The Seven Years War Association (SYWA) held their annual convention March 26-27 at the Downtown Holiday Inn in South Bend, IN -- yes, the home of the golden dome and "Touchdown Jesus." This is a period- specific show, limited to the Seven Years War, French & Indian War and the American War of Independence (although a couple of years ago, SOMEONE slipped in a Great Northern War game! Bad Rich, bad!)

The show kicked off on Thursday evening with an informal dinner with the guest of honor, Professor Christopher Duffy. The official start was 9 a.m. Friday morning, with dealers working feverishly to get set up. The first game of the day was an excellent harbinger of things to come -- Jim Purky ran a very good 25mm "good guys" (Austria) vs. "bad guys" (Prussia) on 15 feet of table. This was followed by another 25mm slugfest sponsored by Ken Bunger. Tom Kelly ran what was a very nasty affair (if you're French) where the British and Provincials demonstrated why we all speak English these days. To give the "Crapon" equal time, another F&I skirmish saw Rogers Rangers wiped out to the last man by the Abenakis. Hap Jordan ran a game with his 20mm range that was very well received. RichMasseran one of his random entry games and the relieving Prussian brigade came on the table only to have three battalions of Russian grenadiers follow on right behind them. OUCH! So much for the relief forcel

One of the fun highlights was Bart Redmon's new game -- "Drill vs. Scum," a take-off on Science vs. Pluck. Too bad about the "Drill" side though! It appears that the "Scum" got away with the baggage and the artillery train. It appears General Fink will get that prison sentence earlier than anyone thought.

This show heralded the release of a new book from the pen of Professor Duffy. "Eagles Over the Alps" is about the 1799 campaign of Russian Marshal Suvorov in Italy and Switzerland (see review in "From the Armorer's Forge," this issue). The good professor was also on hand to autograph your copy after you paid for it. Among the other good news from the show: 19th Century miniatures has hired a researcher to make sure that the sculptors have accurate information when they begin work on a period. Also, they have a quality assurance program in place to ensure that your bag of figures is filled only with pieces you can paint.

Jim Purky has stepped down as editor of the "SYWA Journal" due to family additions (new daughter) and has tapped Jim Mitchell of Old Battlefields Press to fill the ranks. Jim Purky-- thank you for a job well done and Jim Mitchell, good luck!

The absolute highlight for the weekend is of course the Saturday evening banquet followed by a lecture on the Seven Years War from Professor Duffy.

This year's talk was on motivation of the Austrian Army during the Seven Years War. It turns out that while there is little direct information on the actual techniques used, there is enough evidence to infer with some precision that the typical Austrian soldier was highly motivated and would place himself at considerable risk to serve his country -even while in captivity. For the serious researcher, the treatment of POWs in this period would be a good area to look into, as few have investigated this topic. For those who don't know, Professor Christopher Duffy is a lecturer of military history at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, and is the author of numerous books on the Age of Reason and Russian campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars.

For a fan or student of the "Age of Reason," this show is a must- do. A whole weekend dedicated to an interesting period of history that still affects who and what we are today.