"HMGS-Midwest at Gencon" Topic

Gencon is in one week. Come and join HMGS-Midwest at the Lucas Oil Field. Co-located with the Ottawa Red Shirts.
link
These events are run by a Gen Con Premier Event Group.

Invasion of Russia June 1941. GMs-Tom Kuczak, Alex Sewielski- Jagdpanzer Rules Thursday at 9:00 AM/Friday at 9:00 AM/Saturday at 9:00 AM On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union: three great army groups with over three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. By this point German combat effectiveness had reached its apogee; in training, doctrine, and fighting ability, the forces invading Russia represented the finest army to fight in the twentieth century.

Lee Marches on Maryland, 1862. GM John Bobek-Games of War Thursday at 9:00 AM/Thursday at 3:00 PM Lee launches a bold attempt to the war to the Union and score a decisive victory. 6mm micro scale American Civil War battle using Heroics & Ros and Baccus miniatures and To Fight for Abraham's Daughter

Frederick the Great in Saxony, October 1758. GM John Bobek-Games of War Friday at 9:00 AM/Friday at 3:00 PM The Austrians turn the tables on the Prussians at Hochkirch, Saxony. 6mm micro scale American Civil War battle using Heroics & Ros and Baccus miniatures and Regimental Honor: Rules of 18th Century Battles

Napoleon in Bavaria, 1809. GM John Bobek-Games of War Saturday at 9:00 AM/Saturday at 2:00 PM/Saturday at 7:00 PM Napoleon attempts to stop the Austrian invasion of Bavaria. 6mm Napoleonics battle using Grand Manoeuvre figures and La Gloire de Guerre

Clash in Czechoslovakia, October, 1944. GM John Bobek-Games of War Sunday at 10:00 AM The Russian 4th Ukrainian Front runs into the First Panzer Army. 6mm micro scale WWII battle using Heroics & Ros, GHQ and other figures and modified to scale, Bloody Tarawa/Bocage (pps. 119-127). This is an introduction to WWII miniatures wargaming. There are a lot of photos, game session reports, videos and other useful info at Boardgamegeek.com and link

The Silmarillion – Battle Under the Stars. GM Steve Fratt-War of the Ring Thursday at 6:00 PM/Friday at 10:00 AM Morgoth decided to invade Beleriand to wipe out the Sindar before the Noldor arrived to contest his possession of the Silmarils. King Thingol of Menegroth was able to rally Denethor and the Elves of Ossiriand to engage and destroy all the orcs who marched south of Dorthonion. However, orc bands besieged the ports in the west of Brithombar and Eglarest. Thus ended the first battle. When Feanor arrived, unexpectedly in Swan vessels, Morgoth vowed to crush him with a single blow. He assailed the Noldor around Lake Mithrim but found the Elves mighty! His forces were annihilated and the Noldor made their own attack on the gates of Angband. But lo! Feanor and the van were surprised by Balrogs and killed within sight of Thangorodrim.

The Silmarillion – Glorious Battle. GM Steve Fratt-War of the Ring Friday at 6:00 PM Morgoth hated the Elves and wanted to disrupt their labors in Beleriand. Sixty years after his last attempt, orcs again poured out of Angband but this time headed straight for Dorthonion. They set fire to the great pine forests but were caught between the forces of Fingolfin and Maedhros and obliterated. This began the four hundreds year peace and the leaguer kept around Angband.

The Silmarillion – Battle of Sudden Flame. GM Steve Fratt-War of the Ring Saturday at 10:00 AM During the four hundred years peace, the caves of Nargothrond and the hidden fastness of Gondolin were built. In his envy, Morgoth had spawned vast legions of orcs and prepared them to emerge from Angband with even greater fury. The Fourth Battle was preceded by huge rivers of flames gushing out of Thangorodrim and onto the plains. The orcs followed, led by Balrogs, and a new terror, the firedrake Glaurung! The West held against the onslaught but, in the end, the East was lost! This defeat was multiplied by the death of Fingolfin who challenged Morgoth to individual combat before the gates of Angband. He wounded him many times but could not prevail against Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, and fell.

The Silmarillion – Battle of Unnumbered Tears. GM Steve Fratt-War of the Ring Saturday at 6:00 PM/Sunday at 9:00 AM Inspired by the feats of Luthien and Beren, Maedhros decided to challenge the power of Morgoth with the help of Fingon and Turgon. All three of the Elvish hosts marched out onto the plains but were betrayed by the Swarthy Easterlings who had made a false alliance with them! Hithum and Himring were abandoned. Only Turgon survived the disaster by returning to Gondolin, the hidden kingdom. However, the doom of that great city was close at hand.

Fulda Gap – 1938. GM-Kevin Cabai- Jagdpanzer Rules Thursday at 9:00 AM/Thursday at 4:00 PM/Friday at 8:00 AM As the morning fogs slowly burns off, in central Germany, the sounds of thousands of vehicles can be heard. Sporadic gun fire rings outs from time to time, accompanied by fireballs somewhere in the mist. Advancing overnight from their staging areas, the Warsaw Pact forces have crossed the border, in force. Many of us remember the real threat we lived with, on a daily basis, in the 70's and 80's. The nightmare of a Soviet surprise attack is happening. WP and NATO doctrine will clash on the battlefield, and leave only one victor. But this is not 1988; back the technology back 50 years, to 1938. Can the American Combat Cars, stop the Soviet BT 7's? Which new prototype weapons can swing the balance? (15mm armor)

Wish I could be there,but workplace stuff ,well…..

