On the weekend of March 6-8, 1992, a reinforced battalion, dealers and camp followers trekked to the Lancaster Host Resort in Lancaster, PA. for the 1992 edition of Cold Wars. The 1,100 attendees easily eclipsed last year's total of 800, while the extensive dealer area - which included the flea market - boasted over 180 tables. The Alesia Game The Lancaster Host resort will be the site of this summer's upcoming Historicon, and based upon my observations and those of assorted other HMGS pundits, it is an ideal location. To begin with, there is a outside bar located at the huge swimming pool. Now, I know what you are thinking, but what I was thinking was the outer counter of the bar would be an ideal venue for either a miniatures Circus Maximus game, or for a replay of Mike Graziano's striking Battle of Alesia, which was, in my opinion, one of the highlights of Cold Wars. I'll admit it - work pressure kept this writer from being present at Cold \dars for the entire weekend, but with the possible exception of an acquaintance whose WRG Ancients' Vikings found themselves facing Persians in an and desert in one game, and seeing his hapless Saxon allies drowned to a man while attempting to ford a stream in flood in the other, everyone seemed to have a pretty good time. The gaming area was spacious, and even the dozens of games going on during the convention failed to crowd it. It was wonderful to be able to stroll through the gaming hall, instead of feeling like a pulling guard who had to force his waythrough a horde of enraged linebackers. Even Historicon's larger attendance should not put too serious a dent in the gaming area. The dealer's hall, which conveniently contained the flea market, was full but uncrowded. A useful balcony overlooked the hall from its entrance - perfect for scanning the room for wayward friends, or for HMGS officers who wished to make Mussolini-like speeches to the dealers and gamers below. Beginning at noon on Friday, the convention continued until Sunday afternoon - the usual format. HMGS honcho Bob Coggins, claims he has heard too many complaints about cancelled games in the past and says he doesn't want to hear anymore. Our hapless Historicon leader signed up for two games on Friday, and both were scratched (Ed Note: there were 99 games scheduled in the Pre-Registration form which expanded to some 150 at the Convention itself, a total of 4 games were cancelled). Highlights on Friday included Bob Giglio's "Golden Age of Piracy: The Spanish Recuas", in which the pressing issue of the day was whether or not a player could kill a Spanish treasure laden mule - animal rights activists take note! There were many other striking games, either in appearance or performance. Pete Panzeri's Fredricksburg. Gee Pete, did Union flags have 50+ stars in 1862? One of my favorites which also ran on Saturday) was Captain Pete Panzeri's 54mm "City Fight Fredricksburg" game, which had scenery which one could only describe as diorama-quality. I've seen model railroad layouts which didn't look half as good! The Tactica refight of Zama, if I am correctly informed, was a split, with my beloved Cathagenians winning on Friday, but with the Romans roaring back to even the series. A few eyebrows might have been raised at the "Frog Legs Tonight" Warhammer 40K game - I'm not sure if these were the guys who featured the pink tank with the heart painted on its turret the next day - but who am I to quibble with someone else's definition of "historical"?. I'm rushing off a letter to Phil Barker and David Chandler just in case, however. Also on the schedule for Friday evening was the first of a series of seminars for the "Borodino '92" project, which will take place in September (see calendar- Ed.) and will use EMPIRE II rules. When last heard of, the ambitious planners of this endeavor were planning to use several thousand figures and many commanders, and are hoping to be mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records. In any case, they will be in Fort Meade, MD., next fall, and local garners might wish to drop by. Another highlight on Friday was the "Mother of All Battles" Gulf war microarmor game, which used the unique device of stacked tables and hand-held periscopes to restrict the player's view to those things which his tank commanders could actually see. "Princess Ryan's Space Marines." What can I say about this convention tradition, hosted by the peripatetic Mark McLaughlin? There were lots of kids present, lots of things got blowed up, and lots of players had lots of fun. Those readers who were not present should be aware that this all-too-brief summary just notes some of the things I considered highlights. If you were not in attendance, in justice to the convention, try to visualize the scores of the Napoleonic, Civil War, naval, air, Vietnam era, Spanish Civil War and so many other games taking place all at once, along with the traditional DBA and NASAMW tourneys, the painting competition (results not available at press time, sorry-Ed), the HMGS meeting/firefight, and so forth. That disclaimer dispensed with, what did I see on Saturday that I recall fondly? It always amazes me what eras game presenters can find to make appealing. Examples include not only Pat Condray's patented Spanish Civil War games, but also the previously mentioned Siege of Alesia, with its two concentric rings of siege towers and hordes of Gauls, which had to be seen (and hopefully will at Historicon!) to be believed. A 54mm Arab assault on a French Foreign Legion outpost, using the old Yaquinto board game as a model, caught my eye, as did "Hold until relieved", which featured British glider-borne troops (the gliders looking striking on the table; I'm not sure how they got there - were they tossed from a distance or gently placed?) attempting to seize two German held bridges on the eve of D-Day, or should I say the morn? Jenkintown Hobbies, holder of the patent on monster (large - Ed) games did it again, with the usual islands, ships, teeming masses of pirates, railroads, etc. One of my esthetic favorites was Tim Goodlet's "Assault on Lone Pine Gallipoli", in 15mm, which featured a striking trench system (including "lids" for the trenches so you couldn't see what was actually in the enemy lines until you were close enough). Let's face it - if someone can make World War I trench warfareseem like fun, he's got real talent - and the players in this game certainly seemed to be having lots of fun! I could ramble on for many more paragraphs about Cold Wars. I've said not a word about The Courier stalwart Leo Cronin's "Nacho Velveeta", set in the Mexican American War, and made no mention of the Circus Maximus Open, the Malburian game, the Turkish fleet versus the Russians, the Second Battle of Cawnpore, and "Princess Ryan's Space Marines Save Tokyo". And perhaps, in some cases, this is for the better. The best advice I can offer for readers who wish to know more about why over 1000 gamers trekked to Cold Wars 1992 is to begin making plans themselves to show up at the very same location this coming July for Historicon. More Courier Dispatch Cold Wars 1992: Success in a New Location Cold Wars '92 Ancients Report Product News and Publications Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #57 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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