Welcome to another column my friends. Well, Greg Maggard and I successfully ran our ACW combined arms event at Northwest HMGS's Break-through 2000. The Union successfully captured the Confederate fort that I scratch-built, but the Confederate Navy made a hash of the Union landing forces preventing an amphibious addition to the assault. We had a great time blending Fire & Fury 15mm with 1/600 Smoke on the Water rules, and received man,,, nice compliments on the terrain and the game itself I've attached a Couple photos that Arthur Brooking was kind enough to take on his digital camera and send to me. I hope Hall can print them. I also played in a ftin DBM game leading the Gauls to a beautiful breakthrough in the center of the Roman lines, but alas, losing too many troops on the flank and folding. Later that night I played in a fim, fat-moving Fornuila I auto racing game put on by President Steve Allen and the Trumpeter Tabletop Gaming Society from British Columbia-easy to learn, tough to master. I spent an hour or more chatting with the Canadians who'd come down to play and really enjoyed their company. I plan to attend their Trumpeter Salute 2001 con March 16-18 and combine it with a shopping/sight-seeing trip for the wife! I estimate the Breakthrough crowd at about 100, and the Trumpeters estimate more than tw ice that for their convention-can't wait! The Trumpeters were founded in 1964 by Jack Hutchings, and play lots of different periods. putting on game nights once per month. Membership has climbed over 100 in the past year. and favorite games seem to be WWI biplanes, auto-racing, WWII naval, and ACW, though all periods are played. See their updated address info below.
Welcome another newcomer to our pages, the Palouse Wargaming Society from eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Editor Jon Freitag recently dropped me an email and invited me to visit their website at polousewargamingjournal.50megs.com. They appear to have a few dozen members, playing games from the mid 17C to the present. The website includes pictures of some events as well as figures and players. Upcoming events are listed, after action reports, conventions they support, hobby links, and more.
Another new recruit-the Southern New Mexico Irregular Wargamers (more gamers in need of fiber, eh?). Their fearless leader Kevin Schwebel dropped a line saying they meet regularly on alternating Sundays and irregularly other times. Kevin can be reached at kschwebel@zianet.com and their website is zianet.com/kschwebel/gamepage.html The group headquarters is Las Cruces, NM, but are closely affiliated with gamers in and around Albuquerque, El Paso, and with the Dallas Thursday Night Irregulars. Areas of interest are- Ancients, Dark Ages, Napoleonics, American Civil War, Wild West and Plains Wars. Zulu Wars, Renaissance and Medieval, and whatever else catches their attention. They work toward having exceptionally well-done figures and terrain models, Anyone is welcome to join them for a game. Biweekly events are described on the website out through the end of January so there's plenty to choose form.
Air old friend from NOVAG Paul Elkin dropped me a line now that he has moved south and rejoined the Augusta (GA) Wargamers. They and HMGS Mid-South will be hosting the 9th annual installment of the "Siege of Augusta." The convention wilt run from 12-14 Jan 01 and will again be held at the Sheraton Augusta Hotel, if you have any questions or are interested in pre- registering and/or hosting a game at the Siege. email Paul at "tortjag@aol.com", or Jim Birdseye at "birdseyejh@knology.net". Additionally, a small core of the Augusta Gamers wishes to reverse the effects of entropy and would like to again form a more organized and active club in the local area. Their plans are to again start hosting monthly game days at Augusta State University. Anyone in the CSRA who is interested, please contact Paul or Jim. Currently they have a half dozen regulars who meet to play Naps Battles, DBM, Fire/Fury, Koenig Krieg, etc. 1-2 times per month. They'll usually meet at Paul's house. Jim Birdseye left town to teach at VMI for a few years but now is back, They are going to try to reform the group and again start meeting at Augusta State or the local library, with a probable start-up in January. Sounds great!
Mike Demana, kindly editor of the HMGS Great Lakes newsletter, always writes me a nice note thanking me for the words I say about his club and newsletter. It makes me smile and I appreciate it, but really all the credit goes to he and his gainers, and the rest of you readers and gamers out there who contribute to your hobby. If you were not putting on stunning games, organizing exciting conventions, and writing informative articles, then I'd have nothing to write about. For example, Mike's efforts have grown to 48 pages! First off was an accounting of their Advance the Colors conventions which drew 180 attendees for nearly 50 events and 24 vendors-outstanding. They hosted a DBA tourney there bringing in 20 players. and Phil Fry and his Late Ptolemaic army took the honors, News items for the Ohio area include an effort in Hocking County to open a Civil War Living History park, and the Toledo effort to save an Oliver Hazard Perry missile frigate from the scrap yard and put it on display. Mike Stelzer strongly recommends DBA Online as the first true miniatures rules for online play at fanaticus/jiffynet.net/DBA There's more too--a review of Edward Luttwak's book on war strategy, fast play SYW rules, tips to jazz up bases, book and figure reviews, gaming event listings, and more ... whew! Great stuff.
