Greetings, Wargaming Bruthas - I've just returned from the wargaming Mecca of Historicon, and full of mixed emotions I am after the event. When I say 'mixed emotions'. I don't mean to suggest that the unpaid, all-volunteer staff of Historicon are in any way doing a bad job. On the contrary, I thought this Historicon was the best organized in several years - and that's considering the last few years haven't been bad at all. The hard-working staff listened to the complaints and criticisms offered by the paying customers and dealers, and came up with some effective solutions. The best and most noticeable decision was to move the dealer area from the sweltering confines of the main hotel to the more spacious environ of the indoor tennis court. At last there was room - room to walk, to move and to take the time to browse, in more or less air-conditioned comfort. The fact that the air-conditioning there could occasionally not handle the combination of humid Pennsylvanian summer and massed bodies was not the fault of the Historicon staff. Another nice touch was turning the old dealer area into a giant flea market - and why not? We all love to look at other people's junk and give them money for same. I heard many a happy wannabe dealer expound on how much he made in the flea market, and I'm sure with all the people wanting flea market tables that Historicon didn't do too poorly renting the space. The greatly expanded flea market looked like a win-win situation for everybody. The old dealer area was also used for open gaming and for the various tournaments offered at Historicon as well. This was another improvement as it seemed to free up a lot of space in both the open gaming and scheduled gaming areas too. I saw lots of empty table space at all gaming locations, and noticed that like the dealer area, there was finally room to move comfortably about gaming tables and enjoy the pleasant pastime of browsing at other people's toys. No, the organizers of Historicon are to be complimented and not condemned for all their efforts. There are however, some that need to be brought to task, and it's scary, Wargaming Bruthas, because they are us. "What have we done to the hobby this time?" I hear the collective lot of you cry with more than a touch of sarcasm. Well here it is back in your face - the appearance of the games at our foremost convention could have been a whole lot better. For all that you guys spend on toys, for all the new terrain pieces available, for the knowledge you've gained from years of looking a photos in Wargames Illustrated, for the higher standard of painting we've achieved by now - all these gaming tables could have looked much nicer. Now granted, we must honor some. Herb Gundt of H.G.Walls in conjunction with Bob Beattie presented a beautiful set of buildings to represent Harpers Ferry. Duke Seifried gave a splendid rendition of Mexico City in the time of the Aztecs, painted pyramids, causeway and all. Major Panzeri presented a superb Alamo game with well-painted troops and a state-of-the-art Alamo built by Tom Milmore. Someone went all out and presented specifically constructed terrain boards to give an accurate representation of Waterloo in 6mm, complete with the sand pit in which the 95th Rifles took up their original position. All of these were well done, eye-catching and reflective of the quality work we as gamers are capable of at this point in the hobby. That was about it though. Everybody else seemed to opt for green felt and cardboard roads. Now that's not to say those games probably weren't fun to play. A game doesn't have to be photoready to be enjoyable, but this was the national convention, the premier, the flagship of what we're about, fer cripssake. Granted few members of the general public find their way into even this hallowed hobby event, but you can bet the few who did weren't impressed with a green tablecloth. I'm always humored when I read letters from gamers who complain that the high visual quality of games presented in the photos of glossy magazines don't reflect 'the state of true gaming' in the hobby, and we should correct this by printing more photos of games with, well, felt and cardboard. Shees, give me a break. That's like telling a car magazine to have their cover photos be of a girl that looks like everybody's wife, rather than some young smiling babe in a skimpy bathing suit standing next to this year's roadster. Appearance is everything, gentlemen. At all times we should be putting our best foot forward, not only for the sake of the public, but to please ourselves and raise our own standards all the more. As the visual hobby we are, we have a great opportunity to gain more recruits every time we put on a display, by virtue of the simple fact that almost everyone is fascinated by miniatures. Look at the interest in doll houses, die-cast metal cars and trains. The only thing is, to gain their interest and respect, any display has to be to a high standard. Think of the visual appeal of a well-done train layout. What draws and holds your attention is the realism of the terrain; while you examine the layout in detail you develop an appreciation for the art and craftsmanship of the creator. If the creator had just put his choo-choo on a piece of green felt to watch it go round and round, you wouldn't be nearly as impressed. We're in the same boat. If it's not quality, you'll get a 'hmmm' and a passing glance from the general public. If it's quality, you'll see their enthusiasm and probably prompt a favorable comment of the "that's nice!" variety. They'll hang around a little longer, wanting to know more. Even if they aren't recruited, they'll at least leave with the impression you have a hobby of substance, rather than the feeling you're simply grown men playing with toys, and are therefore just another chapter in the book. While Wargaming Brutha Extraordinaire Bob Marshall and I were discussing exactly the same state of affairs, Bob offered an opinion and solution worth considering. He thought that an award should be given for the best looking game, but that Historicon should take the award one step further by paying next year's Historicon hotel bill for the winner. If that's not incentive to put on a highclass, visually appealing game, I don't know what is. The winner could then be one of the judges choosing next year's victor, thus preventing repeat awards and the lodging of only a few elites over a period of time. Would this work? I don't know. It's worth a try though, and gives HMGS a way to spend some of the cash surplus I've heard they have on hand. Better still would be for all of us to get off our duffs and enter into an informal good-natured competition on a continuing basis to insure quality events are always offered at major conventions. I also recently went to Peninsular Wars, the summer mini-con put on by Michigan gamers in the Kalamazoo area. There I was impressed by exactly the kind of thing we're talking about here. Every game was a visual treat to behold. C'mon, if a bunch of gamers from Michigan and Indiana can do it Till next time, Wargaming Bruthas. Back to MWAN #97 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com