Here is a list of some of the gaming groups in the Great Lakes area. If you would like your club listed, send the particulars (days you meet, types of gaming, your group name and contact point) to The Herald.

101st Alcove Irregulars - This group formerly met in the now departed Alcove Hobby Shop, but is still gaming in Royal Oak, MI. They do mostly Fire & Fury American Civil War. They are looking for new members to flesh out their club. Contact James Covell, 322 S. Chocolay, Clawson, MI 48017. (248) 435-7654, or e-mail: Alcovehs@mich.com. Also Scott Harris, saharris@mich.com.

Allegheny Irregulars - If you live in the area from Pittsburgh to Youngs-town, give these guys a call. They meet perhaps once a month or so. Tom Semian, 316 S. Home Ave., Avalon, PA 15202. (412) 761-8794, or e-mail: LTsite@aol.com

Allegheny Irregulars Update: "The Allegheny Irregulars have a new place to play. It is my detached, 3-car garage. Up until two months ago, it didn't have electricity due to a problem with the underground part of the wiring. My wonderful other half agreed to make it my birthday present and I am in hog heaven. In fact,we are having a game (Pea Ridge refight) starting tomorrow. It's about a two to three setting game, depending on if the battle goes into the second day. We are using Fire & Fury (fantasy as far as I am concerned) for the battle. We have also been gaming Squadrons, Napoleon's Battles and some Kingmaker (a board game). Are you going to Historicon? If yes, then maybe I will see you there!" -- Tom Semian, Allegheny Irregulars

Greater Ann Arbor Area Mostly Historical Miniatures Gaming Group - This group of 15+ gamers has some students and staff of the University of Michigan, but is composed mostly of "regular people." They meet every Thursday evening at a member's house, and also try to squeeze in Sunday games every couple months. They are always looking for new gamers. Games are played in Saline, MI, about 1 hour north of Ohio Border. They do 50% DBR, 25% Big Battle DBA, and 25% other stuff (including Hordes of the Things). Contact Bob Beattie, 437 Lexington Dr., Saline, MI 48176. (734) 429-8521, or e-mail: beattie@umich.edu, or Steve Roper at: sroper@umich.edu. Web site: http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/~beattie/bobs.html

Ann Arbor Update: "We are not doing anything for the rest of July, due to getting ready for, going to, and recovering from Historicon. We have been playtesting DBA 2 to help Phil get down to the last version. One project I plan is a game I am calling Constable of France. I have been reading Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror" history of the 14th century -- a great source book of game ideas! (Beginning of the 100 Years War, the Jacquerie Uprising, Rosebeeck, battles in Tunisia and Italy, free(booter) companies, and now, I am close to the end at Nickopolis, so we get the Ottomans and Hungarians). Fifty years of battles with the same armies. I am thinking that a series of battles for this would be fun. The "Constable of France," like the First Man in Rome, but this time Medieval French army vs. English, Italian Condotta (Sir John H.), Turks, maybe Swiss or the Empire, even vs the Jacquerie (Horde(S) as Warband, with some allies of freebooters or Bourgeoisie) and Low Countries (all those pikes!). Or, do a series of Big Battles DBA games with 48 element armies per side. Crecy, Poitiers, Rosebeeck, and then Nickopolis would be fun. Hungarians, Teutonic Knights, and Medieval French vs Ottomans and Serbs." -- Bob Beattie, Greater Ann Arbor Gaming Group

Central Ohio Gamers Association (COGA) - Meet 10am - 11 pm on the 2nd Saturday of each month at the Whitehall Public Library. They host a variety of historical miniatures and boardgames. Dave Barr, 2961 Deep Wood Dr., Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-4015. (614) 864-2044.

Upcoming COGA Events at the Library:
Sept. 9, noon "Wild West," modified "War Paint" rules. GM: David Barr
Oct. 14, noon "British Colonial Expedition," GMs: Del Perry & David Barr
Nov. 11, 1 pm "World War II," Piquet rules. GM: Joe Fox
Dec. 12, 1 pm "British Colonial," 15mm scale. GM: Lind Pratt

Chicagoland Wargamers - Contact James L. Patterson, III, (773)534-7305x116, or e-mail: Kraal_of_KaJames@Yahoo.com. Web site:

Upcoming Chicagoland Events:
July 30 Regular meeting at Games Plus (101 W. Prospect Ave. Mt. Prospect, IL. (847) 577-9656.
Aug. 12 Possible World War II microarmor game.
Oct. 8 25mm DBA Tourney. Entry cost $3.
Nov. 25 DBM Tourney, both 15mm & 25mm. Three rounds, starts at 9 am. Entry cost $3.

Colby Street Irregulars - This group has been meeting for more than16 years on Wednesdays, 7-11pm, in the Toledo area. They game all periods -- their latest specialty being a homegrown set of "universal" rules. They run events at Glass City Games, from time to time. Jim Thomasson, 1217 Birch Ave., Maumee, OH 43537. (419) 893-3025, or e-mail: JThoma227@aol.com.

