And so we begin the second effort. Many thanks to those who wrote with their comments, and thanks to the new clubs that sent their newsletters to Hal or myself. I'd still like to hear what you're doing as far as local gaming.
For instance, I've been playing Mighty Empires, a campaign-style boardgame designed and sold by Games Workshop of the UK. Its Lord of the Rings oriented, with Orcs and wood fairies, but if you want, you can leave that out and play it as a medieval campaign. The game assumes you and the other players are just forming your feudal kingdoms, and the play is about your conquest / exploration / trade with the other land. The rules are simple and the game plays fast, but the opportunity exists for a lot of complexity and intrigue. I didn't think I'd like it, but now I'm glad I'm playing. Its great for imagination trips too, as you name your empire and heroes, and follow them on the course of the game. It sells for around $20 bucks and seems to be at most hobby shops nowadays.
That's what I'm looking for, and it doesn't have to be as long as that by any means, and it can be a lot longer. All I want is the chance to share something good you're on to with the rest of us.
With Club News, we have the first issue received from NOVAG, the Northern Virginia Adventure Gamers Wargaming Club. The club newsletter is 50› each or free to club members. You can join the club for $12 a year, or $6 if you're under sixteen. Events at NOAG show plans for the annual October Con, NOVAG VI, plus there's a WW I Blue Max tournament with a $2 entry fee being sponsored by Wargamer Habby Shop, Holly PLAZA, Sterling, Va 72170.
This issue of the club newsletter is a WW II issue, with a lengthy, detailed article on the little mentioned 90mm Allied tank destroyer. The article tells how it was much used by the allies because it was the thing really effective against some of the German armor. The problem was that the open turret made the trooops vulnerable to German mortar air bursts, which the Germans took to using. Another good article covers the new Soviet BMP-3 Infantry Combat Vehicle with some useful gaming information, and there's a gaming scenario for the WW II Hedgerows of Normandy. Finally, there's a thoughful article about wargaming rules versus real life chain of cammand perceptians. The author feels that the higher up an the supervisory ladder, the less that person is concerned about the little details - thus, wargame rules can reflect this sort of thing and be realistic, to a degree. My summary of the idea doesn't do the article justice.
In another part of Virginia, around the capital of Richmond, comes the magazine RANT, a newsletter for RAGE, The Richmond Area Gaming Enthusiasts. The April/May offering reviews another WW I air war game, Ace of Aces, and has a critique of the American Civil War game, House Divided. Club activities mention a popular road racing game, the Speed Circuit League. Maybe someone fram RANT will write and tell us what's going on with this.
Other articles include Sam Mustafa's continuing series on the Zulu War, which does a pretty good job of not being redundant, considering all the times the Zulu War has been covered in hobby periodicals. Sam's got another commentary an why he thinks women don't seem to enjoy competitive gaming (You're far braver than I, Sam) and there's another discussion on the pros and cons of painting miniatures versus sinking money into boardgames. This seems to be a big issue at RANT, as traditionally most members have been boardgamers, but a select few are now trying to swing the rest over to the joys of little lead figures. By the way, Sam wants it known that the contributing members to RAGE consider it a professional publication, and wish that others would give the magazine a try. Its available bi-monthly at $12 for six issues, and although it isn't mentioned, I 'm sure you can get a sample issue if you write the address and inquire about same. I couldn't tell you if it'd be free or cost a little.
HMGS Midsouth calls their newsletter the Dispatch also (so does Texas' HMA) and the April 91 issue makes big mention of a regional gaming fess, Nashcon, held May 31st to June 2nd. This is the first time I've seen Dispatch, and it looks to be very ably edited. There's a lot of content - much good info, heavily laced with a good easy going sense of humor. You get the idea a good time and friendship are the main priorities of this group.
Good news for area gamers is that Don Featherstone will be visiting prior to his attending Historicon in July. Since Don has began going to Historicon he usually tries to tour many of the battlefields of the US during the same vacation, and he sometimes tries to stop in at clubs where he has hobby friends.
