This year, Bruce Taylor and I prepared to put on at least three games featuring our new Ancient Warfare rules as well as assist Mitch Abrams in his two games. We actually ended up doing six games. Thanks from Bruce and myself to Mitch as well as to Jeff Ball, Dave Bonk and Lyle Bickley for running two 25mm scenarios with the Medieval Warfare rules. One immediate and lasting impression of this years convention: there were quite a number of younger teenagers (under 17) in attendance as well as more than a few members of the fairer sex.

In fact, in one of our games, a woman named Robin quickly grasped the tactics of the rules and successfully fought off her opponent. In another game, two younger teens fought as partners on the Roman side in one of the Punic War games. Yet another game had a father and son team, again fighting for Rome...I guess the mercenary nature of the Carthaginian army did not appeal to friends and family joining up together!

This is a great trend, especially considering the doom and gloom I see so much of decrying the graying of the hobby. I heartily encourage anyone putting on games to try and appeal to the newcomers and novices. Make them feel comfortable and welcome. I try to give them a little extra attention and am not above giving some tactical advice from time to time if needed. New rules are a perfect vehicle for introducing new gamers into the hobby, not being bogged down with the chains of the perception whereby if you haven't played older systems for years on end you are not welcome to join in. This is why at every convention Phil Viverito's Hack games, Bob Bryant's Might of Arms and more recently, Chris Parker's Day of Battle always do so well. Our system is appealing for this reason as well. Anyway, on to the convention itself.

Thursday, July 23

Bruce and I arrived at the Lancaster Host at around 2:00 pm after a fairly uneventful 6 hour trip from Rochester. We found that our room would not be ready for another two hours, so we first headed over to the dealers' area, moved this year to the Tennis Courts, where the Ancient's Tournament and flea markets had previously been held. This huge venue was packed with dozens of miniatures manufacturers, publishers, mail order merchandisers and distributors. The half dozen times I wandered over there, the place was always well-attended with large numbers of gamers building up new and existing armies, buying rules, books and boardgames, scenery, computer games and more. I met up with Russ Lockwood of MAGWEB and found that SAGA ranked number five out of over fifty periodicals currently carried by this innovative company. Not bad for an amateur effort produced on an old 286 PC.

Johnson Hood had his usual incredible stock of figures and games, as did the Foundry and Old Glory. Norm of the Toy Soldier had literally dozens of painted armies and sales looked brisk. All in all, it appeared to me that the dealer area, expanded and enhanced by a few games (including an incredible 6mm, ten to one ratio Battle of Waterloo scenario) allowed for easier access to the merchandise and a more comfortable environment for all involved.

My Scottish ancestry prevented me from opening my wallet on the first day, so Bruce and I headed over to the Ancients area where the WRG 7th, DBM and ARMATI tournaments were being run. I haven't played in a tournament for two years and this year would be my third as a missing in action. I still like to check up on my old opponents and victims, however. The area was well-lighted and huge, but a bit warm, the problem in years past when the dealers were located in this large room. Chris Damour happened to be the first Ancients player we ran into and, after rebuking me for not playing again this year (we are old WRG 7th opponents from years past), directed us to where Jamie Fish fought against a youngster in a 7th game.

I quickly warned the youngster to watch out for Fish's cheating, to which Jamie (wide-eyed and innocent) replied that he was actually helping the new player in the game. I quickly responded that the way Jamie plays, his opponent really did not need any help from him and beat a quick retreat before dice and rulers were thrown my way.

Phil and Sue Barker surprised us by being there, as I had not heard anything from him so far as his visiting the U.S. this year. He told me that he would not be getting up in my neck of the woods, however. Phil brought up the point that as he saw it, GW's Ancient Battles would appear to be the main potential rival to my own systems as both dealt with tactical warfare. As I see it, Ancient Battles is a very small scale action rules system (individually mounted figures, each figure having characteristics, savings throws, etc.) whereas AW/MW deal with armies of from 5,000 to 10,000 actual men per side. The DBM and ARMATI grand-tactical rules are at least double or even triple this figure to man ratio.

Each rules set stands on its own merits and Ancient Battles will have adherents, just as all systems do. Jervis Johnson has done a pretty decent job of bringing the successful Warhammer fantasy system into an historical setting, but what his rules attempt to portray is not what mine are meant to replicate. Jervis puts the game with toy soldiers first (see SLINGSHOT #198). I like to portray historical outcomes...and feel that any historically motivated game system should be able to do this. Anyway, Phil and I will probably be discussing this issue again at some future date.

As our room was finally ready, we carried our boxes of figures, terrain, rules and suitcases (as well as the ubiquitous ice filled cooler of liquid refreshments) up to our domicile and helped Mitch set up his 7:00 pm Bactrian Greek vrs. Indians scenario ("This Land is My Land, Your Land is My Land"). The large venue in which Mitch's game was scheduled to play is called the Distlefink Room (Pennsylvania 'Dutch' country, you know). Mitch brought along a small amplifier and microphone in order to be heard above the din of seventy or eighty other tables full of vociferous wargamers.

