"So how's Historicon so far?" Topic

I'm particularly interested in the dealer hall.

Any interesting new vendors? Did Scenic Effects go this time?

The vendors list is back up on the HMGS site. This is my 4th year as a vendor at Historicon VA, and there are some new vendors this year with some exciting new stuff from scenery, painting products and a vast selection of figures. I will be bring a lot of new stuff home from this show.

had a blast Thurs…parking lot was full at 1pm. :)

I am in the market for terrain. Do you recall the name of the company? I am going to be there on Saturday.

Thanks

Reaper is here for I believe the first time in forever. Mostly Bones but I like their paints more than Vallejo if you can handle that.

Lots of good looking games.

Walk in registration was terrible, underscoring their advisement to pre-reg. Seems to me IF the Preregistration line is empty why not send a person there, just one at a time if it's empty? Also, some registrant workers are way slower than others. Good look on that lotto.

I love the Flashman at the Charge figure!

"Walk in registration was terrible"

And that is different from normal how? :)

My personal random observations in no particular order:
Fun.
LOUD.
Hot as hell outside, AC is ok.
Dealer area not as full as past cons.
Lots of cool looking games.
Flea Market is busy.
Really good food in the shopping complex.
Fun.

Sweaty! I'm sitting here in the flea market behind a table full of books. Please come buy some so I won't have a heart attack loading them back in my truck!

Or at least come by and say hi and keep me awake :)

Pics, or it didn't happen……….

Mako11, no one wants that. Lol

Anyone have Splintered Light or Forged in Battle ancients?

First two days were excellent. I would like to commend the events staff who have been great in assisting me. First with getting a table for a play test game of Fredericksburg the River crossing and in getting players for the game.
Friday was a blast. There seems to be games for every taste and rule set.
Best
Joel

My only complaint is with the weather.

The games look good, and the Con staff have done a great job, especially those at the events table.

I played in a great "To the Strongest" game (thanks to Peter Anderson). Mark and I lost a Saga doubles game to the Leibls. We lost one of our Warlords, which effectively ended the game (that's twice in a row for me now). And today is a big Hail Caesar game, Sassanids vs Late Romans.

All in all is very nice……..did I mention the weather?

I hate being in the main room. Cant hear for crap. That said I played in some of Joe's big Roman games and had some fun helping kids learn to play.

Brigade Games had the Forged in Battle ancients.

Thanks Mirosav

Actually, I thought they did a decent job of not scheduling everything in the main room – the smaller rooms seemed to have more games in them then I rememembered from previous cons.

I enjoyed the Will Call – registered the night before because I missed the prereg deadline, walked up and walked out in about 3 mins.

Dealer hall seemed fairly well attended. Though there were too many shrink wrapped game in Wally's basement for my liking. If you are bringing 50-100 new games for sale, pretty good chance you are in the wrong place.

As usual, most of the folks were friendly and helpful and wanted to talk gaming. And as usual, a couple of folks from the Jersey Shore cast didn't understand that not all of America thinks their social graces are the norm.

Still a fun time and got to see several old friends. I was happy.

Back home now. Had a really good time this weekend in spite of the heat and inconsistent AC. Enjoyed several games with old friends in the side gaming areas which are much quieter and comfortable.

Topped off by a memorable dinner downtown at our favorite restaurant.

Heavy traffic heading home sucked.

Over all, good times.

TRU

Quite honestly one of the best Historicons for me in many years . Got there Wed.stayed till Saturday . Some of the best laid out games I've ever seen . Dealer hall took my money as did the Flea Market . Old friends and new where all in great moods and chatty . The hotel staff at the Garden Inn where so nice I thought maybe I was dropping money out my back pocket or something . All in all a great time .

The chairs still sucked…

The chairs still sucked…

Those plastic ones are genuinely terrible. I'm waiting for one of our heftier gamers to break one while sitting on it, fall and get hurt, and sue.

Careful, demiurgex, or some 'a da boyz frum Joisey'll be payin' youse a visit to demonstrate deir "social graces".
(Psst. You know they're only treating folks in Virginia the way_they_ expect to be treated in Jois…err, New Jersey)

I thought it was awesome. First time I was there in years. I'll be trying to get back next year too.

(Psst. You know they're only treating folks in Virginia the way_they_ expect to be treated in Jois…err, New Jersey)

Oh, I suspect da boyz from Joisey will get their way in the end, much to Virginia's detriment.

"Oh, I suspect da boyz from Joisey will get their way in the end, much to Virginia's detriment."

Correction Walt…much to HMGS's detriment…the handwriting is on the wall…the South will rise again.

I thought the show was very great this year. Seemed very well attended, I heard in one of the meetings that attendance was a record, the parkings lots were packed, the dealer hall seemed more full, the flea market was filled and full of amazing finds, and the games looked very very nice. I was impressed this year and I had a fantastic time. Hard to believe it's over already!

I heard in one of the meetings that attendance was a record

We always hear this. I'll wait 4 months for the official numbers to come out.

Chairs – those who attended the membership meeting saw Frank Luberti's impromptu chair demonstration. If you noticed there were the cheap folding metal chairs at $1.50 USD and the nice white plastic ones that cost $4.50 USD to rent. We have I think a 50/50 mix right now. Since we rent @ 1700 chairs to upgrade them all has a significant financial impact.

It was a good show overall, the best part of which was getting to spend quality time with old gaming friends from distant places whom I would not otherwise get to see and encountering interesting new gaming people whom I might not otherwise get to meet.

Despite all the flaws, foibles and foolishness that orbit around HCon, its magnetic aura among the war-gaming community is undeniable. I met folks from as far away as Utah, Washington state, Texas, Canada, and Scotland; there was said to be a group from Poland. An event with that kind of drawing power needs to be preserved.

Observations, in no particular order -

Chairs:
Comments regarding the plastic chairs in the main gaming hall are valid, especially with regard to some of our more heftier members; otoh, the upholstered metal framed chairs provided in the ball rooms were quite sturdy and comfortable.

A/C:
Good marks here, especially considering the very warm weather.

Lighting:
Lighting in the ballroom gaming areas was much improved by means of portable spotlights. Good move here.

Tables:
Once again, much better quality than the scruffy, splintered, staple-infested public hazards typically encountered at the Host. The number of empty tables I observed suggests that a slight reduction in number might be considered – depending, of course, upon what the true attendance versus expectations is determined to have been.

Noise:
Main gaming area was again very noisy to my ear – just sayin'.

Registration experience:
Confusion reigned supreme. Based upon chatter at the show, both the HMGS website pre-registration and the on-site registration processes were once again fraught with problems, delays and misery. There is no excuse for this state of affairs to have continued for so many years. Hire a professional to fix this.

Staff:
I found both the FCC and HMGS people uniformly pleasant and courteous.

Food:
Still war-gamer food, but infinitely better than the prison camp slop served up in my most recent visits to the Host.

Shuttle Service:
Transport between FCC and surrounding hotels was a very nice touch. In future, better advertisement of the service would be useful.

B

I had a good laugh after reading your comments above, Walt.

Followed by an even bigger laugh when I saw the comments immediately following by oldnorthstate.

All I'll say for now is "we'll see."

Best regards,

47Ronin*

*Not a "Jersey Boy" but might have some distant cousins from there.

Noise:
Main gaming area was again very noisy to my ear – just sayin'.

What?