Historicon 2002

"Courier" Room

by Russ Lockwood


At the end, just before you clear the double doors that lead to the outside patio and the steps heading to the covered walkway to the Tennis Barn, is the Courier Room. It's called something else, but the Courier games seem to always be there, and Dick Bryant was there. I chatted with him briefly, and very briefly, upstairs as his grandkids were pulling him onward somewhere. Priorities, you know!

Chris Parker, author of Day of Battle rules and editor of Knight's Round Table, attempts the Relief of Pisa.

Also in the room was Chris Parker of Day of Battle medieval rules. He was just finishing a session of the Siege of Pisa. We ended up in the bar for a drink and chatted a little bit about DoB, medievals, and the DoBII, which is a quick playing introductory version. My original introduction to him was buying a set of rules called Knighthood in the Middle Ages, with a couple of neat ideas he subsequently developed into Day of Battle, and now, DoBII. He also was hosting a 7YW Kolin game, which is a new direction. He was using Frank Chadwick's Volley and Bayonet rules. He called it a change of pace. We talked a little about the film Barry Lyndon, which I saw for the first time a few months ago (yes, I know, I'm behind the times quite a bit). Some good, though all too few, battle scenes in there.

As an aside, Frank will be speaking at the Borodino 2002 Napoleonic Conference in September as well as pulling double shifts of running Borodino in 54mm. I chatted with him briefly during the show to remind him that he has to finalize a topic. We talked about a number of them, and he queried me about what the other speakers were doing, and said he wanted to develop one idea a little further.

Back to the wargaming. I'm not sure if it is my imagination, but the terraining is getting better and looking more like museum dioramas. Gone, or at least pretty much gone, are the days of felt and tape. Here are the more elaborate representations of battlefields throughout history. It can be a little intimidating to see what some talented fellows have created when I can barely get the felt pieces to match up. But it sure goes a long way towards visual appreciation. Part of this, or so I believe, is the better pre-made and pre-painted terrain available from companies like Battlefield Terrain Concepts, Scenic Effects, London War Room, Miniature World Rubber Terrain, and others as well an individual gamers learning the tricks of the trade. Also, you can purchase much "raw" terrain for your own finishing. It all adds up to more aesthetic gaming and goes a long way towards putting a player in the commander's role.

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