, but as none of the players appeared to be under duress, I resisted calling the Historicon security element. All of the gamers with whom I spoke expressed great pleasure with the convention's organization and offerings, and the majority of the dealers seemed to be similarly satisfied. "Fantastic" was the summary of one, and I believe most others would agree. Since space limitations kept some last-minute applicants from attending, and compelled the relocation of others to hotel rooms, next year's move to The Lancaster Host Resort offering 50% more space in nearby Lancaster, Pa.,will doubtless be appreciated by dealers and gamers alike. [Cold Wars - March 6-8 & Historicon'92 -July 23-26 - Ed.] HMGS Business HMGS elections were held during the convention, and although I am not entirely certain who was named to the National Board -- why this knowledge would affect any readers of THE COURIER anyway, here is the slate of officers: President: Dick Sossi; Vice President: Bob Watts; Secretary: Leo Cronin, and Treasurer: Michael Montemarano. The National Board of Directors of the HMGS approved, on a provisional basis, the addition of an HMGS Rocky Mountain Chapter. This, added to the one existing provisional chapter, brings to seven the total number of HMGS chapters. Saturday night of the convention saw the annual banquet, attended by about 100 lucky conventioneers, who left the din of battle for several hours (although it could still be clearly heard outside the Penn Harris restaurant) so they could mingle with and listen to some of the best-known figures in our hobby. Dick Bryant, Editor of THE COURIER, was given the Jack Scruby Award by the HMGS for his contributions to the hobby. Newcomers to THE COURIER or the hobby may not appreciate how much Dick has done for wargaming through his publication of the magazine, or the fact that the HMGS was, in large part, created through his efforts -- I shall say no more lest I risk embarrassing the editor (Note: Dick Bryant didn't pay me to write this). Anyway, the award was presented by the very first (and heretofore only) recipient of the award, wargaming pillar Donald Featherstone. Surely there is scarcely a miniatures wargamer alive who has not read at least one of Don's many books, or seen his late, lamented Wargamer's Newsletter. On Friday evening Don had given a talk entitled "Legends from the World of Wargaming", during which he discussed the influence of H.G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, and others -- modesty prevented Don's noting the fact that to many of us, he, too, is just such a legend. Don presented another award. This one to Charley Sweet as the Oldest Active Wargamer. Charley, in his mid 70s, was one of the originators of the hobby in the U.S. A story of his gaming was printed in a 1960s Sports Illustrated magazinewhich led to an appearance on a national TV show. Many people aho are active in the hobby today were introduced to it through these two events. YANKEE NOSES TWEAKED; REB NOSES, TOO! Also in attendance from Great Britain was noted Sandhurst lecturer and author Paddy Griffith, who bravely pushed his stick into the hornet's nest with his lecture devoted to "the myth of the power of the rifle in the American Civil War". "I like to think that I throw out ideas that other people don't get," Paddy began, and clearly, not many members of his audience agreed with his assertion that the use of the rifle in ourCivil War sparked no revolution in tactics. Suggesting that some of the focus of American historians on this thesis is little more than patriotic myopia, Paddy declared, "I'm looking at this from a European perspective, and I'm not going to accept the American perspective, especially," he stated, "when Americans get involved in what is Europe's favorite sport, namely warfare." A sporting question and answer period then followed which I, for one, found thought-provoking if nothing else. The very first "question", which was essentially a point-by-point refutation of the entire lecture, lasted about ten minutes, during which time your correspondent eased out of the Penn Harris nightclub and went off seeking other journalistic vistas. Paddy offered several other entertaining and slightly off-the-beaten-path diversions to Historicon attendees, including his "Tactical Exercise Without Troops", which Dave Waxtel should report on, perhaps even in this issue. Although perhaps seen as a bit of an iconoclast in these parts, his attendance at Historicon made it afar more interestingand entertaining event, in my opinion. Some New Products That I Liked These included paired Tactica armies from Battle Honours, offered by Antiquitas Miniaturis, Ltd.; some spectacular 15mm armies and even more spectacular C HQ 1/1200 ships (the latter were all sold byThursday afternoon!) from Norm and Robbie's Custom Painted Miniatures of Grants Pass, Oregon; and a huge map of the eastern and western theaters of the Civil War, marked out with half-day march routes for campaigners, courtesy of The