Also mentioned is another gaming group located in South Carolina, the Palmetta State Wargaming Society, 707 Sulpher Springs Rd, in Greenville. Newsletter information says this is a group with good gaming resources: lotsa tables, and gaming all weeknights and weekends. You can reach them at 803-246-4702. As far as the newsletter for HMGS goes, it's not the articles that made this great, it was the, well, other stuff like the poem, Twas The Night o'er Baghdad, with apologies to the similar Xmas rhyme, and the letters from club members serving overseas in Saudi, with comments made before the start of the ground war.
Moving to what seems to be the heart of wargaming, there's so many clubs, are the groups in the state of Illinois. From Bloomington, Illinois comes the May report of the Vedette, newsletter of CTTW, a real class act as far as gamig clubs go. CTTW is very organised when it comes to wargame functions and other clubs could probably take lessons from them on how to organize events. They not only set standards for hobby events, they've many times helped with fund-raiser events for the general public, and have provided quality opportunities to raise hobby awareness amongst those who are uniformed.
This issue of Vedette provides the summer gaming schedule with one event each month, July 13th is in Champaign September is in Blocrmington at the GDW warehouse, and August is open. The calendar of local events show the Midwest dates are filling up fast, with at least one good sized con planned every month. Articles mention some very usef ul ideas on repairing your metal wounded, and some not so useful but still entertaining information on K and C rations of WW II. Earler articles in spring issues told of the first action of the 54th Mass., and a report on Winter Wars held the start of January brought in around 215 gamers to play 36 games.
Also in Illinois is NIGA, the Northern Illinois Gaming Association. NIGA's having a hard time keeping an editor on the newsletter for a variety of reasons but the group still meets. Right now they're playing a lot of the railroad boardgame, 1830, and spending time with Star Trek miniatures.
The newsletter also has a detailed listing of upccrming local and national conventions.
Although this should be in Bits and Pieces, I wanted this piece of news to be definitely mentioned as it is my responsibility. In the last review of Wargaming magazines, I mentioned Battle Honors 15mm range of the American Civil was not available in the US because of extended back orders. Emperor's HeadQuarters of 5744 Irving Park in Chicago, 60634, want you all to know such is not the case. I understand EHQ manufactures the figures here and they do have adequate stock on hand, and happily await your orders. This is good news, as the ACW Battle Honors range is very impressive, and the figures will add to any existisng ACW 15mm collection.
Finally from Illinois comes the news magazine of HMGS Midwest, the Phoenix. Much of this issue deals with plans for the annual Little Wars held in Zion nowadays. From what I've heard, attendance at Little Wars was lower than usual with aroud 400 paying customers. The HMGS board took issue with Bob Marshall for running his annual event, Whatcha'con, on the same weekend as Little Wars. They published their feelings in an open letter in the Phoenix, and from what hear of the reaction to same at the HMGS club meet, some of the board members might have wanted to change the name of the newsletter from Phoenix to Kamikaze. Many of the members of HMGS voiced disapproval and asked that the board spend less time administrating. Being a proud member of MGM makes this difficult to write about as I wish to be very objective - both sides have reasons for saying what they say or doing what they do. On a very primal level it is excellent gossip, however, and it will be fun to see what comes of all this. Personally, I think it's all that SOB's Marshall's fault.
Hell, let's crucify him - and I want to be one of the guys banging in the spikes. Guess you just blew your chances as a hobby legendary, Bobby.
Enough of that. I'd rather tell you about the tongue in cheek rules for Desert Storm in Phoenix. On a D6, coalition forces score hits on one through five, with a possible hit, roll again on six. All the rules are like that. There's also info on TwinCon held May 25-27th at Bloomington, Minnesota. Hope fully someone will tell us how that turned out. Finally, there's a very useful listing of wargaming clubs, 26 all total, and the nights they routinely game.
MGM is planning to hold their summer min-con, Peninsular Campaigns, at its usual venue in back of Rider's Hobby shop, 4415 Westnedge, Kalamazoo, Michigan at the radio-controlled racecar track. There's plenty of room, admission is $4, and we plan at least 25 games and around four dealers. It's air conditioned.
I almost forgot that in the far reaches of the Midwest, Muskogee, Oklahoma, the good owners of Iron Brigade run wargames every Saturday night at their business location, 2121 W. Shawnee, phone 918-687-5281. All popular historical periods are gamed and some fantasy as well.
