I hope that things are going well with you. I thought that it was time for somebody to step up to the plate and write to you about how things went at Wargamer's Reunion. I rode down with Al Gaiser again this year. The trips down and back with Al justified the weekend by themselves, even though we were parked on the interstate for a while by a wreck on the way down. It was another gamer-friendly convention run by Tim Mullen & Go. Games were played and a good time was had by most. I played more naval games than I had really intended. On Friday night there was a good WW2 game put on by Don Crownover. I was one of the hapless Germans. We fought valiantly and helped to add glory and luster to the navy. Unfortunately it was the English navy to whom we added glory and luster. It was remarkable for one thing if no other. Al Galser broke his legendary, dice curse in a big way. Through a series of highly improbable rolls, one of his S boats raked a British destroyer across its torpedo rack and detonated one. This blew the hapless vessel in two. After that we Germans pretty much sank by the numbers. On Saturday night I played in a Dan Fox extravaganza. We were glorious Spaniards seeking to purge a remote port in the New World from the vile influence of pirates. As we sailed into the port, I couldn't help but notice that the last ship in our line looked suspicious. It turned out to be a blood- thirsty, blackhearted pirate in disguise. None other than Major "Black Pipe" Billicus. I spent the entire game with my ship locked in a mad dance with the human fiend and his ship as we each tried to gain the advantage. This distracted me from our main goal, doubtless the blackguard's intent, of freeing the town. In spite of the intense battle between sailing ships of both sides and shore batteries, it was Don Crownover who won the game for us (with a party of Marines). He rallied the townsfoIk to the cause of Truth, Justice, and the Spanish Way. He also ran the pirates out of town. In the end I was able to maneuver upwind, close with Black Pipe's ship and rake it with grapeshot. Pirates died in most satisfactory numbers. The desperate sods tried to board my ship, which had higher gunwales than theirs. More of them died. Their ship would have become my prize it time had not run out. Afterwards Black Pipe and I shared a refreshing cola beverage and I found him to be a most congenial sort. I think that next time, he will be on the side of right! I look forward to Reunion next year. Thanks again to Tim Mullen and our hosts for a good weekend. Back to Dispatch December 2000 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by HMGS Mid-South 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