Don Wolff s El Camino Real Post has a new email updated below. The latest issue boasts 25 wargamers looking for opponents, gaming sites all over the area. and web sites. Member Dave Lowe has begun a free flyer called the Phalanx Veteran for Armati players you might like. And Kevin Reagan has joined with Steve Phenow to produce Strategikon, an ancients gaming mag.
Bill Harting's HMGS Mid-South Dispatch was interesting these past two months. Chris Scott wrote a thoughtful article covering battlefield walking and how it has affected his game playing and interpretations of rules and game mechanics. Chris also penned an easy-play variant for all period games. It's very interesting in that it is period-generic, as well as open architecture so that it plays with some elements of matrix games, I'll have to try it. Buck Surdu had a great time at Historicon and regales us with his accounts of several games he ran as well as participated in-giving kudos to the HAWKS in the process. Howard Whitehouse recounts his " The Elephants are Angry" game filled with howls of laughter. Finally, a well-written 16-page account by WWII veteran Lane Lewis told his tale of adventure as an anti-tank gunner turned paratrooper. Fascinating.
Last weekend while I was running my game at Breakthrough, HMGS East was holding their fall premier convention Fall In! in Gettysburg. The Eisenhower Inn is a nice place and the program shows over 180 games plus several tournaments-Should be enough for everyone.
The latest from the Historical Gamers of Indianapolis shows that their meetings at 19 & 1 every Tuesday and Saturdav, are up to $4 cover. Boardgames. especially Advanced Squad Leader are still popular. In addition. November and December will Napoleon's Battles. ForinUla I Racing. Close Action naval, Blue Sky WWI aircraft, and WWII British Navy vs. the Japanese.
Heart of America HMGS put on Border Wars in October-haven't heard how that went yet but it looked like 60+ events to play Call to Arms will follow in Kansas City KS in May. Newsletter was a bit sparse, though with a pretty color cover--a review of Little Wars that sounded as if HMGS Mid-West did it up right for 500 folks, and another that panned Nashcon. Hmmm. A recommendation for Renaissance Ink flocking gels and a short piece on Baden in the Napoleonic Wars round it Out.
An update from the Historical Gaming Society hailing from Sacramento CA. Mike O'Brien informs me they've just run a Spearhead Kursk scenario and a big Armati game. Spearhead is the usual for WWII but ancients varies from Warhannuer Ancients to Tactica to DBM and Annati. A Battle of the Bulge special is coming up as well as some WWII skirmish, They will run GameCon 2001 on Memorial Day at the Oakland Airport Hilton and are looking for gamers and people to run events, See their website at game-con.com for details
Hadn't read a NOVAG News in awhile but was glad to see it in the mailbox. They are under the leadership of Don Hauser, who accepted the mantel from John McConnell. As I've mentioned many times, NOVAG is an excellent game group. meeting regularly in the Game Parlor in Chantilly and Little Wars in Fairfax. Their April and August Gamecons continue and have been well attended. A new feature is a Board game & card Game Advocate in Paul Schill as well as a Role-Playing Game advocate in Jay Morgan. Seems we historical gamers aren't the only ones who want to be heard. Tim Tilson added some spice with an interesting piece on British infantry in the Napoleonic Wars-stuff about average size, discipline, medical care, etc.-- eye-opening in some instances.
Tampa Bay Gamers Association has set me on the email list and according to their latest releases, are quite busy. They have a new website that is very user friendly, Game days occur weekly at a number of locations, and cover the gamut of the gaming industry. Their two big events are legends of Spring and Fall-both boasting large crowds and lots of fun games. Visit the web and check them out.
Big Muddy Historical Gaming Alliance has some changes to announce. Blake Walker, innovative thinker and writer, is leaving the area and stepping down as secretary-he will be sorely missed. Hopefully he'll continue to contribute, maybe through HAHMGS. Their big Command con will kick off next weekend and the lineup sounds excellent. Elections are coming up and will fill in this gaping hole, For Larry Leadhead cartoons see www.LarryLeadhead.org.
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© Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum
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