Colby Street Update: "The Colbys are working on a Pirate Game for next year. Old Glory and Foundry now have great figures out to paint, build terrain and write some rules for! We all took a night and went to see the Patriot -- good film. Colonials in America next year with Bluecoats? Our larger version French Foreign Legion Game is about half done -- have to paint them Arabs next! We had a Pool party in July -- it was hot and the water was fine. Doug Johnson brought his styrofoam gunboats with shooting ping-pong balls, good fun. Plans are being made for Drums Along the Maumee 2 in May of 2001. We await the contract signing to begin the pre-convention whirl. More later, as it progresses. Games are being prepared for this September's Advance the Colors. New site, new board and old friends. Yeah, I know it seems we are too busy to have any fun....but we do!" -- Jim Thomasson, Colby Street Irregulars

Confederation of Friends - This Indiana club specializes in 20mm Napoleonics. The 10 members have armies to represent all combatants of the 1809 time period. Duke Robinson, PO Box 47, Owensville, IN 47665. (812) 729-7651.

Conflict Simulations Club - This group of gamers from Indiana University does mostly historical miniatures, with occaisonal board games and infrequent fantasy/science fiction. They meet Sundays 11 am - 6 pm in the Indiana University Memorial Union (usually in the Tree Suites). The club's members enjoy Ancients using DBA/DBM/DBR and Might of Arms, Volley & Bayonet, Republique, Johnny Reb, Battleground (World War II and Vietnam), Command Decision and Blue Max. Contact Mike Brewington, Unit 1, PO Box 650, Crane, IN 47522-0650. (812) 824-7858, or e-mail: brewington@homer.crane.navy.mil. Web Site: http://php.indiana.edu/~dlauer/Con_Simulations.html

Conflict Simulations Club Update: "Club-wise, we ran a play test of the Volley & Bayonet Gettysburg game that some of the members will be running at Origins this year. Then, there was another great game of Battleground Viet Nam. July 9th saw the start of Borodino using modified Republique rules. The redoubt has been breached, but can the French beach head hold before the massive Russian counterattack? The members not attending Origins will try to find out July 16th. Some of the members recently started an Ancients campaign based roughly on Italy in 270 B.C. We will be using Might of Arms to resolve any interesting battles. There's a web site at: http://php.indiana.edu/~tford/minis/campgn.htm. A hotbed of Colonialism using The Sword and The Flame rules has popped up at one members abode. For info, contact (812) 825-9818, or e-mail: twthomas@bluemarble.net. Hopefully we will be running another DBA tournament in the late August or early September time frame." -- Mike Brewington, Conflict Simulations Club

Gargolye Gamers Group - G3 supports ALL gaming in the area to include historical and non-historical miniatures, card, role playing and board gaming. G3 can be contacted c/o Mark Rosenberger, 1111 Enfield, Rochester Hills, MI 48307-5431; gargoylegamer@cs.com. Web site still not up (AT&T problem!). Or contact Mike Reese, 13405 Denver, Sterling Heights, MI 48313. (810) 939-1690, or e-mail: mr688@home.com

Greater Dayton Wargamers Club (GDWC) - These guys game a variety of periods. They mee regularly at the Kettering Soldiery location on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Tom Miller, 516 Elderwood Rd., Kettering, OH 45429. (937)-299-5754, or e-mail: mtm@erinet.com.

Historical Gamers of Indianapolis (or 19 Plus 1) - Meets every Tuesday for historical games. The address is 2060 E. 54th Street, Village Commons, Suite 4, Indianapolis, IN 46220. New guests are welcome ($4 game fee). They play different historical games each week. Tuesday games run 6:30 - 11pm, Saturday 10am - 5pm. Dennis McKinney, (317) 726-1384, or e-mail: bmayhugh@iupui.edu. Web site:

Upcoming 19 Plus 1 Events:
Aug. 1 25mm Medieval Skirmish (GM: Joe)
Aug. 8 25mm ACW Skirmish using Desperado (GM: Jim)
Aug. 15 Desperado Wild West Skirmish (GM: Pat)
Aug. 19 Napoleon's Battles (GM: Paul)
Aug. 29 "The Three Musketeers," Skirmish game (GM: Carl). Saturdays 10am - 5 pm -- plus "Advanced Squad Leader" every week on Tuesdays and Saturdays! Saturday Nights (5pm - ?), open board gaming, changes weekly.

Kampfgruppe - This central Indiana group plays all historical periods and scales. They meet in member's homes two Saturdays a month. Tony Teal, 6319 Sagewood Ct., Indianapolis, IN 46268. (317) 388-0579 or e-mail: ateal@cs.iupui.edu. Web site: http://www.cs.iupui.edu/~ateal/Wargames/

Upcoming Kampfgruppe Events:
July 29 "Prussians vs. Danes, 1813" Hypothetical Napoleonic Volley & Bayonet battle. (GM: Jeff Nicholls -- in Anderson).
Aug. 25 "Salamanca," Napoleonic Peninsular War battle. (GM: Jeff Henkel).
Oct. 7 "Monte Cassino, 1944," World War II Command Decision rules. (GM: Chris Mikucki).