Thank you, Midwest! May you convert many RPG players to actual miniature wargaming.

Wackmole, you notice? A "national convention," it's true: but the actual hard to haul around miniatures games are all provided by the local HMGS chapter.

I'm sure we could do better than we currently do for historical miniatures conventions, but we have limits which don't apply to RPG and board game players.

Awesome to see, and I'll be sure to come over and say hi, Kevin! Thanks!

Yes, your right! Its so much better for Historical Miniatures GMs to not try and We can just fade way.

I am very proud and happy for all the hard work that HMGS Midwest has been doing. From the success of this years Little Wars to this. They have a good game plan and I hope they keep on going with it.

I think Wackmole9 missed the point Robert was making.

Let me try again. Wackmole, RPGs are bicycles. Boardgames are cars. Miniatures games are tanks. We each have advantages, but we don't do the same things well. When you say that RPGs and Boardgames have truly national conventions with participants and people putting on events flying in from all over and that historical miniatures should have one too, you're entering your tank in a drag race.

Neither of the three is an objectively superior game form: that's personal preference. We can put on a visual spectacle which blows the other two completely out of the water and no argument. But the price we pay for this is a lot of expensive and hard to transport stuff, which we get GM's to make and transport for free. As long as we do that--well, the players can come from all over, but almost all the GM's will live within a day's drive.

It would be possible to set up a national--why not a world?--historical miniatures gaming convention in, say, Las Vegas, pay the GM's and fly in the terrain and troops. D-Day and the Apollo Program were possible too. But before I started banging the drums for a "national historical miniatures convention" in the US, I'd work out how much it was going to cost and have some idea where the money was coming from.

Until we get that worked out, perhaps we could focus on making Historicon and the other regional cons bigger and better, even if they only draw from ten states or so?

"Robert"

Drag racing is divided into different classes, so your Sherman would only race against other tanks. I would offer up a Cromwell or Panther myself.

But the point of the discussion has moved to a National Convention. Perhaps we already have one and need to look at the possibilities.

Adepticon in Schaumburg, IL is unquestionably the fastest growing minis con anywhere. Last year it topped 4,500 attendees, it has seen close to a 20-25% annual growth rate. Close to half of it's attendees are from out of state, and many fly in. (With mini's and terrain)

It is already home to a number of "National" Mini Tournaments, including Bolt Action. I am not advocating this in lieu of Historicon or Little Wars, but as an addition.

Imagine what the HMGS Chapters could do by cooperating on this. It is located at a world class facility, well funded and has possibly the most important, great demographics. Average age is a good 15 years younger then we see at HMGS cons.

If this sparks any further interest, let talk.

+1 kcabai

Interested parties can contact me at membership@hmgsmidwest.com

Agreed, Kevin!

With all due respect, Kcabai, you are talking past what Robert said.

Robert originally stated, quite correctly, that while Gencon is a "national convention", the heavy lifting on the miniature gaming side, is done by the good folks of HMGS-Midwest. Wackmole9's response indicated to me that he had missed Robert's point.

Adepticon in Schaumburg, IL is unquestionably the fastest growing minis con anywhere. Last year it topped 4,500 attendees, it has seen close to a 20-25% annual growth rate. Close to half of it's attendees are from out of state, and many fly in. (With mini's and terrain)

I agree with everything you say……except for what's in the brackets.

I ran a WW1 game a few years back at Adepticon. I brought all the miniatures and the terrain. But that is, by far, the exception and not the rule.

I played in the WFB tournaments at Adepticon and all I brought was my army.
I played in the Saga tournaments at Adepticon and all I brought was my army.
I played in the Hail Caesar tournament at Adepticon and all I brought was my army.
I called a friend who owns a local gaming store. He played in the 40K tournaments (doubles and Singles) and he confirmed that he only brought his army.

Comparing Adepticon to Little Wars or Historicon is comparing apples and oranges. If you go to play at Adepticon all the gaming tables and the terrain is provided for you. When going to this convention, I travelled much, much lighter than I do when going to the HMGS conventions.

Again, the heavy lifting is done relatively locally, not nationally or internationally, like the attendees.

That being said, Kudos to you and everyone at HMGS-MW for the contributions to Gencon.

Bowmen, thanks for the encouraging words.

While it is true that most games are tournament based (Battlefront and Warlord, have massive terrain transportation responsibilities)

HMGS -Midwest has been running games there for the last 4 years. Granted we are somewhat local, but there are other Historical Miniature gamers coming with their terrain. My thoughts were focused on those examples.

I did not say it would be easy but instead of terrain boards, perhaps use mats or felts. I do not know, but it may have some merit looking into.

I think it would only help our hobby if all the HMGS Chapters could send reps and co-locate on an annual basis. With Adpeticon drawing people all over the US and Internationally, us showing the flag, would have it's benifits. We have regularly enticed Adepticon attendees to come to Little Wars.

HMGS -Midwest has been running games there for the last 4 years.

Exactly. I think your chapter is best positioned to help give historical wargaiming more exposure at Gencon and Adepticon. Especially since Little Wars and Adepticon are so close. If Gencon was in Philadelphia then HMGS-East would be better positioned to do its part. It's still a matter of logistics.

I think it would only help our hobby if all the HMGS Chapters could send reps and co-locate on an annual basis.

Perhaps that is something the respective BoDs of the various chapters should discuss. Oh, and good luck at the con!

Gencon aint sold out?

4-Day badge sales have now ended for Gen Con 2018. Single day badges are still available via web or on-site purchase.

link

It looks like most of these are already sold out events. Great job guys.