I left Thursday morning at 7 am and arrived at the hotel
just after 1 pm. It is a nice drive from South Carolina. We stayed at our usual
hotel, the Hampton Inn across the parking lot from the convention center; I
like staying close in order to be able to make short trips to drop things off
or take a break. After checking in I
made my way over to the convention center, picked up my badge and made my first
circuit of the vendor hall. I like to do
a walkthrough of the vendors before buying much. Although I
bring a shopping list, there are always new things to be seen. After taking a break for a work-related
conference call, I met my friends who had arrived from Columbus. We returned to the vendors and ran over to
Wegman’s for a quick meal. I found my first game, ‘A Hot Time at the
Oasis’, using The Sword and the Flame rules.
It featured the French Foreign Legion defending a fort against Tuareg
rebels. It turned out that my friend Tom from South
Carolina had also signed up, and we valiantly defended the fort until we were
overwhelmed. Fun game. Played Seven Wonders afterwards in the hotel breakfast area.
On Friday, I skipped the SAGA tournament I usually play in
and wandered around looking at games and buying things on my shopping
list. I had a table in the Flea Market
in the afternoon and sold the most I ever have, paying for my trip and
purchases; the only thing remaining unsold was a painted SAGA Viking army. Anybody need one? Friday night I played in ‘The Secretary
Denies Any Knowledge’, using the 7TV rules.
This was a great game with beautiful terrain. The players cooperated to stop a terrorist
attack on the Canadian coast while the GM ran the terrorists. We succeeded with minimal casualties. After a late night visit to BW3 it was time
for bed.
Saturday morning I played a demo of the upcoming Triumph
ancients rules, a Romans (me) vs. Gauls battle.
They have some similarities to DBA but also a lot of differences. An easy set of rules to learn; I’ll be
keeping an eye on their development.
Saturday afternoon I played ‘Saving Prince Kishan – A North-west
Frontier Adventure’. This game was run
several times over the weekend and featured hundreds of Pathans, fewer British
and a visually stunning set-up by Bob Giglio.
My British held on for a while but crumbled under the Pathan assault. After venturing into the vendor hall again, I
played a Very British Civil War game using the Trench Wars rules with my
friends Mike S. and Jenny. I think I
speak for all of us when I say that we are not interested in trying those rules
again. We rounded off the
night by playing Seven Wonders a couple more times.
Historicon was a good convention this year. It is always a pleasure to spend a few days
with friends from back home in Ohio. After
going to Cold Wars instead in 2015, it was also nice to be back in
Fredericksburg. The loss of Architects
of War was noticeable; I usually picked up a few things from their stand. It was good to see Reaper there and there
were some other new vendors with different stock.
So what did I buy?
Starting at the top (l-r):
Five 28mm trees in the flea market.
A MDF Cargo Ship and Police Station from TT Combat. This is a new manufacturer to me and they
have a lot of good, reasonably priced 28mm terrain. I have wanted a police station for a long
time and the ship will be useful in a variety of games. Terry Jones at www.wargametools.com was very
helpful in showing me the TT range and carries a lot of their products. My friend Mike D. of http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com
also bought a Cargo Ship, for use in his Pulp Alley games.
Four Reaper Bones figures: Horace ‘Action’ Jackson, Ape-X
(both for use in my 7TV games), Aina Female Valkyrie and a Female Centaur (both for
my daughter to paint).
Congo Merc, a Decision Games boardgame dealing with
mercenary actions in 1960s Congo. A
quick solo game. It may be adaptable as a campaign system for Mike D.'s Modern Africa rules that he is finishing up.
Four packs of Blue Moon 15mm AWI I needed to complete my AWI
project.
A free Warlord Crimean miniature given to attendees.
Ten of Brigade Games' new 28mm Post-Apocalypse range. Great detail on these, I noticed a lot of details I didn't see in the online pictures..
Four 28mm deer and 3 dogs from Iron Wind.
A pack of 4 28mm North-west Frontier Afghan Riflemen by
Artizan; I needed one for my 7TV SHIVA cast and failed in my attempts to find a suitable single miniature.
I am sure I’ll find a use for the other 3.
Not pictured: 8 bottles of paint that have already found
their way to my painting area.
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