Emperor's Headquarters maybe $35 is a bit steep,but I am sure many gamers will find that price tag worthwhile. Old Guard Wargamers offered some striking T-shirts, with the "European Tour" Napoleon shirt selling best for them, but my personal favorite was the one with the Austrian Flag. Geo-Hex, which is always expanding, showed stream and field cloths which could be laid over their terrain -- I saw these on several game boards, and they looked impressive. Essex, with whom itwas hard to keep up, came with a passle of products, including more Tactica armies, Seven Years' War Russians, and others. I got away with the purchase of only 72 15mm Gallic warriors. GAMES, GAMES GAMES Let's face it folks -- with well over 200 games going on, I was lucky to even see a good percentage of them, much less stay to take notes. Suffice it to say that if you wanted to find a game dealing with virtually any period in history, at almost any time of day or night, you probably could do so. Surely the most impressive in terms of sheer size if nothing else, was the "Pirates Revenge" game hosted by Jenkintown Hobby. An immense U-shaped table, patrolled by 2-foot long ships mounted on their own separate and mobile tables, was filled with hundreds of 25mm European troops from a variety of nations, all awaiting the attack of the similarly numerous pirates. The game, set in the 1880s, had room for 30 players, and was virtually a convention unto itself. Mountains, cities, rivers, bridges, an observation balloon suspended several feet over the table and even an operating HO railroad don't even begin to suggest the scale of this game -- would it help if I noted that it was overseen by half a dozen referees equipped with headsets? In short, Pirates Revenge was the kind of game every boy dreams of when he first begins to play with toy soldiers. Due to space limitations, (not, according to rumor, the possibility that Phil Barker was bringing his pilum to town) the North American Society of Ancient and Medieval Wargamers held its tourney several miles away, at the Mechanicsburg Holiday Inn. I was told that about 100 gamers were in attendance, some of whom also took part in the "Free Trade Wars", which, if I understood this schism correctly, was for WRG purists and which was honored by Phil's attendance. I honestly cannot recall at which of these two events I heard a player say,"I don't know how you play -- but that's the way I play!" They'll get it ironed out eventually, I'm sure. The De Bellis Antiquitatis tournament (rules also by Phil Barker) proved very popular, drawing over 50 players to this fast-paced, easily-understood set of rules. I am sure many more will sign up next time. The children's events ran well, I think -- with seasoned adult veterans putting on games with plastic troops. I dropped by several times and everyone seemed to be having a good time. "This was the only battle I ever fought in," says Capt. Pete Panzeri, "so I thought I should do a game on it." And so he did, as players gathered to refight the battle of ChazIani, which Pete, who may have been the first U.S. Army lieutenant in Iraq, not only fought in, but reportedly named as well. On Sunday he also gave a talk on the battle, replete with maps, slides and audio tapes of the battlefield communications, which I found to be the most fascinating event of the entire convention. Although the trend toward smaller and smaller figures seems to be continuing (I bought my first-ever GHQ Micro Armor, probably because the prospect of painting flags for my 900 15mm Austrians made an army you can paint in an hour seem curiously appealing), there was a large 1/35 WWII game fought on the floor of the convention hall, and I must say that it looked like fun. Craig Taylor, of Avalon Hill, hosted what he thinks was his thirtyeth intro game of NAPOLEON'S BATTLES -- I told him he should use white felt instead of green for the ground cover next time, for variety. John Hill (Johnny Reb Rules), whose beautiful 10mm recreation of the Petersburg battle ran for three days in a hotel room, also promoted his rules in the best possible way -- with a good-looking, entertaining game that took him a solid eight hours just to setup. The level of detail extended down to having 10mm campfires in front of 10mm tents - I really think the scenery for these games gets better every year, and John's layout rivaled model railroads in its appearance. Those wandering through the hotel, as I did; might also have stumbled upon other timeless Historicon gems, such as the perenially popular Alamo game in 25mm - still attracting crowds after how many years? Ron Perlman, who was running the show, says, "if I can't do ten turns in an hour, the game isn't worth playing." Ron should write some Napoleonic rules, I think. But I fear I begin to ramble. Reports such as this are intended to be for the benefit of those who were unable to attend conventions such as Historicon. Foryears,when I was both acollege coach and an active competitive fencer, Historicon and