"Victorian Era and VSF Games in a Museum" Topic

muzeo.org/home.php

In the past I met a significant number of Australians at Disneyland, and this small museum is just up the street from there. If you are going to be in Southern California between now and Janaury 8th, let us know!

This October 23rd a unique exhibit opens up in the Muzeo in Anaheim, CA.

The Queen's Gallery
October 23 – January 8, 2012
Making its world premiere at MUZEO, the exhibition includes more than 400 pieces, which collectively weave together a story of artistic and literary triumphs and social and political upheaval. Paintings, walking sticks, weapons, personal objects of art, and rare books create a cultural landmark exhibition from the private collection of Dr. Howard and Linda Knohl, two passionate and highly respected collectors from Southern California.

and

Steampunk: History Beyond Imagination
Opening October 15 – 2011

Overview
When you enter the world of Steampunk: History Beyond Imagination you enter a world where the future shakes hands with the past, and where humanity's innovative nature inspires future generations to do the impossible. Premiering
at MUZEO, the exhibition is a fantastic and factual account of how the 19th Century's inventive thinkers and writers launched mankind into the 20th Century
– and beyond. Steampunk: History Beyond Imagination features biographical information and artifacts from the Victorian era's greatest visionary writers, and the
scientific giants they inspired. Writers like H.G.Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe pushed the limits of scientific thought with their fiction and paved the way for inventors and thinkers like Nikola Tesla, Ada Lovelace, Sigmund Freud and even Albert Einstein. These authors' works have been transformed into iconic films featuring imagery that has inspired the genre. The exhibit will
feature artwork, photos and props from some of these films – including replicas of The Nautilus from "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" (1954) and a full size Time Machine from the 1960 film of the same name.

The HMGS/PSW is helping out with this exhibit as we did with their Napoleon exhibit two years ago. We need Colonial Era games and/or Adventure or Sci-Fi games with a Victorian Era flair that will allow and interactive/conversational experience for the attendees. Standard museum displays are static and sometimes boring, our dynamic dioramas bring the personal touch to the Muzeo. During the Napoleon Exhibit most Facebook or Blog posts featured photographs of our games.

St. Crispin's Irregulars, the local HMGS club, cannot man this exhibit during the 12 week run all by ourselves so I am asking the greater historical miniature gaming community for help. Please check your schedules and let me know which day/weekend you will be available to host a game.
Thank you and I hope to hear from you soon.

Harmon Ward
hjw@pacbell.net
HMGS/PSW Vice President
St. Crispin's Irregulars Founder

May I forward this around?

Harmon,

Are you interested in a straight historical colonial miniatures game? Can't promise anything right now but there's a possibility I might be able to bring my "Maiwand Day" set-up (6'x12' terrain + Anglo-Indian & Afghan armies for the 1880 Second Afghan War battle) down from the Valley to the Muzeo one Saturday or Sunday (probably a Sunday), if there's enough room to lay it out.

It's a mega-game, way too much for the casual passer-by to play from beginning to end, but we should be able to rotate interested visitors in and out, having them run one of the various commands for as long they want, or maybe for set periods of time, whatever you think might work best, and it's a nice looking layout. But if you think it might be overkill, don't hesitate to tell me, I promise not to take offense!

Yes and YES.

The glory of this exhibit is because of it's dual nature, straight historicals and VSF are both fair game.

We have the use of the Kabel Gallery in the historic Carnegie Library building right across the street from city hall. It is roughly the size of a 3 car garage, but significantly better looking! It is below grade but there is an elevator. We have found that a team of 4 people works best, two that "play the game" and two who explain what is happening to the passers by. At the Napoleon exhibit two years ago one gentleman was handed the dice and told, "There has been a battlefield emergency, You are now Marshal Ney, you are in command, What are your orders, Sir?" He stammered, "But I don't know the rules!!!" and I replied, "You could still do better than Marhsal Ney". He was a visitor to a Museum exhibit on Napoleon, and although he was not a wargamer per se, he understood what I meant, and did quite well. He played with us for three turns before he had to leave.

Thank you both for communicating your interest.

Opening day was fantastic. No way to count the number of attendees. A significant number of attendees in period or Steampunk dress. The Siege of Khartoum table looked great and the crowd loved the game. We have three months to schedule additional games. Please let me know if you can help.

That's great, Harmon, congrats to you and the club. I am taking "Maiwand Day" to New Orleans for Colonial Barracks on Nov. 4-6, which is a long haul requiring several days drive each way. When I get back, if I can convince my wife to sign off, I'll get in touch about making the much shorter and far more convenient trip down to see you guys in Anaheim.

