Hurricon Review from the perspective of the Convention Director: It was a success! The numbers rolled well. It looks like we had just over 200 attendees and a positive cash flow in excess of $1600. Although I thought 300 would attend, the breakout by day shows an extremely high level of participation. Large version of color photos (very slow: 288K) By Friday evening, we had 120 people in attendance, a new record by far. On Saturday, the original 120 returned and an additional 70 showed up. On Sunday, there were about 50 gamers in attendance (a new record). Also, as I left Hurricon, there were still about 20 gamers playing Clash and Battleground WWII. The hotel staff was giving them mean looks, but the games went on! I'd like to thank those who helped most during the show. Jennifer Villalta and her mother Donna were invaluable at the front desk keeping the records straight and checking people into the convention.. They made people feel welcome and helped to promote HMGS South. Dave Neal also worked the front desk and greatly assisted in getting gamers into the show. Mike DiRaffaele worked all security issues and was there everytime I needed him. He filled the void and kept the vendors / gamers tables secure. Dale Marcum worked issues in the dealer area and I thank him for that. Rhett Scott made sure the member roster was up to date and that a copy was available for all members. And my personal thanks to Cris Brown for taking a huge weight off my shoulders by running the first iteration of Piquet: Point of Attack. The convention director shouldn't sign up to run a game the first night of the show; the time is a little tight. Piquet went over quite well and was well-received by those who played. Thanks again Cris for three days worth of advice and guidance! See Cris' review of Hurricon later in this article. Thanks to all for a supremely successful show! Let me take a minute to say that the HMGS convention program epitomizes the hobby. It gives gamers a chance to make new friends and rehash battles with old friends. Hurricon demonstrated the quality of games that our folks are willing to put on. I am proud to say that I had a chance to be a part of it. The best of show game went to Richard Higson for his superb, completely scratch-built, Tinian Island. Richard even built a destroyer from things around his house! This honor is well deserved and Richard should be proud of the fact that all his hard work was greatly appreciated by everyone in attendance. See bottom of Table of Contents for link to Best of Show photos--RL Another fine looking game was Mike Schundler's Pursuit on the Danube, Napoleonics contest. Herb Gundt was in attendance at the game and his scratch built chateau sitting on Mike's table made many drool. For those who don't know, Herb is HG Walls and it was an honor to have he and Mike at the show. Thanks for coming guys! Mike's 25mm French and Russian troops made for a great game; very visual. Bob Brodeur from Easy 8 ran 4 games during the weekend and the new Battleground WWII rules set was well received. His game was also very visual with numerous hedgerows and a fine portrayal of the French heartland. I can't leave out gamemasters like Bill Sterner (ran three games in a row - a true ironman), Ed Wade (for really big games), the Gainesville Garrison, the Armati tournament, and George & Brian Dullaghan. At any point in time the gamer was overwhelmed by the realism of games all around him. I'd also like to thank our painting contest victors for their fine efforts: Best 25mm and larger Historical figure - Richard Higson with his 1876 Pony Troop Soldier Best Army - Ray Phillips for his Ironclads Armada Best Alternative Figure and Best Alternative Beast were won by Derek Clayton. He does superb work already at a young age. Leon Mason won the Armati tournament with a high of 13 points. Other commercial supporters of the show were Old Glory, The Soldiery, The Tactical Edge, Dan Richardson's Painting Service, Bob Jones' Piquet, and my (and Rhett's) Regimental Colours. Thanks! The only thing that could have made the show better was if someone had told me that Rhett snores like a freght train... Hurricon '97 comments by John Marron. Well, I just wanted to pass along a few more comments about Hurricon and the issue of our long-running games here in Gainesville. First, it was great to meet Cris and have him observe/play in the FPW game. Thanks for the kind words on the game and for leading us to that culinary Mecca, Mel's Hot Dogs (Henri was in on this well kept seceret but I had never enjoyed the wonders of Mel's). My FPW game at the con went very quickly (for us), finishing in under 3 hours with about a half hour left to play out to full resolution (the demoralized French players declared their intent to withdraw and the compassionate Prussian players agreed to let them scuttle away without