Regional Gaming Clubs

2004

by Mike Demana


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
If interested in joining on the Michigan area fun, contact James Covell, 3311 Grayson, Ferndale, MI 48220. (248) 399-3913, or e-mail: trell4thgate@comcast.net.

Allegheny Irregulars
If you live in the area from Pittsburgh to Youngstown, give these guys a call. They meet on the first and second Sundays of the month in Tom's detached, 3-car garage. Tom Semian, 316 S. Home Ave., Avalon, PA 15202. (412) 761-8794, or e-mail: LTsite@aol.com.

Greater Ann Arbor Area Mostly Historical Miniatures Gaming Group
This group of University of Michigan students, staff and "regular people" meets Thursday evenings at members' homes, and once in awhile on Sunday. DBR, Big Battle DBA, and other stuff are popular. 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://www-personal.umich.edu/~beattie/mgm.html.

Carmel Historical Miniatures Gamers
Meets on Sunday afternoons to game all historical periods and scales. Meetings are either at a members home or Downtown Comics Carmel, IN. Contact: David K. van Hoose, 10518 Brookview Dr., Carmel, IN 46032. (317) 581 8840 or e-mail: davidkvh@aol.com.

Central Ohio Gamers Association (COGA)
Meet 10 am - 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.

Chicagoland Wargamers
Contact James L. Patterson, III, (773)534-7 305x116, or email: Kraal_of_KaJames@Yahoo.com. James and a few other guys are at the Gameopolis every Sunday -- join them for the fun!

Colby Street Irregulars
This group has been meeting for more than 21 years on Wednesdays, 7-11 pm, in the Toledo area. They game all periods and 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: "It's December and we have still not seen snow here in the North. So what's going on?

  • Doug ran an information table at the Ohio Frontier Conference that Jim attended at Fort Meigs. I also went to Fremont before the Civil War Event there, but no Great Lakes demos were there. Not the right place when they're mostly marching and shooting muskets this year...I guess.
  • We did the Colby Movie Night and went to see, "Master & Commander" -- good flick. Hit the Ralphie's afterward for a Drums Meeting. In the same vein, we enjoyed the two new "Hornblower" movies on A&E this month. Which leads me to say, Phil Fry and Ed Bolla are both on tap for Naval Battles this coming Drums already.
  • Victor Hiris came down from Michigan and we played his English Civil War in 15 mm. Interesting era.
  • Steve Johnson of the Colbys got married in October in Vegas. It was a gaming night, so we stayed home and played WW II infantry.
  • Roy has been doing the duty at the BP Refinery and working on a new module for his Terran Wars Scenario from "The Mall" era. Tim is creating his Big Colby Game for Drums this year. Colonial warfare plus other items from our basements. Come and see what is in his creative mind...
  • We are still working on the Mech-a-Colby Game (Mechwarrior plus). We tried it last night: 24 mechs, 24 vehicles and 24 infantry mostly died in 2 hours plus. Lots of burned out Ôbots!
  • More than 10 games have been okayed already for Drums 5, next May. We are filling faster each year! Tim has sent out more than 30 Dealer Notices already.
  • We have heard that CapCon from Columbus has taken the same weekend as Drums 5 in May. We plan two years ahead of time for our site/weekend -- they change theirs for unknown reasons.
  • Our convention plans: WinterCon in January, SpartaCon, Seven Years War and Battlefields in Detroit.
  • The Great Colby Game approaches us again. It's always the last battle of the year. This year, we are doing our Space/Man-to-Man Game. Around 300 plus 25 mm space infantry whacking each other in a giant, burned out city.
  • We now have a supply of jeeps, trucks, half-tracks and armor in 25mm scale. You can expect to see ambushes, convoys and lots of smoke in our future battles!

    That's it! Happy Christmas to all, and may your dice hit the table flat. No leaners!" -- Jim Thomasson, Colby Street Irregulars

    Confederation of Friends
    This Indiana club's specialty is 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 Indiana University group does historical miniatures, board games and fantasy/sci-fi. They meet Sundays 11 am - 6 pm in the Indiana University Memorial Union (usually in the Tree Suites), enjoying Ancients, Horse and Musket era and 20th Century games. 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

    Duneland Historical Wargame Group
    This small group of friends meets at the local library in Valpraiso, IN. Contact Darren Buxbaum, 311 Madison St., Valparaiso, IN 46385. E-mail: ivan_iskander@yahoo.com, or web site: http://www.homestead.com/forgodkingandhonor/homepage.html.

    5 Guys and a Lawyer
    , 329 3rd St., Perrysburg, OH 43551. Meet every Friday night at 7:30. Popular periods are 15mm ACW, 15mm ECW, 25mm Colonials, 1/72 Canvas Eagles, 20mm WWII, 15mm Napoleonics Empire II, Diplomacy. Contact Gordon Andrews, (419) 874-1267, or e-mail: RSHARPE9@aol.com.

