Historicon - Or "What I Did Instead of Historicon"

I went to Historicon for quite some time, but haven't been for a number of years.   I was one of the few (?) that didn't have a problem with either the Lancaster location, or the Lancaster Host facility.   It had a personality of its own, and I felt comfortable there.

I'm really not a "convention guy".   I don't really enjoy competitive gaming - I don't care if I win or lose, and instead just being with good friends.   I don't even have to play to enjoy myself.  I've never been one that gets much enjoyment out of playing a game with strangers; might as well play solo!

Another reason I don't attend Hcon anymore is that the two reasons I used to enjoy going are no longer necessary - the dealer's room and seeing games for ideas to steal regarding painting and terrain.   With the internet, I can get anything from any manufacturer in the world, including rare or hard to find books, within a matter of days.  Likewise, blogs and newsgroups provide a vast treasure trove of inspiration for painting and terrain ideas.

So what did I do on Historicon weekend instead?

Well, for one we had a great bike (motorcycle) ride.  Open fields and fresh air in our faces, with the deep rumble of HD exhaust in our ears.   SWEET!

In my job, I have the distinct pleasure of managing my company's sponsorship program for professional NHRA teams.   That's given me the chance to work and interact with top teams and drivers - which is VERY cool.

This week we had John Force Racing and their drivers (John, Courtney, Brittany Force, Robert Hight) visit our headquarters for a meet and greet session - as this weekend was the Mile High Nationals here in Denver.   For those of you who don't know who John Force is....he's a legend, and the face of the drag racing sport.   A 15 time Funny Car champion, and a personality bigger than imaginable.  On top of that, I find him to be a genuine, very nice guy.

Oh yeah, and Courtney Force was just in the ESPN body issue.   I'll wait while you Google that and then come back to finish reading this blog post.

My wife grew up drag racing with her Dad.   Drag racing, cars, and speed are in her blood.  For as long as she can remember, she's been a fan of John Force. 

My work gave me a chance to get us back to the more private area of the John Force Racing pits, so she could meet each of the drivers - and John Force (the MAN) in person.  She was so excited she could barely contain herself.   I don't think I've ever had more fun than introducing her to Brittany, Courtney, Robert, and then John.   Of course, photos with each followed!   She's still enjoying that event, and the memories will never leave her.

Here's a photo of my wife with John Force this Saturday at the Mile High Nationals:

All I can say is "thank you" to all the people at John Force Racing.  A legendary, outstanding, organization and team.

A fantastic, stand out, memorable weekend!

Did I miss Historicon?

Not for a second!

Off-Board Assets

A quick post of my first painted off-board assets - a pair of US 105mm artillery pieces (Old Glory/Westwind) and a pair of German 75mm Infantry guns (Blacktree).

I really like the OG/WW guns and crew....and the Blacktree Design, well, less so.   The BTD crew just look a bit odd to me - the helmets aren't quite "right".  But, they look functional for what I need in my games, so there they are!

Today I received 3 German 105mm artillery pieces and crew from Warlord Games.   Great looking castings.   I think I'll be ordering some 120mm mortars for some heavier battalion support weapons from them as well.

Stuff

Stuff.

I've finally decided that I have a lot of stuff.

Wargame stuff.

History books, reference works.....stuff.

Boardgames....stuff.

I've organized, sorted, sifted.

I've given away stuff.   I've thrown stuff away.

And yet, I still have a lot of stuff.

How did I get all this stuff?   Where did it come from?

Do I really think I'll read a book about the South American War of the Pacific?

I think I've reached the point where I'm very likely done buying figures for new periods.  Why?   I don't need any more!   I have, painted and unpainted, listed chronologically:

Republican Romans
Carthaginians
Gauls
Early Germans
Macedonians
Successors
Persians
Late Romans
Goths
Normans
Crusaders
Arabs/Turks/Egyptians
War of the Roses
English Civil War
Great Northern War
Seven Years War
American War of Independence
Napoleonics (British, French, Austrian, Prussians, Spanish, Russians, Portuguese)
American Civil War
Franco Prussian
Austro Prussian
Russo Japanese
Mahdist Wars
Zulu Wars
Plains Indian Wars
Early WW1 (British, French, German, Russian)
Late WW1 (British, French, German, US)
Early WW2 (French, German)
Early WW2 Desert
Late WW2 (USA, Soviet, German, UK)

Stuff.   Lots of stuff - all 25mm.  62 plastic shoe boxes of unpainted stuff.  

Oh sure...I'll buy more stuff.   But its fill in stuff - the odd support weapon or unusual troop type needed (yeah right - needed) to fill out an OB.

Books?   My collection in books mirrors the figure collection above.    Sorted, sifted, given away, thrown away.    My books feel like family.   

Where is this blog post going?

I don't know.   I just have a lot of stuff.

WW2 Rules - Fields of Valor

I've been working away on concepts and cleaning up items from playtesting in the future set of rules "Fields of Valor".  FoV is a low level game, focusing on tactical WW2 actions.  It is NOT a skirmish game, as it is still unit focused.  Infantry units are a squad, weapon units represent 2 or so weapons, vehicles represent 1-2 vehicles.  