Excellent. We won't be there every day. The Muzeo is open from 10:00am until 5:00pm Wednesday through Sunday. We have HMGS/PSW members volunteering to cover many days of the event but we can't be there all of the time. Most of us are gainfully employed! I will post scheduled games as they firm up.

On Sunday October 23, seven members of the St. Crispin's Irregulars showed up at the Muzeo to showcase the Siege of Khartoum using the incredibly colorful and extensive 25mm collection owned by Rod Galati, supplemented by the talented craftsmanship of Frank Patterson and RJ Galati who both developed and built the terrain, boats and many of the buildings. Rod's amazingly well-painted figures were the talk of the museum as people came through and admired the exhibit set up in the museum theater. The thoroughness of the St. Crispin's Irregulars in setting up a miniatures tabletop war game display worthy of an H.G. Wells campaign as described in his book "Little Wars". Her Majesty Queen Victoria herself was awestruck at the fine display of her forces in action against the enemies of her Empire. This may have been an actress playing the part of the Queen, but with a Time Machine on display nearby in the Steampunk: History Beyond Imagination exhibit nearby we could not be sure.

Hundreds of people came through the room throughout the day and spoke positively about the attention to detail and realistic appearance of the layout. Yet Khartoum wasn't just a tabletop display, it was a full game ready to play. When told it was a game; many of the younger crowd were eager to jump in and start playing. Due to the enthusiastic attention that the Khartoum tabletop was receiving, the battle didn't get to start until later when the crowds thinned out a bit.

Once they did, four young men followed in the footsteps of many a Victorian-era gentleman by taking command of the elements of both sides to see if History would be repeated…. or changed.

The battle started out well with Her Majesty's troops gaining the initiative. They manned the walls of Khartoum, watching as the Dervish came into view. Meanwhile, orders went out to the Red Sea Force to move in, and the Nile River Force to start down river. You can see here the troops and their supplies starting on the southern voyage to try and relieve the beleaguered city.

From Rod Galati's fine 28mm Sudan collection (painted by himself). Steamboats crafted and constructed by the gifted Frank "Bama" Patterson. The British River Force departs from camp at Korti and begins its 400 mile journey – negotiating treacherous cataracts on its way up the Nile to rescue Gordon trapped in Khartoum. The advance guard of the River Force under General Earle, is led by a 9 pounder artillery piece on the bow and a Gatling machine gun on the top deck. The 42nd Highlanders (The Black Watch) man the decks and are in tow.
The Steamboat at Meddina also made steam as she headed out to help evacuate the civilians from the city before the Mahdi's forces arrived. meanwhile, far across the desert sands, the British Camel Corps were venturing out into the Sahara on their way to the Oasis in an attempt to get some forces to Khartoum as soon as possible.

The Camel Corps, desperate to quench their thirst, makes a determined push for the Wells at Abu Klea driving off a Dervish scouting party. The Camel Corps, led by Gen. Stewart, was an ad hoc formation of hand picked troops from each of the best regiments in the British Army. Their mission was to cut across the desert and make for Metemmeh, along the Nile and board Gordon's pre-positioned steamboats and make the last hundred mile dash to rescue the city.
The Mahdi meanwhile was doing everything he could to stop the British from thwarting his attempts to make his way to Jerusalem via Khartoum. He sent some of his Dervish across the desert and down the Nile in little skiffs to try and delay the British.

The Hadendowa tribe (Fuzzy Wuzzies of Kipling's poem) led by the Turco-Sudanese Slave trader, Osman Digna, makes a ferocious attack upon the Red Sea Force as the Brits try and force there way through the rugged mountain passes to gain access to the Nile and then on to relieve Gordon of Khartoum. General Graham in Scarlet tunic upon a white horse leads men of the Naval brigade (Royal Marines & sailors) Scots Guards and Bengal (India) Infantry.

Things were not looking good for the British as the enemy Dervish swept across the barren sands on their way to the walls of Khartoum. The rabble force stretched across the horizon as they swarmed onwards toward the defenders of the city.
Fierce fighting broke out as Her Majesty's troops engaged the oncoming enemy. Meanwhile, behind them, the Red Sea Force was able to wipe out one of the Mahdi's units, causing the rest to cower in the sands as the Red Sea Force pushed onwards. In the east, the Camel Corps fought through a number of ambushing Dervish to gain the oasis where they rested and prepared to move on into Meddina to gain more transport upriver.

