Advacon 1984
by Bob Sillars
The 1984 Advacon Adventure Gaming Convention was held in Depew, New York on Sunday, November 11, 1984. The site was well chosen for the comfort and convenience of the Buffalo area gamers. The organizers are to be complimented for putting on an excellent and smooth running event.
For miniature gamers the highlight was the WRG Ancients Tournament. Because of the limitations of a one day convention, the competition was limited to two preliminary rounds for points, leading to two finalists. The preliminary rounclsfeatured several interesting and exciting matches. The defending champion Early Asiatic Successors of Burke Glaser opened with a convincing win in a rematch with last year's other finalist, Gary Rich. The highlight of the early rounds wasthe outstanding play of Rich Kohlbacher's Galatian army. Originally looked upon as something of a joke by the other players, this army rolled impetuously into the finals with victories over both the Normans and the Early Asiatic Successors.
(is Phil's contention that it is the "generals" who win, not the armies herein strengthened?)
The finals featured a confrontation between the Galatians and Russ Tulp's Aztecs. Luck ran out on the Galatians for this battle as the Aztecs got all of their terrain and sat back in their fortress of steep hills and woods to await the destruction of the Galatians. The Galatians never came, but the Aztec archery did its job and gave their owner the victory.
Overall the tournament was a success. All the players seemed to enjoy themselves and a number of Fantasy players showed signs of interest in "going historical". As referee, the biggest drawback was the final game. This game proved to be a chilling indictment of the terrain rules set forth in WRG's 6th Edition. These rules effectively allowed the Aztecs to build themselves a fort which any army would be hard pressed to assault. Future tournaments in this region will undoubtedly use an alternative set of terrain rules.
SITE OF U.S. ANCIENT CHAMPIONSHIP ANNOUNCED
The 1985 U.S. Ancient Championship Tournament will be held at Origins 85 (Baltimore, late June). In order to participate, you must have won a qualifying local heat. A local heat needs only 10 people to qualify. A ten dollar entry fee per-person is needed to compete in a local heat. Three dollars of the ten goes toward a year's membership in the U.S. Society of Ancients. The remaining money goes to the heat winners upon their arrival at the National Championship to help pay some of their trip expenses. Heats are currently being held from the East Coast to California, including HMGS #3. If you would like to hold a heat or participate in a heat, contact Kruse Smith at 2345 McFarlane Ave., Lake City, FL 32055.
U.S. SOCIETY OF ANCIENTS MEMBERSHIP GROWING
In addition to the new members joining the Society by participating in Championship heats, over 30 people have sent in three dollars to become founder members in the Society. In related news, the membership of the Southwest Society of Ancients has voted to join the U.S. Society and will now be called the U.S. Society of Ancients, Southwest Region.
The exact details of this joining have yet to be worked out between the U.S. Society and the new Southwest Region. With all this growth, the Society is planning to hold its first ever elections mid-Summer. All those who have contributed their three dollars either by heat participation or by sending it directly to the U.S. Society will be eligible to vote on the constitution, annual dues, the size of the newsletter, and elect officers. For the present year, the newsletter will consist of 6 or 8 one ortwo page mailings. During the voting, the Society will decide whether to keep the newsletter small, or to increase the annual dues and turn out an expanded newsletter in a magazine format. Again, if you participate in a U.S. Championship heat you are enrolled as a founder member automatically. If you do not plan to participate in a heat, you may join the U.S. Society of Ancients by sending three dollars (for 1985 dues), to this address: Kruse Smith, 2345 McFarlane Ave., Lake City, FL 32055.
PLAY-BY-MAIL ASSOCIATION
Twenty four play-by-mail companies are proud to announce the organization of the Play By Mail Association. The PBMA's purpose is to promote responsible pbm moderating (refereeing). We will be advertising the hobby of play-by-mail to the general public, and insisting that the companies (moderators) perform their duties in a responsible manner. The Association will be publishing a newsletter, and subscribers to the newsletter will be able to vote on the annual Play By Mail awards to be given away at Origins, the National Gaming Convention. Anyone interested in more information can write the PBM Association, 8149 E Thomas Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251.
STARTER SETS FROM RAL PARTHA
Ral Partha has put together a number of 25mm Starter Sets of their excellent figures. In the colonial period, the sets cover British and Allies (2 separate sets, one with British and Indian troops, the other with British and Egyptian/Sudanese troops) Zulus, Pathans and Mahdists. Each set contains 61 figures or enough to build 3 units for the Sword and the Flame rule set. At $20 per set, the value is very good indeed. Machine guns and artillery are also available for the Colonial Period.
Other periods covered by the Starter Sets are Medieval and Ancient with a selection of different armies. These are also offered at $20 a set and give the same excellent value for money.