    Gargolye Gamers Group
    G3 supports ALL gaming in the area to include historical and non-historical miniatures, card, role playing and board gaming. Mark Rosenberger, 1111 Enfield, Rochester Hills, MI 48307-5431, or e-mail: gargoylegamer@cs.com. Or contact Mike Reese, 13405 Denver, Sterling Heights, MI 483 13. (810) 939-1690, or e-mail: mr688@home.com.

    Gettysburg - York Gamers
    This grou specializes in 15mm American Civil War using Johnny Reb III rules. Scott Mingus, 1383 Sterling Drive, York PA 17404. E-mail: scottmingus@yahoo.com, or web site: http://www.geocities.com/scottmingus/index.

    Gettysburg-York update: "Tom Mingus and Scott Mingus Sr. presented a well-received 15mm ACW game at Fall-In in Timonium, MD. The "Battle of Savannah" JR3 game won first place in the Gamer's Choice category and also received an HMGS-East Battle Streamer. We have launched our new quarterly ACW gaming newsletter entitled CHARGE! (see review this issue), published by the Johnny Reb Gaming Society. While geared for Johnny Reb, each issue will contain 2-3 scenarios that can be used with most regimental-level gaming rules sets." -- Scott Mingus Sr.

    Greater Dayton Wargamers Club (GDWC)
    These guys game a variety of periods. They meet regularly at the Tin Soldier on the 3rd Saturday of each month, usually squeezing in two games. Tom Miller, 516 Elderwood Rd., Kettering, OH 45429. (937)-299-5754, or e-mail: tommillermci@yahoo.com.

    Historical Gamers of Indianapolis (or 19 Plus 1)
    Meets every Tuesday and some Saturdays for historical games. The address is 2060 E. 54th St., Village Commons, Suite 4, Indianapolis, IN 46220. New guests are welcome ($4 door fee). Tuesday games run 6:30 - 11pm, Saturday 10 am - 5 pm. Dennis McKinney, (317) 873-9624 , or e-mail: bmayhugh@iupui.edu.

    Kampfgruppe
    This central Indiana group plays all historical periods and scales, meeting in member's homes. Rob Stoebick, 13647 Thistlewood Dr., Carmel, IN 46032. (317) 846-3158, or e-mail: ROBBRR@msn.com. Web site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndySimSociety/.

    Kanawha Riflemen
    Great Lakes' first club in West Virginia serves our fast-growing community of members in that state. They have about 15 full time members that play just about anything, including all periods of historical miniatures, as well as some Sci-Fi, roleplaying and Warhammer. They meet in various locations in Charleston and Beckley, WV. Contact Nick Gillispie, 1507 Grandview Dr., Charleston, WV 25302. (304) 342-8749, or e-mail: Navarr@aol.com.

    Mid-Ohio Gamers' Group (M.O.G.G.)
    This group was formed in 1980 from a close group of friends and expanded its variety of games, held various Medieval and World War II battles at cons, 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 plays a mix of historical and fantasy, on the campus of OSU. They host multiple games every Saturday (except during breaks) in the basement meeting rooms of the Ohio Union, noon till 11pm. All guests are welcome. Guy Flora, advisor: 3818 Sunbury Rd., Columbus, OH 43219. (614) 471-9812, or e-mail: flora.1@osu.edu.

    North Coast Wargamers
    These guys are a club of friends and family members, with no dues, memberships, etc. Their specialty is 15mm ACW (Johnny Reb), AWI and Plains Indians. Doug Rogers, 7570 Jeremy Ave., Mentor, OH 44060, or e-mail: swampbranch2@yahoo.com. Web site: http://www.geocities.com/nchws2003/index.html.

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

    Purdue Wargamers
    Meet 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 am on the 3rd Sunday of the month at Millennium Books and Games in Rochester. They do Ancients, World War II, Mexican-American, ACW and Napoleonics. Dennis Frank, 950 Bolivar Dr., Bradford, PA 16701. (814) 362-6801, or e-mail: djfrank@penn.com.

    Smethurst's Basement
    A diverse group of Tri-State gamers who meet at various locations around Cincinnati to enjoy cross table camaraderie and carnage. Check upcoming games at SBclubpage@yahoogroups.com or phone Rich Smethurst evenings at: (513) 677-1683. "We play for fun!"

    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 games at stores around the Cleveland and Akron area. They run campaigns, including a World War I aerial Canvas Eagles one, and hold bimonthly DBA Ancients mini-tourneys. Contact Rich Oster, 1867 Ridge Meadow Ct., Twinsburg, OH 44087. E-mail: rjoster@ra.rockwell.com. Web site: http://www.vippn.com/~splinter/.

    Wayne's Legion Historical Gamers
    This group was formed a decade ago by a bunch of guys from the Dayton area, who share like-interests. Not only do we game together, but we have toured battlefields together, and feel that historical miniatures should be enjoyable -- not something that feels like work. Darryl Smith, 2251 Wayne Madison Rd, Trenton, OH 45067. (513) 896-1098 or e-mail: darryl@highstream.net. Web site: http://wayneslegion.50megs.com.

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