dragging out the inevitable carnage). It was a fairly large scenario, with 17 french units and around 28 German units. We played on a 4' X 6' table, which may have speeded things a little (our usual table is 6' X 8'). We trimmed the sequence decks a little, but still ended up with 36 cards in one deck and 40 in the other. Cris provided a suggestion fr speeding our game play which was so obvious I'm fairly embarrassed that we hadn't thought of it ourselves. All of my figs are based 2 per 1" X 3/4" metal base, and we use large historical rosters in which 2 of my bases equal one PK base (leads to lots of figs but nice, robust looking units!) With 8-10 fiddly bases per infantry battalion, and 6 battalions per command, just physically moving a command ate up lots of time. Cris suggested movement stands (Duh!), so I'm putting together magnetic stands to hold typical unit sizes and formations (line, attack column). I think this alone will shave at least 45 minutes to an hour off of our games. As for the reception of Piquet, I agree with Cris that the system was very well recieved (except for the rather close-minded gentleman who signed up for the FPW game then dropped out because it was a "card-driven game"). The 10 year old player we had was polite, interested, and tactically more sophisticated than his adult partner. All of the new players we had picked up te base system within a couple of turns. We also had numerous passersby stop and comment or ask questions about the game. I'm just sorry I couldn't stick around for the POA games. Hurricon '97 review by Bryan Stroup I'd like to take a moment to thank Craig, Rhett, Bill and those who helped for a wonderful introduction to HMGS South via HURRICON. The last time I attended a convention in Tampa was for TROPICON '95. I'm glad to say the new regime has taken the con to new heights! I think the best way to review the con will be to categorize it into a few different sections with a focus and grade on each. The sections I've defined are: facilities, games, & dealer area. Facilities (B-) I had a less-than wonderful experience registering at the Hotel which probably taints my opinion hereafter. I was sent by Pat Condray and Editions Brokaw to represent him since he is up north hitting the HMGS East conventions this time of year. He pre-arranged lodging at least 3 months ago with the Best Western; However, when I show up at the desk to check-in, they had changed their policy since Pat pre-registered. Even the confirmation # and a written letter from Pat didn't help. I finally got a room 3 HOURS after I arrived. Quite annoying and easily avoidable if they would have contacted us at some point in the 3 preceding months. As far as rooms go, they were adequate but nothing special. I placed an order for wake-up calls since I didn't bring my alarm clock. Result: no call. Needless to say we were late setting up our first game on Saturday, but not horribly so. The convention room was pretty good except for poor lighting. I did like being able to close off the dealer area later in the evening for security. Most cons I've been to did not offer that feature. The best a dealer could expect was tablecloths to cover product. HURRICON provided both. There were plenty of tables, a pricey snack & wet bar run by the hotel, and a hallway for the flea market. I expect things will be better for RECON in spring. Craig & co. now have more bargaining power due to solid turn out and a guarantee on rooms. Games (solid A) Games, games, and more games. HURRICON didn't seem to have a shortage of GMs. At right, Wooden Ships and Iron men at Trafalgar! I was really impressed with the presentation quality, gamemasters, and players. We Gainesville Garrison members ran Seven Years War (Zorndorf), War of Spanish Succession (Spire), Great Northern War, and Franco-Prussian War scenarios throughout the con. Each game had max players (except Sunday) who were of all levels of experience. It was especially nice to see experienced players helping the newbies, everyone in more of a "gentlemen gamers" scene, and gamemasters not only keeping with historical accuracy, but livening up the games to give them extra excitement. Games in which I or another Garrison member had a chance to participate in some fashion or another: My Zorndorf game on Friday afternoon, Lon Harris' (Wulf's HQ) Tracks WW2 micro-armor scenario Friday evening, Craig Martelle's PIQUET: Point of Attack game Friday evening, Deke Ashton's Spire (Speyerbach) scenario Saturday morning, Henri Pensis' Great Northern War scenario Saturday afternoon, John Marron's Franco-Prussian PIQUET game also Saturday afternoon, Rhett Scott's Zulu Dawn Saturday afternoon, Clash run by Chuck Holabird Friday night and Sunday morning. Some games I had a chance to observe included Richard Higson's WW2 skirmish scenario, a stunning 25mm Peninsular Napoleonics game