Alas, it was too late for Her Majesty's defenders on the walls. The Dervish managed to breach the walls and flooded into the city, causing the remaining British troops and their Egyptian allies to fall back to their internal fortress where General Gordon tried to hold out.

Eventually though, General Gordon managed to fight his way through to the steamboat at the docks to escort the civilians to safety while the city burned behind him. As the sun set on that day's engagements, Her Majesty's troops started a slow pullback while the Mahdi's forces continued their rampage in the abandoned city of Khartoum.
There were so many people at the Muzeo who wanted to see this display again; most of them were just as eager to see the game played through. Special thanks goes out to Rod Galati once again for his generosity and support of this endeavor through the use of his extensive collection of miniatures. Maybe soon another opportunity to replay the History of Khartoum will come to the Muzeo again. The Kabel Gallery is available for the HMGS/PSW to exhibit games in until the end of the year. Please contact VP Harmon Ward for information. If you don't have an army or know the era very well, please volunteer anyway. We always need a lot of members available to speak to the public about historical miniature gaming.

The link below is to our website and contains the images that go with the narration.
link

Kriegspiel mit bier!
On Saturday, November 12th the members of the HMGS/PSW are setting up a Sword and Flame 25mm Victorian Era colonial wargame at the Muzeo in Anaheim. That is the date The
Olde Ship pub is having a British Beer Tasting event that is sure to bring in large crowds. Admission to the Beer Tasting is $49 You can contact
the Muzeo online for tickets if you wish.

link

The wargame will be a refight of the The Battle of Zariba that was featured in the 1939 film, "The Four Feathers". Larry ran this at our last Mini-Wars so if you missed it then now is your chance to sit down in a museum, with the black and white film on the projection screen, and play a wargame as they were meant to be played. As a bonus you can talk to the museum guests about table top miniatures and help us recruit more members! There is no charge
to just show up and wargame. Contact HMGS/PSW VP Harmon Ward and he will add your name to the list.

Battle of Zariba Setup 10:00am until 11:00am
Olde Ship British Beer Tasting, music, food and fun starts at 2:00pm and
continues until 9:00pm
Battle of Zariba concludes and table is packed up.

For a full day, stop by at Hobby Day in the morning and say high to all of the guys, then move over to the Muzeo, one mile away and play Zariba, then join the Beer Festival. As I said, wargaming as it was meant to be! The Queen's gallery, by the way, includes hundreds of paintings, silverware, walking sticks, firearms and furniture from the Victorian Age. The Steampunk:Beyond the Imagination exhibit is a fantastic re-imagining of the Victorian era with steam powered advanced technology.

Saturday, November 12th The Olde Ship British Pub set up shop at the Muzeo in Anaheim for their Beerfest and the HMGS/PSW was there! The fish and chips, chowder and beer were great, The Queen's Gallery was incredible and .. oh yeah, there was a historical miniature wargame.

Larry Stehle brought out a expertly painted colonial army with hordes of Mahdi and Fuzzy Wuzzy troops to re-fight The Battle of Zaremba. With the 1939 movie showing on the Muzeo theaters big screen the panorama of the Egyptian desert on the table top became a natural extension of the action. Joe and Jeff showed up specifically to play the game, having read about in in the museum's press release. Other young people soon joined in a before long dozens of people were crowded around to take part in the action. We handed out over 50 flyers that told the attendees about the HMGS/PSW and our local club, The St. Crispin's Irregulars. A grand time was had by all and the Muzeo visitor got a little glimpse of the fun that historical wargamers share on the tabletop battlefield.

HI, Harmon,

I'm happy to report my wife has approved me bringing my "Maiwand Day" set-up to the Muzeo either Saturday, Dec. 17th, or Sunday the 18th. Please let me know which would be better for you & your club, and/or the museum.

I have played the game in the past with as few as 2 players, and as many as 11 (8 Afghan vs. 3 British), so if anyone from your club is interested, there should be lots of room for them to participate/help out. The layout is 12' x 6', but it requires some additional table space for preparation of the large Afghan forces.

I just noticed you left your email address up above, so I'll write to you there with some more specific info & questions regarding the event. Look forward to meeting you in person down at the Muzeo some time next month.

Harmon,

Here's a LINK to the facebook page I just created for the game I hope to run with help from your club at the Muzeo on Sunday, December 18th (actually, my 11 year-old daughter did most of the work, as I am not a Facebook user).

Some time soon I'll put up a fresh post about the game here on TMP.

link