Society of Ancients Championship Results for North America by the Society Jerry Chaskes MA. 5 Steve Herndon WV. 4 Trip Alford AL. 4 Eric Ritchie CAN. 4 Rod Burr MA. 4 John Mumby CO. 4 Mark Swanson MA. 4 Greg Bell IA. 4 Ross MacFarlane CAN. 4 David Bostwick NH. 4 Larry Irons CO. 4 Dick Bryant MA. 4 Tom Hazlen WV. 4 Ted Miedzybodki CAN. 3 Jeff Gammell WY. 3 John Ewoldt IA. 3 Russell Dunaway IA. 3 Mark Avery CA. 3 D. McClellan MD. 3 Roger Dunnell OK. 3 John Carroll PA 3 Richard D'Angelo NY. 3 Peter Hollinger CAN. 3 E. John Gleason NE. 3 Other members who did not score any wins are not listed. Reprinted from SLINGSHOT in rank order. MaineCon Held in Portland The Ballroom of the Eastland Hotel, Portland, Maine was the site for MaineCon '80 during the weekend of JULY 25-27. The convention was well anended and featured a wide variety of miniatures events both in individual figure contests and battles with massed troops. The gaming was lively and Yet free of the sort of bickering that one sornetim" encounters at meetings of this sort. For the most part the rules used in the games were those developed by the gamemaster for that particular game. Some of the rules used were: Follow Me; And Pass the Ammunition; Knighthood and the Middle Ages; and Air War. There was an area set aside for fantasy role playing and at one time I observed at least six "adventures" going on simultaneously. The really noteworthy aspect of this Convention, aside from the variety of adivities, was the rather large number of teenagers in anendance. Thme Young people were participating in all of the activities right along with the older people and both doing well and enjoying themselves. One organizing a convention might take a page out of this organizer's book. For the most part this convention was like a visit to another world, everything was so low key and all of the participants were enjoying themselves. One fellow was in command of two T 34/85's which were knocked out early in the game leaving him nothing to do, so he left to check into his hotel room. He returned much later to find that he had been named "best Player" in the game. Now that is sportsmanship. Potomac Wargamers The Potomac Wargamers (PW) group is based in the Washington, D.C. area. Members are devoted mostly to miniatures, but a smattering of boardgamers exist. The point of contact for the organization is Wally Simon. For any given era, no one set of rules is used by the club. Indeed there is a blatant anarchy in the use of rules as each month members feel free to present new rules procedures, revise old ones, and generate changes in well-proven systems. Two key factors serve to decide whose rules prevail for a battle: first, one has to shout loudly (at least, more loudly than the rest), and second, one has to provide the figures. The most common remark heard at tableside each month (by the losing side, of course) is: ". . . but you changed the rules on us...! ...`' Some 3 to 6 scenarios are set up at each monthly meeting. There is never any lack of scenarios, there is never any lack of players. The membership evidently thrive on the "free play" structure and several attempts to more formally organize activities have invariably met with failure. Depending upon the fellow hosting the scenario, the miniatures used cover the scope of those available: microarmor through 15mm, to huge, strapping 54mm figures used in large scale skirmishes. Historical wargaming is the prevalent mode at PW meetings, fantasy gaming is abhorred by most of the membership. Quite a few of the members meet on their own to engage in campaign-related battles. Unfortunately, the participants rarely submit battle reports on their private campaign efforts, the few that do get published are fairly interesting and whet the appetite for more . . . the appetite, however, remains unsatiated. The organization puts out a monthly magazine called the PW REVIEW. Its size varies from 12 to 16 pages each month. The REVIEW is sponsored bY S wargaming outlets: The Little Soldier, Alexandria, Virginia; The Ship Shop, Annapolis, Maryland; Wargamer's Corner, Vienna, Virginia, Soldier World USA, Shrewsbury, Penn.; Stone Mountain Military Miniatures, Denver, Colorado. Like all club magazines, the number of people submitting articles is quite low and, to counter this, the PW organization has contacted other groups in an effort to expand its input base by exchanging ideas, notes and articles. In part, this has been successful . . . but not successful enough. Rochester Organization of Miniatures Enthusiasts ROME meets every other Eriday at Campaign HQ, 296 Driving Park Ave., Rochester, NY 14613, currently have 10 members, most of whom are engaged in a Napoleonic miniatures campaign of Central Europe, from Paris to Vienna. They use a derivative mixture of boardgame rules for map moves, and for tactical battles we use BATAILLONMASSE, developed by our organization. We are searching for anyone interested in history or wargames to run "kingdoms" in the campaign. We will teach you how to play and provide painted figures for your army, if you don't have any. Generally, we meet for map