I just got back to my home in Indiana from Historicon. It's after 1:00 am on Sunday night. I should be exhausted, but I'm refreshed instead. Before I get sidetracked painting up all my new figures and buildings. I want to write down my impressions of this, Apparently the last Historicon to be held at the Penn Harris, Many older gamers remember pre-Dungeons and Dragons Gen-Con, when the venue was the old Horticultural Hall in Lake Geneva. We complained about the place quite a bit at the time. It was not air conditioned. It was cramped. One was assured of a magnificent sunburn if playing in one of the many games held in the open air courtyard The pop was warm: The hotdogs were not. Eventually we outgrew the place and moved on, but many of us now think back on those days at the Horticulutural Hall with nostalgia: it had character The same can be said of the Penn Harris. We have definitely outgrown even this large venue, but I think we might end up missing it as much as some of us do the Horticultural Hall. To me it has just the relaxed atmosphere of seediness and tolerance that marks it as wargamer territory. The Penn Harris is as comfortable as your favorite old sneakers. It is a place where we can un-selfconsciously pursue our hobby in the exclusive company of like minded fanatics. The proprietors and staff seem to like us and tolerate our freewheeling style. There are not many rules. We can bring in our own food and beverages without fear of reprimand or summary expulsion. Saturday night the crowd I hung with had Domino's pizza delivered to the bar, Try that at the Holidome! The Penn Harris rooms are cheap, and if one is so inclined, gamer friends can be stacked in them like cordwood without elliciting the displeasure of profit-maximizing hotel management. Aesthetically, the place sort of resembles a Hessian barracks where discipline has eroded. I got the impression that the convention organizers agonized over the decision to leave the Penn Harris. It is obvious that they fully realized the many advantages of this venue, yet were faced with the undeniable need to find a bigger facility. I guess it's just the inexorable march of progress. Next year Historicon will be held at a great new convention center, with a golf course even, located just a half hour from Harrisburg. I have confidence that HMGS East searched long and hard for a facility that will please us. Yet I will miss the Penn Harris as I do the Horticultural Hall. I feel a little bit of pleasant wargame reality is passing into legend. On the Wednesday before the convention I drove over to Pat Lebeau's home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. while we waited for the rest of our group to gather for the expedition to Harrisburg, Pat acquainted me with the ancients game De Bellis Antiquatatis by administering several severe defeats upon my hapless Hoplites. Mercifully for the forces of Greece, By midnight the others (Clint Alexander, Bob Beattie, Pay Koch and his sons, Mike and Chris) had arrived and we set out. We rode through the night so we Would be present when the convention opened. Ray stoically drove the rented van the entire distance while the rest of us talked, bitched or dozed. By 10 am we were on site and champing at the bit. I wanted to get in a few games on Thursday because I knew that once I hooked up with John Hill it would be JOHNNY REB for the remainder of the weekend. John is working on the third edition of these popular rules, and I could not wait to playtest them . John has streamlined the mechanics so that the complex version is easier to play considering all the detail. He is also coming up with a simple version, which he plans to call "JOHNNY REB LITE". Anyway, on Thursday I was fortunate enough to command the Prussian center in a SYW game hosted by Todd Kirshner and Dale Wood using Todd's well thought out and highly playable rules, WARFARE IN THE AGE OF REASON. I understand that Emperor Todd(Fisher), proprietor of the EMPEROR'S HEADQUARTERS and owner of the EMPIRE PRESS, is planning to publish these rules in the near future Congratulations to both Todds in the tabletop conflict, Austro-Russians under Jim Purky and Michael Montemorano Savaged the Prussian lert rlank while masses or Prussian nrenadiers and heavy cavalry did likewise to the Austrian left. My task in the center was to pin the enemy Fortunately, the victory was gained oin the rgght before my troops had much of an opportunity to disgrace themselves I was just getting ready to order a precipitate withdrawal as the above named gentlemen bore down upon my exposed left when Todd announced the Prussians as marginal victors. Saved by the bell once again. Thinking about this battle leads me to a short digression. I feel Historicon should adopt the Little Wars practice of giving 'Legion of Honor" medals to the outstanding player in each convention game. These medals are coveted by Little Wars gamers far in excess of their monetary value Of course, during slack periods In this game, lightning purchasing sorties were launched against the dealer area. I am traditionally overcome with aesthetic shock when first exposed to all the new products, and no other convention in my experience can match the Historicon dealer area, though Little Wars comes the closest. As I rush up and down the aisles like a confused hamster, I want to buy everything I see. If I did not have a wife to answer to fiscally, I probably would. However, after much post-convention time logged in the doghouse for financial impropriety, I have after twenty years learned to recognize the onset of severe Impulse buying syndrome and can finally exhibit a bit of self-control. I find it refreshing not to have to fall on my sword after one of these conventions in order to retain some scrap of honor when Interrogated by the wife regarding the ballooned balance on the Master Charge bill. Of course, I still lie alot about how much I spend, so that helps too. This year I finally settled on the beautiful Essex 15mm SYW French. The detail on these figures is equal to the best 25mm. I purchased masses of them. French armies usually didn't do well during the SYW, but they sure were pretty to look at. Vowing to crush Lebeau on the De Belli Antiquatatis battlefield in retribution for the stunning defeats of Wednesday, an army of Elite Miniatures 25mm Republican Romans was also