His 15mm scenario went easily, cleanly and quickly...a decisive Bactrian victory in under three hours with eight players and no rules problems (this was the first 'out of our hands' demo game for Ancient Warfare, in which Bruce and I really only watched and explained how and why things worked the way they do). We stayed after for a bit, opened a few beers and discussed the rules with several gamers who wanted more information. After that, it was an early night, as we had a full slate of games to run the next day.

Friday

Since our game wasn't until 1:00 p.m., Bruce and I decided to check in on Jeff, Dave and Lyle, as their Medieval Warfare Liegnitz game started at 10 a.m. sharp. The game had been scheduled to be played in the Strasburg Room, about as far from the main gaming rooms as possible (except, I would soon learn, for our own three games). The advantage to this was that it would be a quiet venue in which to play. The disadvantage being that hardly anyone would get to see it...and the beautifully painted 25mm figures which Jeff and Dave had been working on.

This happened to be the first time Dave Bonk and Lyle Bickley had actually met Bruce and myself, though we had written back and forth as well as e-mailed each other. Dave's enthusiasm and love of the hobby was obvious--why else would he have run for and been elected to the board of Directors of HMGS East, the convention organizers? Lyle was busy organizing and setting up the scenario, so we really did not have a chance to talk to him. Jeff we had met last year when he played in our first demo game of MW. Jeff is a great guy and I feel that we forged a new and lasting friendship over the course of the weekend--the real reason I love going to Lancaster every July is to see so many good friends again.

The Liegnitz scenario pitted an army of marauding Mongols against a combined allied army of Poles, Russians, Lithuanians and Teutonic Knights. Now, if the rules replicated history (as they really should), the Mongols would attempt to swarm around the allied troops and shoot them into disorder before the Mongol heavy cavalry swept them from the field. The allies started out with command control problems. As the four allied players rolled for the quality of their generalship (each player rolls 2d6, the higher the roll, the more orders their general figure gets to issue in the game), their abysmal totals, even with their one allowed re-roll of a bad die total, found them with only three or four orders each, and each command consisted of at least five units, meaning 1/3 of the allies would be orderless each turn.

The Mongols, on the other hand, were rated as capable of issuing four and five orders each, thus having much better command of their smaller numbers of units.

I only watched a small portion of the game before having to leave to set up our own game. I did get to see the Russian commander (a lowly "3" order general) emulate the Byzantine general Narses' tactics at the Battle of Taginae (552 A.D.) when he angled two foot archer units so as to form a "V". The Mongol sub-commander dutifully rode into this valley of death and quickly lost 3/4 of one of his horse archer units. "Guess that wasn't too good, huh?", he asked sheepishly glancing at his commander in chief. Live and learn, that's how the lessons of history should be taught in wargames.

Our own games were scheduled to be held in a conference room behind the offices and gift shop of the convention center. Not only was the room well hidden, there were seven games playing at the same time in this rather crowded room! Tables were quickly requisitioned and we placed our terrain and troops out and waited for those gamers who had signed up to play. As always, there were a number of gamers who wished to play but found the games closed out already. We took their names, as inevitably, some signees failed to show. We had our final ten players by the starting time and quickly went over the basics of the rules. Ten minutes later, the battle began.

For our scenario, I had chosen a battle reported by Livy and Polybius in which the Spartan mercenary, Xanthippus, had taken command of the Carthaginian field army in Africa to oppose the successful Roman invaders under command of Regulus. The Battle of Tunes circa 255 B.C. seemed perfect for our demo. It had all the elements of Ancient warfare; elephants, chariots, pilum-armed Roman hastati/principi as well as spear-armed triari and long spear-armed Punic foot, Gallic warbands, Spanish mercenaries, Pergamene armored cavalry lancers, Numidian light horse and even Roman bolt shooters. Over 600 25mm figures were involved which, mixed with plenty of die rolling and a gaming environment where the emphasis was on fun, we felt that everyone involved would have a good time. And we were right.

The first game found the Romans and Carthaginians battling back and forth on both flanks until the Roman center, composed primarily of legionnaires, brought its substantial fighting ability into contact with the lesser armored Punic allied foot. Though the Carthaginian light and lightly armored horse swept the Roman right flank away, they could not rally from pursuit and return in time to save the battle. The Romans broke the Punic center and carried the day.

This game took 3 1/2 hours from start to decisive Roman victory...too long. We advertised a three hour game and were determined to deliver just that.

Mitch and Bruce went to get some dinner while I contented myself with a couple of hot dogs, remaining behind to "guard the troops" as our next game was on the same table at 7 p.m. A few gamers wandered into the now empty gaming room during the next two hours and I did get to talk with an old adversary, Mike Adams, as well as one of my original SAGA subscribers, Alan Simmons.

To cut down on the length of the next two games, I decided to cut down on the number of units by four per side and assigned command quality to the opposing generals instead of having them roll for it, as is usual. This would speed up the pre-game process, while keeping the command alignments the same.