moves on every other Friday, and if a battle develops, the interested parties meet sometime during the following two weeks to complete it, so we recommend you call to find out when the next meeting will be. After map moves, we may do a set-piece battle in Napoleonics, WRG Ancients, Micro-Armor or Ship O' the Line, and newcomers are encouraged to participate in these. Gleanings P W REVIEW (12 issues -- $5.00) Published by the Potomac Wargamers, 12905 Layhill Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20906. The June 1980 Issue contains: Notes about new products and lines; Notes on Firepower; a Seven Years War Battle Report, a Civil War Battle Problem and its Solution, and Notes on the Development of a Movement Sequence. I find the articles interesting and refreshing since they are written by wargamers for wargamers. The Battle Reports are particularly well done and interesting. Several other Issues supplied to THE COURIER bear out this observation. All in all, PW REVIEW has much which merits your attention and can therefore be enthusiastically recommended to our readers. MILITARY MODELER (12 issues -- $22.50) Published by Challenge Publications Inc. 7950 Deering Ave., Canoga Park, CA 91304. Volume 7 Number 8, August 1980 contains articles on: Book Review; Detailing a Marder lil in 1/35 scale; New releases in the world of wargaming, a Russian Front "88" Diorama New figures in 54MM scale for space adventure; a Diorama of the defense of the gates of Hougoumont; Ancient Wargaming; the Horch Ambulance; American Tiger; and other features. This magazine is illustrated with excellent black and white and color photographs of both historical subjects and models. The main thrust of the magazine is towards military historian and the diorama builder but there is a good deal of attention paid to the concerns of historical military gainers. The painting tips and construction hints are also most useful. At this writing M M is offering a new subscriber rate of $18.50. GRYPHON (4 issues - $10.00) Published by: Baror Publishing Company; P.O. Box 820; La Puente, C, 91747 U.S.A. Number 1 (Summer 1980) has articles on: The Boardgames IMPERIUM & DOUBLE STAR; An interview with Gary Gyeax; An article on Playing aids for Science-Fiction Role playing Games; Religions in RUNEQUEST - Cuits of Prax as well as regular features and reviews. This magazine is definitely not for the historical miniatures gamer. It is a forum of fantasy and science-fiction gaming. It is well illustrated and quite readable. The figure review section is particularly well done. If you are at all into this aspect of gaming, this is the magazine for you. THE SPACEGAMER (12 issues - $21.00) Published by: The Space Gamer; 7207 Onion Crossing Dr. Austin, TX 78744 U.S.A. Number 29 (JULY 1980) has articles on: Painting Fantasy Miniatures; Game Design: Theory and Practice; Fantasy and SF Game Magazine Survey; The Temple of Life; Computer Gaming as well as regular departments and reviews. This magazine should be of Breat interest to those persons interested in science~fiction and fantasy gaming The writing is good and the illustrations interesting. It is difficult to see how this magazine has any application to the miniature gamer, however. MILITARY MODELLING (12 issues -- $21.00) Published by Model & Allied Publications Ltd., P.O. Box 35, Bridge Street, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 TEE. Volume 10, Number 7, July 1980 issue contains articles on: Prince August Molds; The battle of Medway, AD 43, Glencoe, French Napoleonic Cannons; Polish Winged Hussar; The 12th Royal Lancers, The BMSS Annual Competition; Cambodian and Laotian Uniforms; The Bedfordshire Yeomanry; Sieges of the English Civil War and other features. This is another excellent issue. There is a little bit of something for everyone. The monthly Departments are a real must. Keep up the good work, MM. SAVAGE AND SOLDIER (4 issues -- $6.00) Published by Lynn Bodin, 14219 NE 74th St., Redmond, WA 98052. Volume XII, Number 2, April-June 1980 has articles on: The British invasion of Tibet in 1902; and regular departments. This magazine is a bit thin this issue as well as somewhat late. Cover dates reflect the date during which information was gathered rather than when to issue is published and reaches its readers. The feature article was well done and could be of great help to gamers setting up a Colonial Campaign. EMPIRES, EAGLES AND LIONS (10 issues -- $12.00) Published by the New Jersey Association of Wargamers and distributed by RAFM Company, P.O. Box 62, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5. Issue Number 46, June 1980 offers a broad discussion of a variety of matters pertaining to warfare in the Napoleonic era. The articles are thoughtful and of interest to Napoleonic wargamers. The article on the Spanish Army of Joseph Napoleon and the article on Cossacks were of particular interest. The Readers' forum was lively and full of informative bits. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. 2 #2 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1980 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com