Winter Wars, with unerring accuracy, were always scheduled for the very same two weekends that held my college conference championships and my own national championships. So this is the first one I have been to in years. It was worth it. I was amazed at the number of gamers, pleased with the overwhelming air of camaraderie, and delighted at the vistas that were laid before me on the scores and scores of tables throughout the convention. If you couldn't go this time, next year's Historicon promises to be even larger and better. My advice to you is to begin to make your plans, entreaties, schemes, etc., not to miss it. I know I'll certainly be there. PAINTING CONTEST WINNERS BEST 25MM ARMY 1 st - Carib Indian War Party - Bob 0gnu, 2nd - Huns and Allies - Gregory Croyle BEST 15MM ARMY 1st - Ancient Greek Army - Dave Paddock 2nd - Bergundian Army - Craig Tyrell BEST ARMY UNDER 15MM 1st - 3rd Panzer Army 1940 - Ed Rohrbaugh 2nd - Ancient Army - Keith Hubbard BEST 25MM UNIT 1st - 8th Ohio Volunteers - John Sauter 2nd - East Suffolks - Andy Birtle BEST 15MM UNIT 1st - French Carabiniers 1815 - Dave Paddock 2nd - ACW Union Zouaves - Chris Hughes BEST UNIT UNDER 15MM 1 st - 22nd Staffordshires - Paul Bernardino 2nd - Soviet AFV - Paul Bernardino BEST NAVAL UNIT World War I - Charles Morgan FREE TRADE WARS ANCIENT COMPETITION Umpired by Phil Barker Grand Prize Mark Hissam Best Painted Army Wayne Melnick/Craig Tyrell (tie) 15mm Competition Larry Stone 25mm Competition Bob Sillars Best Beginner Alan Isabelle Farthest Travelled Brian Fritz Most Reasonable Opponent Larry Stone Coldest Dice Ron Shank Best Opponent Rich Gonzales Most Tormented Mark Chilenskas Best Father & Son Combo The Gary Dziakto's The 20th Wedding Anniversary Award Dave Ottney The Conversion Award Cy Taylor Prizes were given by Ral Partha, Falcon, Geo-Hex, Pendragon, SAGA, SIMTAC, Viking Forge, and Thistle and The Rose. Each prize was a minimum of $25 worth of merchandise. THE WRG ANCIENTS COMPETITION BY SCOTT HOLDER Our temporary move "offsite" from the convention center at the Penn Harris did not really disrupt activities. We had 86 players participating in the Open and National Individual Championship Tournaments (NICT) and another 10 or so in the three just for Fun rounds. The move gave us more space and quiet than since our first year in the then cavernous Penn Harris. As usual, Frank Gilson and Dan Burkley helped out with the umpiring chores. Their help was especially needed Friday when we ran continuous games from 8:00 a.m. until midnight. Even with that numbingly long schedule and four more rounds on Thursday and Saturday, some players just never get enough. We had two players manage 8 games and three players, Rich Novak, Scott McDonald, and Bill Low crammed in 9 games! The DBA tournament was run by Alan Spencer in conjunction with Free Trade Wars and terrain supplied by Eagle and Empire Came shop of Alexandria VA. 44 players moved through four boisterous rounds. Under Alan, DBA has really taken off at conventions and it's a shame he's moving to Germany later this year. Somehow we will muddle through next year. Sponsors for the DBA tournament were Thistle and Rose and Simtac. HMGS provided the winners plaque. The following provided about $500 for the Open tournament: Ral Partha, Emperors Headquarters, Pendragon, Dad's Day Off Hobbies (Soldier World USA), Matchlock, Falcon, Antiquitas, Minifigs,Geo-Hex, Modelers Mart, Irregular, and Time Portal Hobbies. Wargames was the sole sponsor for the NICT and provided about $500 for that event. HMGS provided the plaques for the winners of each event. Tournament results are as follows: NICT Champion: Dave Stier, Sicilian Hohenstaufen (last year's winner) NICT Runner-up: Bob Plyer, Aztecs The Courier Sportsman: Chris Damour 25mm Winner: Walt Leach, Late Romans 25mm Runner-up: Scott McDonald, Seleucid 15mm Winner: John Lockhart, Late Romans 15mm Runner-up: Adam Weitz, Midianite Arabs DBA Winner: Rod Burr, Late Achaemenid Persians DBA Runner-up: Alan Isabelle, Seleucid 25mm Best Painted: Scott Dickson, Tibetans 15mm Best Painted: Craig Tyrell, Burgundian Ornance WINTERCON AND HISTORICON MOVE TO NEW FACILITIES Starting with the 1992 shows both Wintercon (Cold Wars) and Historicon will be held at the Lancaster Host Resort on Route 30 in Lancaster, PA. With 35,000 square feet of space there is 50% more room than at the Penn Harris Hotel with still more room for later expansion. The room rates are slightly higher. The 330 rooms at The Host Resort and the 170 rooms atthe nearby Days Inn will go for $79 for a single or double; $99 for a triple or for 4 in a room. One small drawback is that two thirds of the rooms are single double beds and that even only two people in a room will require a cot in most cases. Wintercon will be March 6-8,1992, and Historicon'92 will be July 23-26,1992. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #55 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1991 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com