which featured a truly show stopper set of terrain, Battleground WW2, numerous American Civil War games based on a Battlemasters board game variant, the Armati Tournament, and a couple nice WRG Ancients scenarios. There were many more which truly deserve attention. Dealers Area (B) There were many dealers and bargains to be found. Some that stood out: Modeler's Mart & Tactical Edge had huge areas; the All Fronts Armor Depot had some rather nice 20mm terrain for sale; Editions Brokaw and Wulf's HQ had 4 tables of miniatures, books, and rules; Gamerz big blowout sale was a hit (at least with me and my wallet); Drew's Militia was well represented; There were a couple more that I didn't get a chance to get to. A couple of minor things I didn't like about the dealer area (hence the "B"): First and foremost, Fortress Games should not have been located one floor below everyone else. I understand why it was done (to keep the "alternative" games separate from the "historical" games & to keep FG with their target audience). The main problem with this is historical gamers are a minor breed in the world of gaming. We need the influence & money of "alternative" gamers (many who play both - such as myself) to keep the hobby growing. The Sci-Fi/Fantasy market is much stronger than the Historical market at this time, but it's not a separate market. We need to keep both working together to avoid an "us/them" situation in future cons. Granted, this is an opinion and subject to much debate. Second and of lesser importance is the fact that most dealers carried the same product other than my booth, Fortress Games, and one more which I didn't know the name. The variety of historical miniatures was pretty much limited to Napoleonics, WW2, and American Civil War. Some differentiation would have been nice (ie French & Indian War or English Civil War figures). This is rather nitpicky, but I think it would help dealers from cutting into each others sales as much. All in all, I truly had a great time and will be back in force for RECON. The HMGS South Board under Bill Hogan's leadership has taken gaming in Tampa to a new level. Perhaps we can get to the level of a COLD WARS or some such "Northern" convention in a few years. -ed note: Thanks for the write up and I believe all your concerns have already been addressed. To the untrained eye, Bryan's convention review may seem like a lambasting, but it is actually just a reflection of reality. There were a few problems and these have been worked out for Recon. We don't have the zero defect mentality. We'll all be moving downstairs into the larger main ball room for Recon. Fortress Games will have their dealer tables with everyone else (and once again we'll be able to lock that room when the dealer area closes - and the games will go on). The facilities will be the same, but I hope they fix their wake up call machine. We all got hosed on that one, but since my roommate snored like a freight train, I was up anyway. Look for about 40 dealer tables - vice the 29 for Hurricon - and an enlarged flea market area which will run by four-hour block instead of just Saturday evening. Maybe we'll have an auction in the Saturday evening slot instead. I haven't decided yet, but I have a volunteer to do the calling, if we go with it. Look for similar or better games at Recon. The standard has been set and there can be no going back... Hurricon '97 review by Cris Brown. General impressions first, then the details on PK. This was the first time I'd gone to a gaming convention in six years and there were some pleasant surprises. First, no one decided to "dress the part." At the last convention I attended, the WWII gamers showed up in fatigues and helmets; they looked as silly as the fantasy gamers in wizard's robes and SCA regalia. Indeed, trivial as it may seem, that's the primary reason I hadn't been to a convention since. All in all, the folks at Hurricon looked like ordinary people. Second, I was surprised to see several *women* at the convention. And not just babysitting or volunteering, but actually playing the games. I hope this is a trend which continues. There were also lots of younger kids -- in the 10-13 age group -- and they seemed to enjoy the games as well. All of them were very well-behaved, as far as I could see, and none of the adults seemed to resent their presence. This is also a good sign. And of course, I was pleased to see that PK did well with the women and children; more on this below. Overall, Craig did an excellent job in the thankless task of organizing and running the convention. The facilities were excellent, with lots of table space (both on and around) and ready access to restrooms, soft drinks, and fresh snacks. The games moved along smoothly, and gamemasters had plenty of time for setup and takedown. The dealer area was a tad crowded, although the range of dealers