Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: February 23,24 2001 After a slow start, Friday picked up a bit with continued activity. Initially, both games scheduled for the morning were slow to start. Again, my apologies to Phil and Tony Hartman for not being more on the ball. George Knapp ran his ALAMO game on Friday afternoon followed by his Lexington and Concord game and Bunker Hill on Saturday. I have to mention that all games were well received and I personally feel that these and his continued work with the Silent Auction consists of the best contribution to the hobby in the region. The Mexican War events were well attended as were the N Scale WWII games. Steve Allie has done very well with the two periods and is an authority on anything dealing with the American Army prior to WWI as that is also his job as Director of the Frontier Army Museum. Dave Yates and Marshal Pelot must be commended for their continued hard work in promoting Wargaming by putting together games that will appeal to the youngster thus introducing new people into the hobby. Their Formula DE game that was enlarged from the board game and DBA Tournament were a MAJOR part of the convention. David Yates and Marshal Pelot are also on the cutting edge of re-introducing Boardgaming into the conventions. They and the gamers represented by Dr. Steve Huskey were the reason for the introduction of the Boardgaming Section which will now be a permanent feature to Spring Maneuvers. Another player in the big scheme of things was Ken Van Pelt. His French & Indan War 54mm Stockade Fort dominated the room and I wish we could have had it running longer than time and space permitted. A great desert armor action was going on Saturday. The terrain was topnotch as always. Bringing their terrain, I know, is a real undertaking but is really a big highlight to any show. Darrin Manna ran a Seven Years War which luckily was in front of my vendor tables so I was able to play in it. It was hard fought and no one got too mad as I dealt with other things and delayed the game at times. Darren Loomis and War, War & More War did an excellent job with their games as well as having a vendors table which marketed a variety of their own products. BEST OF SHOW went to Bill Nardin and his Training Simulation "Decision Making At The Sharp End ". It depicted the problems of a modern situation with Politicians, Press, Insurgents, Populace and the war itself. How to function in such an environment is a real problem and ever changing. It was the most ambitious game in the hall and came off great. The weather hampered attendance, which were 85 paid. (All adults over 16 including those who ran the convention.) There were over 30 children under 16. They came in free with a paid attendee. Unfortunately, some paid attendees immediately left after paying leaving their children. That will be addressed in some way in the future. Kids are a blessing and a hindrance. They represent the future but, haven't the attention span to focus on what an adult gamer takes seriously. ALL kids suffer from this. Any Ideas???? Thanks to all that I have mentioned and especially to those I haven't mentioned. Those of you who were not able to get to the convention this time I hope you can next February 22 & 23, 2002. Till then.... Tom FAX NUMBER (253) 399-8626 SIMULATION SATURDAY Will Be March 31, 2001 SPRING MANEUVERS 2002 FEBRUARY 22 & 23, 2002 Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas http://community.webtv.net/LIMBERRIDER/SPRINGMANEUVERS Back to Table of Contents Penny Whistle #53 Back to Penny Whistle List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Lion's Den Publications. 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