Also worth mentioning is the news that the Miniature Servioe Center of New Port Richey, Florida now sells the Redoubt range of figures, imported from the UK. These are large 25mm figures and the two ranges now available are the extensive Napoleonics Peninsular range with over 500 figures and pieces of gear, plus the new and growing French Foreign Legion range. Miniature Service Center provides efficient reliable service in mail order, and they also sell several other ranges of figures and products, like Old Glory, Elite, Connoisseur, Geonex, Howard Hues, and Wargames Illustrated.
Most importantly, they offer three ranges of exceptional hand-crafted 25mm buildings. Ranges include log cabin and other rustic items for the French and Indian War, White-washed structures for Mexico or Napoleonics Spain, and the most recent entry, the Viking Series. Several people I know and myself own some of the buildings. They are superbly detailed and nowhere near as pricey as you may think.
It's good to see someone be successful at something important to them. The editor of Experinental Games Group, Chris Engle, is such a person. Chris has worked long and hard publicizing his unique gaming idea, the Matrix system, and it seems to be paying dividends. The system is frequently mentioned in hobby periodicals, and many people are trying the system or their own versions. His newsletter is going well also, and Chris has just printed his 12th issue. Inside can be found the last turn and a game synopsis of the play by mail Matrix game, Solidarity. The game originally mirrored the events of recent Russian reform and it's impact on Eastern European satellite nations, but as the game progressed it started to look like more of a preview to WW III.
Chris plans a new play by mail game, and it will probably be a Matrix version of the Napoleonic Peninsular Campaign. Howard Whitehouse humors readers with his newest, Waterpistol Waterloo, but I thought the best idea I've saw in a long time in a miniatures adaption of the horror classic, Night of the Living Dead. Yep, some players controlled the zombies, some the concerned citizens and and all played to control the small unnamed midwest town before sun-up. Great idea I thought, even though Chris said it didn't play as well as he thought it should. Here's an idea to swing younger players to our way of fun.
After discussion of such a bizarre gaming practice, let's move to the Great American Northwest, home of Bizarre things like the TV series Twin Peaks, and not so bizarre things like The Northwest Historical Miniatures Gaming Society. I have three issues of their newsletter, the Citadel, and all spend a lot of time updating readers on the upcoming area con, Enfilade, held May 18th and 19th. The club was trying to get Art Conliffe of Tactica fame to come out for the con, and I hope they had success at this.
Citadel is another newsletter that gives off an aura of laid back enthusiasm for gaming, and once again the emphasis seems to be on fun rather than obligated committment. Other club gamers have started a Crimean campaign in 25mm scale and were looking for more players, while still other club members were planning on furthering relations with our Northern neighbors by attending a March con in British Columbia, Salute 91. We're not done.
Still more news tells of the plans to start a new newsletter, the Tactica Forum, about you guessed it, plus there's news that Old Glory has finally released the tribute to Lynn Bodin naval colonials in 25mm, selling at 8 figures for ten dollars. On the regular club gaming nights, club members are playing a lot of Fire and Fury ACW actions, and one such evening brought a camera crew from the local TV station in search of a Desert Storm game to publicize when that sort of thing was popular among local journalists. They found none, but did a bit on gaming anyway, and NHMGS was happy with the result. Finally, the club newsletter had a form letter to sned to your local senator if you're still concerned about the infamous lead bill, and it was one that displayed a lot of maturity and oormon sense, something NHMGS seems to have in abundance. Good work, guys.
Finally, we need to mention news sent in by Kevin Fitzpatrick of SAGA, the St. Louis area Gaming association. SAGA is very community spirited, and recently contributed effort and money towards a fund raiser for area children's hospitals. SAGA got two birds with their one stone by printing a pamphlet designed for the general public's consumption, which mentioned the virtues of gaming. These were passed out during the fund-raiser and the club was well-pleased with them.
Still another children's fund raiser is planned in June and SAGA will again be putting on games displays in support. This is very commendable for anyone, let alone a gaming organization. I hope you reaped some dividends from your hard work, if nothing else you sure made an impression on me.
And that's the state of things at the start of summer. Obviously, some clubs are doing a lot more than just gaming, and most others seem to be happy and healthy, and busy gearing up for a convention-filled summer. I hope all have good times, and we'll see you next issue.
Back to MWAN #53 Table of Contents
© Copyright 1991 Hal Thinglum
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