was a bit sparse. But with a 150% increase in gamer attendance over last year, we'll probably draw more dealers next time. So, to make it a bit less thankless: thanks, Craig! It was great to meet the Gainesville crew -- John, Bryan, Henri, and their friends -- and I'm sure they're up in Gatorland right now salivating over memories of Mel's hot dogs (a Chicago-style Tampa institution). ;) As for PK, I think it was a big hit. We had three games -- POA skirmish games on Friday night and Sunday morning, and John's Franco-Prussian War game on Saturday afternoon -- and they attracted a lot of attention. The players seemed to enjoy them, and I saw more than a few dealers hovering around to see "what this PK thing is all about." I heard a lot of compliments, and no criticisms. PK Game Reports: POA SKIRMISH (Friday) -- the U.S. was trying to clear out pockets of German resistance after an armored breakthrough in France, 1944. The U.S. had a squad, reinforced with an MG team and a bazooka team. The Germans had a half-dozen riflemen, an MG team, and a disabled Panther tank with one main gun round left. (There were no Armor Move or Armor Target Acquisition cards in the German deck.) Of course, the U.S. players didn't *know* the tank was disabled and almost out of ammo.... At right, 15mm Fire & Fury. The Germans were played by a woman, and a man who seemed sure he knew more than she did. (In the end, it was her decisions which won the game, and his decisions which almost lost it.) The U.S. had three players, one of whom was basically the overall facilitator (rolling initiative dice, turning cards, etc.), with each of the other two directing a reinforced fire team. The U.S. fire teams advanced on parallel tracks about 100 yards apart. As they drew within 200 yards of the German positions, a sniper in a tree began plinking away at exposed U.S. soldiers. (The sniper was the woman's idea.) This slowed the advance to a crawl, as they had to duck into cover. The fire team on the left was trying to escort its attached bazooka team up to get a shot on the Panther, but was all but wiped out by a combination of sniper fire, an ambush, and MG fire from the tank. Finally, one of the U.S. riflemen crept through the bushes and climbed up on the tank and took it out by close assault (i.e.: grenades through view ports, etc.). However, a German MG in the top floor of a building took out the heroic rifleman, and only the squad sergeant was left on that flank. (It was also the woman's idea to put the MG up in the building.) On the right, the Americans had a better time of it at first, as they could advance down a road covered by a stone wall. They made good progress until the U.S. player, figuring his fire team leader had the best close assault die, decided to have him rush the building with no fire support. The leader was cut down by German riflemen in the building, which left the Americans on the right out-of-command. Still, by building up a base of fire, they were able to take the building. But it cost them a lot of impetus -- having to move each soldier individually -- and the Germans were easily able to withdraw into the two-story building which was the core of their defense. At this point, the Americans had a sergeant on the right with no one left to lead, and a fire team on the left with no leader. And they made a critical mistake. Their sergeant tried to dash across the field to join the rest of his men, but he was cut down by fire from a German MG hidden in the top floor of the main building. Their next card was a Major Morale Check, and with no leaders left, that meant every man had to check morale individually. Three of the four riflemen routed, along with the MG team, and the U.S. players intelligently withdrew the one rifleman remaining. The game was concluded in just over 3 hours, which we felt was pretty good considering none of the players had ever seen PK before. Craig's terrain was *very* nice, and his figures were beautifully-painted and detailed. We had lots of bizarre events: the Germans kept trying to repair their tank, and they had the very devil of a time getting their sniper down out of that tree once the U.S. approached! Lots of visitors and "can I play for a turn?" drop-ins, which gave the main players a chance to hit the restrooms, etc., and everyone I talked to said they wanted to play PK again. FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR (Saturday) -- John Marron ran this game, and I thought it was the most visually stunning game of the convention, with *hundreds* of beautifully-painted 15mm figures arrayed over *gorgeous* terrain. The Gainesville crew should be justifiably proud! I'd intended to sit and watch, as John had asked me to do, to see why their games were running so slowly. But when one of the people who'd signed up for the game got sick and had to leave, I stepped in to