purchased from Keith at the Connisseur booth. Keith always carries the finest lines of figures, and these Romans are no exception. They have great personality; reminding me of Stadden Figures. I rounded out my purchasing throughout the balance of the convention with a few books and buildings. Though I do my own painting, I was sorely tempted to buy painted figures and buildings, for there were many excellently painted items offered, and prices were reasonable. While on the mercantile subject, it should be mentioned that one always sees the the newest, most Innovative products at Historicon. This year there was a dealer selling flexible rivers, complete with banks. These were beautiful. Realistic rivers are the hardest terrain feature to reproduce on the wargame table. This product. fills the gap, and I predict it will be in great demand. Unfortunately, the dealer was sold out by the time your reporter stumbled upon him. At some point during the afternoon John Hill showed up with his compatriot Bernie Kempinski, and E retired to the JOHNNY REB suite to set up the massive Cedar Creek scenario that would run throughout Friday and Saturday. Fifty brigades would eventually be brought into action as the battle progressed John did painstaking research in order to make the battle as historically accurate as a wargame car be. Several months previous to the convention John, Bernie and I carefully explored the historica battlefield. Though I am going out on a limb here, and am obviously prejudiced, I believe it was the most beautiful looking terrain presented at the convention- I know it was the most historically accurate Bernie even scratchbuilt a scale model of the Belle Grove Plantation buildings. We wiled away Thursday evening recreating the battlefield in miniature, drinking beer and discussing the Shenandoah Campaign of 1864 There are always quality seminars scheduled at Historicon. For example, Doctor Paddy Griffith gave lectures throughout the convention, during which he presented his unique views on various subjects. I was only in attendance at his Saturday morning seminar, where he presented his thesis that the rifle-musket had absolutely no influence on nineteenth century tactics. Dr Griffith maintained this tenuous position gallantly against the assaults of many in the audience who strongly disagreed Heavy blows were given and received, but Paddy conceded no ground. I myself was in too good a mood to enter the verbal conflict. Besides, I've got a good controversy going already, I don't need to be sticking my nose into someone else's hornets nest. I can affirm, however, that it was an invigorating and thought provoking couple of hour's Most of the fellows in our group attended S. Craig Taylor's NAPOLEON'S BATTLES seminar What a great game system Craig has designed for fighting huge battles! It is a perfect compliment to the more tactical and complex EMPIRE system. 1 would not categorize Craig's system as simple though, I would categorize it as simply brilliant. The seminar was most informative. Speaking of classy seminars, just before we took off on Sunday I caught part of a briefing by an officer of the Third Armored Division regarding the part his unit played in the Desert Storm battle of Ghazlani. In this battle Third Armored destroyed the Tenkawa Republican Guard Division. I agree with Hal that wargaming battles that are too close in time to the present is in questionable taste- personally, I loose interest in gaming any period postdating the invention of the machine gun. However, this seminar was . pure staff college military history, and was Interesting as such. Throughout Friday and Saturday I clawed my way up the wargame leadership ladder to supreme command of Sheridan's army in the valley. Strangely, the fortunes of that army deteriorated in direct proportion to my Increasing command span. Suffice to say that the Union army ended up suffering perhaps the worst defeat ever administered in any of our lilliputian conflicts. I never liked Sheridan much anyway, and gained a certain masochistic satisfaction at the close of the conflict by throwing his command figure upon the bayonets of the jubilant rebels. I was also glad to see rebel player and friend Rick Goetz.single-handedly destroy an entire Federal division that was supposed to be covering the bluecoat line of retreat. Rick recently suffered a heavy reverse as army commnder in an ACW campaign I moderate, and his stunning performance at the head of Wharton's Confederates seemed to restore his slumping personal morale. I do regret that the deteriorating situation on the gaming table required me to miss the HMGS banquet, where Dick Bryant received an award for his outstanding service to the historical miniatures end of the hobby. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dick on receiving this much deserved distinction. Down the road I can see Duke Siefried, Todd Fisher and Hal as candidates for this honor. Then it was Sunday afternoon and time to hit the road. A last quick cruise amongst the dealers to spend whatever money was not essential for fast food or gas on the return trip. Hurried goodbyes to friends who will not be seen again for a year, and with whom never enough time Is spent during the convention, For example, Ken Bunger and I, friends since the Horticultural Hall days, barely had time to engage in our traditional reminicence regarding joint exploits while enthusiastically sampling the night life of Lake Geneva during ancient Gen-Con evenings. Maybe these conventions should last for a week or two, just so all friendships could be properly re-established. Too soon we were in the van and headed home. Farewell Penn Harris, perhaps forever. Thanks HMGS for another tremendously enjoyable convention! We were all so cranked by the experience that we did not stop talking about the hobby during the entire drive, which seemed to zip right by. Now Its 5:30 am. I'm about done writing this, but am still not tired. I have a week of vacation ahead of me with no further travel plans, and no homeowner projects that need doing. I should go to bed. But Republican Romans and Cuirassiers du Roi lie restlessly on the workbench, silently demanding the attention of the painter. Back to MWAN # 54 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1991 Legio X This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com