Also new from Ral Partha is a line of water based paints and painting accessories. There are currently 23 colors in 1/4 oz. bottles along with primer and matte sealer. Recommended price is 99c per bottle.
For details of all these new releases, write to Ral Partha Enterprises, 5938 Cartlage Court, Cincinnati, OH 43212.
THE KRIEGSSPIEL LIBRARY
The Kriegsspiel Library will make available to the wargamer and military enthusiast three of the old wargame manuals used extensively by the Prussian and Austrian general staffs. The three volumes currently available are:
KRIEGSSPIEL, Instructions for the Representation of Military Maneuvers with the Kriegsspiel Apparatus, by B. Von Reisswitz, 1st Lieutenant of the Prussian Army, 1824.
The first English edition of this book was published in 1983. As well as giving the full text of Reesswitz' book it contains some explanations, notes, and background information. It is also supplied with a game-pack, containing a map sample, sheets of troop symbols on card, tables for the recording of losses, rulers for movement and range finding, and four of the tables most likely to be used printed separately on card stock.
Since this edition was published more information has come to light, and this will be included in the second edition. This includes some details of Reisswitz' life and career, and some notes on infantry v. infantry conflicts from the 1828 amendments.
FREE KRIEGSSPIEL, by Verdy du Vernois. Verdy's book is the next most important work on the Kriegsspiel. Written in the 1870's, the structure of the game is still based on Reisswitz' ideas, but Verdy sought to abandon the use of the dice and losses tables and substitute umpire's decisions. One of the most interesting things aboutthe book today is that most of it is a move by move account of an actual game. It is planned to make available a full scale map (1:8000) of the Leipzig area, so that the reader can follow the game in detail as it progresses.
CAVALRY KRIEGSSPIEL, By A. Strohl, Austrian Army. This first appeared as an article in an Austrian periodical in the 1880's. It examines in detail some of the massive cavalry maneuvers and conflicts of the 1870/71 war, and uses them as a basis for large scale cavalry wargames. The actions take place around Mars-la-Tour, and Voinville.
In addition, a number of authentic Kriegsspiel maps have been discovered and will be made available. Please write for details to Bill Reeson, 5 St. Agnell's Lane Cottages, Hemel Hampstead, Herts, U.K. HP2 7HJ.
Convention Calendar 1985
April 27-28, 1985 GoldCon III Pompano Beach, FL Omni Auditorium John Dunn, Omni Box Office BCC North, 100 Coconut Creek Blvd., Pompany Beach, FL 33066 Tel. (305) 973-2249
May 4-5, 1985 Little Wars Palatine, IL Willow Creek Hotel, Palatine, IL
May 26, 1985 Bloody Su nday (M 16SVI) Cambridge, Ontario Kitchener-Waterloo, Regional Police Association Recreation Center, RR2 George M. Bawden 11 Veevers Drive Hamilton, Ontario L8K 5PG
May 25-27, 1985 GAMECAUCUS II San Mateo, CA Cynthia Nuckols Apt. C, 1550 Benton Alameda, CA 94501
June 27-30, 1985 ORIGINS85
September 7, 1985 Autumn Campaigns 85 Lexington, KY Tim Wisner, The Rusty Scababrd 513 E. Maxwell St. Lexington, KY 40502
October 5-6, 1985 Milwaukee 7th Historical Game Weekend Milwaukee,Wl War Memorial Center, 750 Lincoln Memorial Drive Joe Gepfert 3440 S. Monterey Dr. New Berlin, W1 53151 (SASE)
CONVENTION NOTES
Bloody Sunday: All types of wargaming events including the competition for the WRG Ancients Cup. There will be plenty of additional gaming room and a painting competition, all for a paltry $1 entrance fee. The hall will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
LITTLE WARS, MAY 4-5
A strictly miniatures convention featuring historical as well as fantasy miniature battles. Over 70 different events. To be held at the Willow Creek Hotel at the intersection of US Hwy 14 and Hwy 53 in Palatine, Ill. Preregistration Membership is $5.00; membership at the door will be $6.00 for the weekend, $4.00 for Saturday, and $3.00 for Sunday. Contact: Todd Fisher, 6908 N. Oakley, Chicago IL 60645. Phone Evenings: (312) 465-7006.
AUTUMN CAMPAIGNS '85
This convention will take place at the Holiday Inn North Blue Grass Pavillion, Lexington, Kentucky. Rooms will be available at convention rates. Features will include Role-Playing, Boarclgames, Tournaments, and many Miniatures events. Registration will be $5.00 at the door. For more information contact Tim Wisner, The Rusty Scabbard, 513 E. Maxwell St., Lexington, KY 40502.
The Courier Dispatch News of the hobby.
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