help with the Prussian/Bavarian side against two players running the French. One of the French players was a 10-year-old, playing his first historical wargame, and he picked up the system and played exceptionally well. Indeed, he did better than his grownup "expert" partner. This was a fairly straightforward game, with the French deployed behind railroad embankments, earthworks, and in a small village, and the Prussians having to charge across an open field to root them out. Yeah, we had the Krupp artillery, and lots of it, and a Superior artillery commander ... but we were still shooting with d4s and d6s against their covered positions ... and the French were still firing their chasepots with d10s and d12s as we crossed the field. We did manage to capture a small farm in the right center of the field, which gave us 5 Morale Chips, and then I unleashed two divisions of Prussians against the French left flank. (We stuck with a very simple plan: pin 'em in front, smash 'em on the right, roll 'em to the left.) Oddly, the game was probably decided on the first turn, when the grownup on the French side prevailed upon his younger partner to sally forth a couple of battalions to take the small farm. Alas, the French turned up an Uncontrolled Charge card, bypassed the farm, and one of the battalions charged into the Prussians who were approaching the from the far side. The French unit was promptly gutted and routed. This left the lone French unit in column at the farm, waiting for a Deployment card to take up residence, when the Prussian jaeger unit marched up, settled in behind the stone wall of the farm, calmly took aim, and shredded the French. (Say hello to the French Sequence Deck!) This catastrophe weakened the French left, so they began shifting units over from the right. This meant leaving their cover, which allowed our Krupp batteries to pick off a stand here and there, until the French finally ran out of Morale Chips. At that point I'd finally gotten my units ready for our main assault. The French, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, withdrew before I could launch it. Aside: We didn't play out the endgame, stopping once the French announced their intent to withdraw. As things stood then, it was a Marginal Victory for the French (we'd taken quite a few casualties), but that might have gone the other way in the endgame because possession of the village was worth 10 Morale Chips. That would have been a 20-chip swing, and unless the Prussians took horrendous casualties closing in on the village, it would probably have been a Marginal or even Decisive Prussian Victory after the endgame. Something to keep in mind for campaign gaming. POA SKIRMISH (Sunday) -- Craig ran this game. The scenario was similar to the one we'd played Friday -- U.S. troops clearing pockets of resistance after armored breakthrough -- but the terrain was changed and, far more important, this time we used the artillery rules. My son played the Germans, with 6 riflemen and an MG team holding an bombed-out chateau enclosed by stone walls, against a U.S. force of 8 riflemen and an MG team. The U.S. had two artillery missions available; the Germans had one. And, in large measure, the game was decided by this artillery duel. The Americans got most of the early initiative, successfully called for an artillery barrage, and crept up to and into a dry stream bed. They went prone and then burned through their cards, waiting for their artillery to arrive. When it finally did, it deviated out of the German compound and landed on a nearby hillside. With everyone within the burst radius either in hard cover or shielded by folds in the ground, the artillery attacks were down to d4s, and did no damage. In the meantime, the U.S. MG team sprayed the ruined chateau and picked off the German MG team and another rifleman. The Germans finally succeeded in calling in their artillery, and it landed literally right on top of one of the U.S. fire teams in the streambed. It took out three of the four riflemen, and the MG team, but a stray round also took out one of the German soldiers in the compound. The action shifted to the German left. The last American artillery round came in directly on the compound, killing two more of the Germans. They were down to three dazed riflemen, and the remaining U.S. fire team made a rush. They lost one rifleman in the exchange of fire over the stone wall, but the last German was mown down trying to dash for the rear. This game played out *very* quickly. It was fought to a conclusion in five turns (25 minutes' battle time), which took less than an hour and a half playing time. Artillery really creates a "wild card;" it can be very lethal at the skirmish level, but it can just as easily have no effect whatever. I'd suggest that you use it sparingly in skirmish games. All in all, I think PK put on a very