Fall In 1999

Convention Report

by Russ Lockwood

Fall In 1999, held at Gettysburg, PA, was another success for HMGS East, with around 1000 or so attendees. As it is so near the battlefield, many gamers brought their families, and a bevy of guest badges and kids inhabited the halls.

This year, the registration desk was in the soccer barn. It's actually called a fancy name—AllStar Sports Complex, but I call it the soccer barn because miniatures games and tournaments are held on its indoor soccer field, which covers a third of the open area. The other two thirds contained the dealer area, packed full of just about everything you'd want to buy. This year, the owners removed some sports cages to increase the area available to dealers by 10 or 15%. Old Glory and Battle Honors took up the space, and the other 60 or so dealers spread out across the room. This is a well-lit area with nice wide aisles.

Access to the soccer field, er, gaming area, was either through a door linking the dealer area and field, or via an outside door through what looks like the penalty box. Last year, when the dealer area closed, the gaming area closed too. This year, the dealer-area door was locked, while the gaming area stayed open. As MagWeb.com had its booth right at this door, I certainly made sure it was locked at night. Security was fine and I didn't hear of any problems with this arrangement.

Of some import was the fact that the penalty box door had permanent foot-high barriers to entry, which means that all those GMs who brought carts piled with minis and terrain had to manhandle them over the top. Then, you had to wheel them over the lawn to get to the parking lot. I heard some grumbling on that end, but I would remind folks that the penalty box door did keep the gaming area open and available—and it was certainly used during the evening. Next year, there will be a separate access door built to allow easier access.

The other half of the convention was located in the hotel, with its ballrooms and conference areas available to gamers, and a large and growing flea market stuck in the halls. It's about a five-minute walk between the two (a shuttle bus is also available, but as it was a nice sunny weekend, I walked). The usual array of goodies and games, tactics and terrain, and jovial camaraderie reigned. The bar is too enclosed and dark—sort of like a real bar instead of the Lancaster Host's open style bar at Historicon and Cold Wars where you can see people and stop for a chat.

The hot new rules system of the show is Fire as She Bears, an Age of Sail naval rules set ($23) played on a square grid (instead of hexes ala Close Action). Clever and quick, it's made for each player commanding a squadron of 3 or 4 ships instead of one. On Military Matters ran continuous demos with author Phil Fry to great acclaim. We used 1/1200 scale Napoleonic ships, but any scale will do—Langton 1/2000 or Figurehead 1/2400 if you prefer a real table-top game.( www.fire-as-she-bears.com).

The hot new terrain for the show was Precision Products (www.appliedimaginationinc.com or 716-754-2997) PV sheets—vacuum formed terrain you glue onto foamboard or other surface. Absolutely mind boggling simple and easy—$7 per 15" x 15" sheet, and available in 50 different types, including stone blocks, bricks, cobblestone, wood siding, Spanish tile roof, wood shakes, shingles, planking and more. Plus, there's specialty terrain sheets with shutters, ramparts, church details (arches, windows, etc), and so on. PP also has Wild West signs ($10). Although advertised for 54mm and 76mm scales, bricks, cobblestones, etc are entirely suited for 25mm and some for 15mm. And because it it flexible plastic, you can bend it around rounded corners, or score it with a knife and crease it around 90-degree corners. Well done.

One of the most interesting games I saw was the Casino/Anzio combo hosted by Bryan Leshinskie. Great hand-made landing ships, fighter strafing and bomber bombing models, a ruined abbey atop a three-foot-tall hill and plenty of action. Well done. Next to that was a huge ACW Battle of Gettysburg game in 15mm with excellent terrain and a horde of commanders around. Most unusual game: Siege of Sven Forkbeard's castle in 15mm—an official step of the sequence of play was to insult Forkbeard, and if the GM thought it was good enough, you got a beer. Also seen, Piquet, Battleground WWII, Classical Hack, Medieval Warfare, Fire and Fury, Command Decision, Mein Panzer, Panzeri's Hougoumont, a multitude of home rules, and the usual tournament battles of WRG, DBA, DBM, and DBR.

All in all, another wonderful convention with the added bonus of the Gettysburg battlefield nearby.

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