I wanted to drop a line on what qualifies as a most excellent weekend! The Seven Years War Association, Northeast branch, held their annual convention, Tricon, in Monument Hall in the historic village of Concord, MA, this past weekend.

This convention is run in different manner from most gaming conventions. The gaming is done on Saturday with Sunday reserved for a tour of a historic site or battlefield. Since this is a period-specific convention, reenactors in appropriate 18th century uniform are invited to attend. The reenactors this year were from the 10th and 40th Regiments of Foot for the American War of Independence. A member of the 40th was also present for the Seven Years War. The reenactors from the Massachusetts Militia were conspicuous by their absence. Okay, it was a glorious day, and they went to another event.

There were a series of lectures that ran all day long. Among others, there were: Brent Nosworthy, on the use of small detachments on the battlefield; George Neumann, on how Washington won the "unwinable war"; Robert Mulligan on the Western Expedition of 1779 against the Iroquois. All of the lectures were well attended and provided the mavens of the 18th century with new insights on how campaigns and warfare were conducted. A special addition to the program was a lecture and demonstration on martial music in the Age of Reason. I wish I had remembered to write down the name of the reenactor who gave the presentation. It was a very good program which explained a great deal about how and when musicians performed their vital role in camp and on the battlefield.

Being a period-specific convention, all of the games were contained within the 18th century. AWI games dominated, with the linear elegance of the SYW following close behind. There were even two games from the Italian campaigns of the 1790's.

While this convention is a long haul from Ohio, it would be a very rewarding trip for the gamer who chose to make it. For those who have a wife, you can always include with it a vacation to look at the fall colors of New England.