The second game proceeded much smoother than the first, partially because we were more comfortable with the scenario (we did not have the "pre-game jitters" as before), and the players did not hesitate...they simply tore right into each other! The Roman center simply marched straight ahead at maximum speed toward their Punic enemies while delaying on the flanks. This was a mistake. The Carthaginians wisely kept their center back and vigorously attacked the Roman flanks, clearing their right and getting into the Roman rear. On the left, the Carthaginian chariots smashed into the Roman light horse, forcing them from the field. As the centers closed, the Romans had the initial advantage.

Though a mistaken ruling resulted in the routing of the Carthaginian elephants very early on in the game, the Carthaginian general running the elephants and their supports, John Desmond, deliberately took his time, rallied the pachyderms (along with two warbands which routed as a result of the elephant rout), stabilized the Punic center and then launched the decisive attack which destroyed the Roman center! He was duly named the Hero of Carthage, receiving an Ancient Warfare t-shirt and a round of applause from Roman and Carthaginian generals alike.

A little less than three hours after the game had begun, it was all over, decisively in favor of the Punic players.

We packed up the figures and were settled back at our room by 10:30 with Jeff and our dwindling cooler of beer when Tom Davenport and Dave Abrams, two more Rochester veterans, stopped by along with Jamie Fish and we were soon rolling with laughter as Jamie regaled us with his antics of the day (he had actually gotten to play in one of Jeff and Dave's MW games...and won!) After a trip to the bar area, we also heard that Phil Barker had destroyed Paul Georgian's vaunted Byzantines in a DBM battle (how could that be, Phil?)

Before long, I knew that it was time to call it a night and turned in.

Saturday

As our game was not until 1:00, Bruce, Mitch and I got to look around at some of the other games being played. Duke Siefried had brought a complete Aztec city (or so it seemed) for his Conquistador game, complete with hundreds of finely detailed 25mm figures and thirty or so participants were soon embroiled in the epic story of conquest and riches of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Brian Lewis had brought along his ECW rules and ran the Battle of Marston Moor, with 15mm figures on a huge table. Phil Viverito of the Buffalo Jogglers had set up his latest Classical Hack game, involving Caesar's 7th legion in Britain, fighting off hordes of Celtic warbands and chariots. As always, it looked like a good time for everyone involved.

After eating a quick lunch, we wandered up to our alloted tables to begin setting up our last Punic War battle of the convention. Bruce and I switched our positions insofar as where we would sit and 'advise'. We had several signees who did not show up, so four gamers who were on the waiting list got to play in this game.

The Romans must have read the same tactical treatises as their predecessors from the last game...they also marched straight for the Carthaginian center. Unlike the other game, though, their left flank quickly was destroyed by a very aggressive Carthaginian player who threw wave after wave of chariots, light horse and lightly armored cavalry at the reeling, outnumbered and bewildered Roman players opposite him. The Roman commanders in the center had sent their first lines out totally unsupported, leaving their reserves as well as their commanders far in the rear, unable to assist the attacking legionnaires. The Carthaginians pounced on the unsupported and spread out Romans and cut them to pieces, routing the remnants back into the reserves, causing the Roman CiC to rashly attack the raving warbands, himself unsupported! His destruction caused a total morale collapse of the the entire Roman army and the Carthaginians again had won the day (as they had historically, I will add at this time). Another game played with ten newcomers to the system with 250 figures per side in under 2 1/2 hours. Several of the players also remained to help us pick up, as we were now finished, all greatly appreciated.

At this point, I felt that the system had proved itself beyond my own expectations (i.e. no rules disputes, everyone had fun, and historical results). With these thoughts in mind, I approached Scott Holder and requested table space and NASAMW endorsement for a Medieval Warfare 25mm tournament at next year's HISTORICON. We quickly reached an agreement (I would run it, NASAMW would provide tables and promote it). This would all run in conjunction with the Foundry's release of their edition of the rules, to be followed later by the release of Ancient Warfare.

Jeff Ball and Dave Bonk wanted to play as well as Paul Georgian (I promised to bring my Normans to settle once and for who should have really been masters of Byzantine Empire in 1082). Mitch Abrams and Bruce also signed up, giving us the required six necessary to fulfil NASAMW's tournament requirement. As the year progresses, we hope to add to this list.

Later that night, Mitch ran his final scenario and then we finally got to actually play in a game ourselves (the first of the weekend!). Joining us were Jeff Ball, Tom Davenport and four players from previous games who wanted another taste. We played my 15mm Galatians (plenty of fanatics and chariots) against Bruce's Greeks. After a hard fought battle, the Greeks assaulted the Galatian center which stood atop a low hill. Jeff's judicious chariot attacks and Tom's expert use of cavalry resulted in the rout of the Greek army and the jubilant Galatian commanders bought the beer for their dejected foes.

The next day, we made one last round of the dealer's area and exchanged e-mail, phone numbers and mailing addresses with some of our new acquaintances. After talking with several gamers, Bruce and I decided that we would attend COLD WARS next year as well as HISTORICON to run some scenarios and continue to introduce the rules to even more interested and curious gamers. We will again aim to involve new players as well as old veterans, as we have to keep attracting gamers for the hobby to continue to thrive. I'll continue to do what I can to see that this trend continues.

Historicon Photos (slow: 138K)