For generations gaming with historical miniatures (playing with toy soldiers) by chronological adults had been considered a subset (some said 'lunatic fringe') of the collecting hobby. However, during the 1970s the growth of board gaming, and the phenomenon of role playing games changed things. Conventions which had been sidelines of collecting societies were eclipsed by larger affairs covering what was becoming known as 'Adventure Gaming'. The largest were GENCON, originally at Lake Geneva Wisconsin, run by Tactical Simulations Research (TSR) the D&D Company and 'ORIGINS' begun by 'Interest Group Baltimore' and taken over by the Game Manufacturer's Association (GAMA), a trade association.
By the late 1970s historical miniatures gamers increasingly considered themselves eclipsed and neglected by 'The Greater World of Adventure Gaming' (TGWAG). One example, by no means the only one, had to do with the GAMA Awards from ORIGINS 80. The overall gaming community voted cardboard counters from Frank Chadwick's SYSTEM 7 Napoleonics board game the 'Best New Miniatures Line.' Although Frank was a miniatures gamer, and the convention was run by Jay Hadley (another miniatures gamer) the historical miniatures community was obviously a despised minority.
During 1981 a letter writing campaign developed among the principals of historical miniature gaming clubs up and down the East Coast. These included Old Colony in New England, New York Gamers, Potomac Wargamers in the Washington DC area, and Triangle Simulation Society in North Carolina.
The letter campaign led to a meeting at the home of Walter Simon, head of Potomac Wargamers to discuss forming the Historical Miniatures Support Group (HMSG). Right before or during the meeting this became the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, a name that stuck. The purpose, effectively, was to promote the historical miniatures gaming hobby and its relationship to the study of military history. That meeting, held in November of 1981, is remembered as 'Wally's Basement.'
The first venture of the HMGS was to promote historical miniatures gaming at ORIGINS 82, being run for GAMA by ATLANTICON at the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus. During this successful effort a membership meeting of the society approved an independent off-season convention. The latter was intended to keep up the momentum of the society and raise money between collaborations with the major conventions. The first was held in February 1983.
HISTORICON (84) came about when HMGS was unable to arrange collaboration with ATLANTICON and other general convention management companies in prime time. Although cancelled in favor of ORIGINS 85, HISTORICON has remained the leading HM oriented U.S. Convention, termed by the Wall Street Journal 'The Mother of All Wargame Conventions.' Beginning with HMGS MIDWEST in 1985 there a total of 11 regional chapters of the society helping networking with newsletters and web sites, and running up to 30 'Historical miniatures friendly' conventions per year attracting from a few hundred to over 3,000 attenders. The tradition of showing the flag at general conventions remains strong. It is perhaps best exemplified by Major Pete Panzeri's 'HMGS at Origins Team (HOT)' which works with HMGS-Great Lakes on ORIGINS, and possibly GENCON in future. HMGS MidSouth's history by Major Bill MidSouth started when Major Bill Harting took a camper load of individuals to Historicon in 1988, a year after his retirement from the Air Force and the same year that the hobby shop Games Extraordinaire opened in Nashville, TN.
While at Historicon that year, the Major attended East's general membership meeting where the first additional Region in the country (MidWest) was approved. Thinking "We can do that too" the first seeds of the MidSouth Region were sown. The cadre of Bob Duncan, Bryant Williams, Buddy McPeak and Bill Harting, started the HMGS Region of MidSouth using the hobby shop as a nexus of recruiting . The first historical miniature convention was held in Nashville (NASHCON) in 1989. From that point. MidSouth has grown to become the second largest Region in members in the country, sponsoring not only their flagship convention of NASHCON but also Wargamers Reunion, Fuzilier Muster and Siege of Augusta. In addition we have spawned two additional Regions: Gulf South in New Orleans, LA and South in Tampa, FL.
The MidSouth Region was the first to distribute a monthly newsletter to all it's members, a standard to which all Regions of HMGS are now required to emulate, at least quarterly.
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