The above photo shows the card backs - medals for (left to right) Germany, US, USSR. 

I've been troubled by trying to show moving MG units without an abstract marker cluttering up the table.  I finally realized that the WestWind MG packs included figures moving/carrying the MG components!   Bingo!   Add that marker to the front of the unit, and it is broken down for movement and in movement mode.  Problem solved!

A simple solution, looks good, easy to use.  That's my kind of solution.

I'm busily painting offboard assets - artillery, in particular.   I finished a couple of stands of US 105mm's, and am working on some German 75mm infantry guns.

While they are "offboard", and not a tactical unit in play, I find that seeing the asset makes it much more interesting than just "105mm" scribbled on a notecard or piece of paper.

I'll post photos when they're done.

My Two Rules for Wargaming Happiness

I see that I've managed to almost miss June without a post, so here goes!

Many years ago, I wrote a brief article for MWAN that proposed that most games that I'd observed as convention games, or games that I'd played in, or games that could be played in a reasonable amount of time followed:

a)  THE RULE OF TWELVE:   Simply put, any battle can be reduced to a 12 unit or so limit of the core type of unit in the army.   Obviously, in all but the most horse centered culture, this will be 12 units of infantry.   Artillery and cavalry would then be proportioned off of the 12 infantry units.

A second rule that makes for collection sanity, and games that look and play well is:

b)  THE RULE OF REASON:   Another simple rule - The total number of units in a game shouldn't be more than the square footage of your table.   If your table is 5'x10', that would be a 50 unit total.   That could be 25 units per side, or 30 vs. 20, etc.

The RULE OF REASON doesn't imply that games of this size are needed, or should even be a goal.  It really is just a common sense rule - don't put too much stuff on the table!!!   Games with too high of a unit density just turn into a version of a zombie hunt.   Pick of the first unit - guess what?  - there's another unit right behind it - eliminate it - and guess what? - there's another unit behind it.

Yawn. 

Too many troops for the table size just leads to plodding games of attrition.  

I should say that both the RULE OF TWELVE and THE RULE OF REASON are based on "normal" unit sizes of 12 to 24 infantry figures, not the "old school" figure intensive 40+ figures per unit.   Yikes - I think units of that size require their own set of rules!

An Odd Question - Or Is It Perception?

Yesterday, I was asked by someone at work who knew of my interest in the ACW - "Who is your favorite General?"

For such a seemingly straightforward question, I was stumped.   I'd quite honestly never thought about a "favorite" ACW General.  

The more I thought about the question, the more odd it seemed.

Ask me about my favorite NFL quarterback, and I'll have an immediate answer.  (Peyton Manning, of course!).

Ask me about my favorite motorcycle, and I'll have an immediate answer.  (Harley-Davidson RoadKing Custom).

Ask me about my favorite movie, and I'll have an immediate answer.  (Glory)

But - I'd never even considered having a "favorite" ACW General.  That just strikes me as odd.   It seems as odd as someone asking me "Who is your favorite corporate executive?", or "Which US Senator is your favorite?".   Favorites?  

The problem I see with the question is that its such a complex question.   How would you have a favorite?  Why would you have a favorite?  Favorite in which way?

Tactical innovator?

Intriguing personality?   Good or bad?

Impact on the war?

In the event, I just mumbled something about not really having a favorite, which was quite true.  How do you explain the depth of that question to someone who is lucky to recognize that the North wore blue and the South wore grey....

There are those I admire, those I loathe, those that intrigue me, those that I'd find fascinating to have a conversation with.   The list of names that "interest" me as ACW personalities include Longstreet, Meade, Bragg, Burnsides, Upton, Stuart, Hampton, Custer, Gibbon, Rosecrans....in no particular order of admired/loathed/intriguing!   Everyone has their good days, everyone has their bad days.  I quite often find those who had more bad days than good to be more interesting!   It's the "if he'd only just done...." possibility that makes me dig deeper to look at the history behind the stories.

Review - "Bunker Hill", by Nathaniel Philbrick

This won't take long.

"Bunker Hill, A City, A Siege, A Revolution" by Nathaniel Philbrick was released within the last month.  I'd been looking forward to it since reading his book on Custer and the LBH battle.

In a word, disappointing.

While Philbrick is a great writer and his works are easy, pleasing reads, BH just didn't do it for me.  I recognize that it is probably intended for Joe Public that didn't know there was a battle in Boston, or that there was a war with England, and who only knows George Washington 'cause his face is on money and on a rock.

I'm a pretty forgiving reviewer, and typically only ask that I learn something new when reading an historical work.   Alas, that didn't happen here.   True, I learned more about Joseph Warren's personal life than I ever wanted to, but....

In short, my recommendation is to save the $32.95 and watch the movie (Ben Afleck has apparently purchased the rights....egads).   If you wait until RedBox gets the movie, it will only cost you a little over a buck.