good showing, with good battles, good sportsmanship, and lots of strong compliments from folks who played and observed. Command and Colors - an ACW game by Richard Borg (reviewed by Craig Martelle) The Command and Colors ACW tournament, on Friday, I'm proud to say was won by 11-year old Danny Padilla. I am not saying this is a child's game. Danny used sound tactics and good dice rolls to overcome all opponents. Even our very own Joe Bonser fell to Danny's relentless attacks. I did not play on Friday as I was running my game, but suffice it to say, I'm glad I didn't play the lad. Congratulations Danny on a job well-done and congratulations to Greg Padilla for a fine job raising your son in the true faith (historical miniatures). Command and Colors is a new ACW game by Richard Borg. It plays on a hex-grid map (4 inch hexes) with stands of 25mm ACW figures. As advertised, the game played very quickly and the rules were learned by all within that same short period of time. At first I was skeptical of the historical accuracy and flavor this gave to the contest. As infantry and cavalry maneuvered around an open board with artillery in support, there seemed to be more to the dice roll than to tactics. To set me straight, Richard set up a replay of Wilderness. I played a game where the tactics became the main stream of my success. Note the good ground, give up the weak, attack units singly with your masses, and defend the defensible. Like Wilderness, there was a significant amount of posturing and positioning at the beginning of the game. However, as soon as I got my artillery into key terrain, I owned the center of the board. I attached my officers to my frontline infantry units (to gain the bonus modifiers) and moved in to piece meal the poor union forces. I abandoned my right flank, simply refusing my right, using the woods as a nice buffer between my cleared out right and my main force in the center. Expanding from the center, I used a cavalry charge across the open to pin his forces on the left (since he retreated into a supremely defensible position after one of my less than spectacular attacks). I then captured the requisite number of his flags to win the game. Final tally: six flags to two. Even more importantly, the game was fun and played in right at an hour (because of the posturing at the beginning). Consequently, I give it a thumbs up in regards to retaining a historical flavor for the ACW period. Richard has also produced a Revolutionary War variant which plays just as quickly, with notable differences to give it the AWI period flavor. For a copy of one or the other, send your $20 to him at 319 Haverlake Circle, Apopka, FL 32712 or give him a call at (407) 880-2617. These are superb games to introduce younger players to the hobby or to just relax over for a quick game. Highly recommended for a quick playing, fun time! HURRICON: The French Are Out - a game report by Frank Puleo, Jr. ...and they came out with a vengeance! At approximately 4 bells of the afternoon watch on 25 Oct HMS Odin, of 64 guns, which had been standing inshore in the Lori Estuary to check on the French, found more than she bargained for. She found herself reaching for the open sea with every stitch of canvas she could carry and a French squadron of 4 SOLs in hot pursuit. The French squadron consisted of Saphir (74), LeSultane (80), Emeraude (74), and Magnifique (74). Fortunately for Odin the British off shore squadron, consisting of Zeus (74), Nicator (74), and Benbow (74), was within signalling distance and came to her aid. As the two squadrons approached each other in line ahead on parallel but opposite courses Odin attempted to circle around to engage the rear of the French line. As the decks were cleared for action and the starboard guns of both squadrons were run out Lady Luck stepped in firmly on the side of the French. Signals hoisted aloft from Benbow, the British Flag, were either confusing or misinterpreted by the squadron causing disorder in the line. This allowed the French to isolate and concentrate their fire on Odin and Benbow, resulting in the dismasting of both, while Zeus and Nicator were unable to assist. Although Saphir and LeSultane sustained significant hull damage and the loss of some crew, neither was put out of commission. So while Nicator and Zeus prepared to take there consorts in tow the French squadron was free to sail off into the Atlantic. Their destination is unknown, however there is speculation they may turn up in the Caribbean sometime in April. In conclusion I am happy to report that there were no serious injuries or permanent casualties inflicted on either side and apparently a good time was had by all. Back to Rebel Yell No. 7 Table of Contents Back to Rebel Yell List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by HMGS South 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