The Mid-Ohio Gamers' Group (M.O.G.G.) - This group was formed in 1980 to establish an identity for a close group of friends dedicated to medieval and fantasy miniatures. In the course of its growth, M.O.G.G. expanded its variety of games, held various Medieval and World War II battles at cons, gained new members, and offered competitive challenges to other local clubs. The group meets in members' homes, playing both fantasy and historical games. Contact Eric Adamaszek, 4888 Almont Dr., Columbus, OH 43229. (614) 847-5884.

The Minatures and Gaming Association at The Ohio State University - This group has been meeting for years, playing a mix of historical and fantasy, on the campus of OSU. They meet every Saturday (except "breaks" and summers) in the basement meeting rooms in the Ohio Union from noon till 11pm. There is no charge and multiple games are played. All guests are welcome. In the spring of each year, they hold their annual multi-genre convention, Capcon. Next year's version is scheduled for April 28-30. Guy Flora, advisor: 3818 Sunbury Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43219. (614) 471-9812, or e-mail: flora.1@osu.edu.

North Coast Wargamers - These guys are a clubof friends and family members, with no dues, memberships, etc. Their specialty is 15mm ACW (Johnny Reb), AWI and Plains Indians. Scott Mingus, Sr., 4775 South Ridge Rd., Perry, OH 44081. (440) 358-6124 or e-mail: mingus@ncweb.com.

North Coast Update: "North Coast Wargamers have been busy preparing for our 15mm Johnny Reb III games at Origins and Historicon. Scott Mingus and Scott Jr. did manage to make it into Cleveland one Friday night to refight Day Two of Gettysburg with our friends from Northern Ohio Wargaming Society (NOWS), using Fields of Honor rules." -- Scott Mingus, North Coast Wargamers

Northern Ohio Wargaming Society (NOWS) - Meet on Fridays at The Warzone in the Cleveland area. Play a variety of games, but focus is mostly historical miniatures. NOWS nights at The Warzone start around 7:30 pm. Contact Jim Schwendeman at: (216) 351-7783. E-mail at: JFSCHWENDE@aol.com

Purdue Wargamers - Meets noon till midnight at Stewart Center, Purdue University. Contact John W. Akers, 6915 N. 50 W, West Lafayette, IN 47906. (765)497-0907, or e-mail: Etzel99@aol.com

Rochester Historical Simulations Group - This group meets at 11:30 on the 3rd Sunday of the month at Millennium Books and Games in Rochester. They game Ancients, WW II, Mexican-American, ACW and Napoleonics. David Abraham, 38 Brewerton Dr., Rochester, NY 14624. (716)594-9717.

Society of Military Gamers - The group formerly known as the Friday Night Fights officially changed their name to the Society of Military Gamers, or "SMGs." The SMG group began four months ago with three people. We now have a registered membership of 48 and are growing fast. Members of the group play nearly every period from Ancients to Modern Armor. We also have a considerable board game sect. Our members use many rule sets, including (but not limited to): Piquet, DBM, DBA, Volley & Bayonet, Command Decision, Battleground WWII and various home rules. The SMGs meet nearly every Friday night at The Soldiery in Columbus. Meetings begin at 9 PM and go throughout the night. All those interested in historical gaming are welcome to join our ranks! Contact Joe Fox, 1783 Forest Oak Ln, Columbus, OH 43229. (614) 854-0312, or e-mail: fox.137@osu.edu or westphalia@hotmail.com.

SMG Update: "Our most recent meeting featured five games: 25mm Spanish-American "San Juan Hill," Axis and Allies, Battleground World War II and two DBM games. For our next meeting, Jeff Kayati has agreed to bring a large Napoleonic PK game and Raymond will be bringing along a WWII microarmor game. I may run an Ancients PK game." -- Joe Fox, SMGs

Twinsburg Wargame Association - This group of around 20 wargamers gets together about once a week, usually in Club "Enlightened Despot" Rich Oster's basement. They also run some games at stores around the Cleveland and Akron area. All periods seem to be popular, and even some fantasy and science fiction. Contact Rich Oster, 1867 Ridge Meadow Ct., Twinsburg, OH 44087. E-mail: rjoster@ra.rockwell.com. Web site: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/7755/

Upcoming Twinsburg Events:
Aug. 4 "Chariot Races," using Circus Maximus rules. (GM: Sam)
Aug. 23 "Ancient Battles," using DBM rules. (GM: Tom)

Wayne's Legion Historical Gamers - Wayne's Legion runs a variety of periods, including a good number of game days events at The Soldiery in Kettering. Darryl Smith, 2251 Wayne Madison Rd, Trenton, OH 45067. (513) 896-1098 or e-mail: HMGSGL1@aol.com. Web site: http://wayneslegion.homestead.com.

Wayne's Legion Update: "We have been busy! We are wokring on our new web site (http://wayneslegion.homestead.com), painting colonial figures for Brian's Panape game, playing AWI using Patriots and Loyalists, and have been talking about doing other periods on our own e-group." -- Darryl Smith, Wayne's Legion