"Will we see you at Historicon 2019?" Topic

Not this year, thanks. I was present for the first convention at Gettysburg, Trimonium, Valley Forge and Fredricksburg. I've decided someone else can take point this year.

No. Wife's disability prohibits travel and I am loath
to have someone else attempt care for more than a few
hours.

Wrong continent.

Heck yeah! Looking forward to exploring the new venue.

TRU

Not this year do to other family commitments, but I hope to make it to Fall In. Good luck!

Decided to miss it once again. Everyone have fun though.

No!

No.

yes

YES!

Oh heck yes!! This is going to be the best Historicon in years.

Yes! Looking forward to this very much. Interested in seeing the new venue. Already have booked myself an insanely busy schedule. That includes running a game.

Not likely,money challenges,as well as getting time off from work.

yes

Not this year, heading to China in the fall. Possibly next year.

YES

No, after 19 straight years as a dealer and one later at Fredericksburg., it is no longer cost effective for a variety store, like me, to attend Historicon.p

The Viking Forge will not attend Historicon this year but we hope that it will be a major success and everyone will have a great time.

Flying in from California!

I'll day trip it per tradition.

Haven't seen a list of vendors yet.

I'll be there.

Historygamer, it will be coming soon. I heard today that the map is being finalized and that there will be quite a larger offering of vendors at the show.

We will be there.

I will be in the wilds of West Virginia with a troop of Trail Life USA. Hiking, climbing, white water rafting. I will look forward to everyone's reports when I get back.

Haven't seen a list of vendors yet.

The Vendor Hall map is up on the website. :-)

So no list, just a map. Okay, thanks. I'll look.

Okay, I looked. 51 vendors on the map. I have no idea what some of them sell and honestly, don't think anyone should have to google all 51 to find out.

Wouldn't it be mutually beneficial for all involved to publish a list and include a brief description of what each vendor carries? It doesn't have to be detailed, but any detail would be better than none. Just a suggestion (that I've made before).

If HMGS is looking to give people reasons to go, this might be a good place to start. :-)

Historygamer, we must not be looking at the same map. I count 69-70 vendeors on it.

Also from this map, just click on the vendor and you are linked to their web page.

link

Still not a list, but I am sure that is coming soon…..(sorry I am a glass 1/2 full kind of guy).

Looking up 51 vendors? Hell's Bells, I do that each con, even if I know who they are and what they sell. Updating shopping lists and making "be sure to examine" lists is a fair chunk of the fun.

Oh, it's 69 now,…sauce for the goose.

The map I was looking at was hard to view. Some of the links may be blocked on my computer.

Such a list with descriptions should also be placed in the convention booklet as well.

Here is what I was looking at, and I still count only 51:

link

Also, there are likely some vendors I would not be interested in for whatever reasons. An abbreviated description would tell me what they sell and whether I might or not be interested in reviewing.

If you really think that someone who has never been, or hasn't been to an HMGS con in a while is going to sit and click on 51 or whatever number there is, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. :-)

People today have short attention spans. The link is nice if they want to do a deeper dive, but you have to get them to even consider doing that first. Hey, I want to see the con and dealers do well. Seems like a no-brainer to me, but to each his own.

HG
You have very high expectations for an all volunteer organization. I hear HMGS is actively looking for someone to assist with the vendor webpage content…
Honestly 90+% of the vendors are here year after year. Is it really that onerous to look up a handful of companies?

TRU

I go to most of the cons and there are a good number of names of vendors there I don't recognize. But then again, this isn't about me. So you really think they are going to start clicking on 50 or 60 links to peruse some webpages? Really? It's about people who don't go much, or have never gone. It's called advertising. I asked for a list and brief description. Instead, I get a map (that does not come easily) and a bunch of links that may or may not work, depending on your computer.

Hey, do it, don't do it, I don't care in the end. But don't complain about people not coming, sales are low, blah, blah, blah. Help yourself, or don't. Seems pretty simple to me.

GM's fill out a brief description of when they register their games. So you are saying the dealers are unable to do the same?

Now, about that bridge….. :-)

Here is what I was looking at, and I still count only 51

I get more than 51 and a nice interactive map comes up. One press of my finger and the vendors website come up to tell me what they carry. But I already know what most of them carry. The new ones I find out about with the touch of my finger. Typing this on my I-Pad was more strenuous.

This is better than a list. I click on Brigade games and the website comes up. I click on Great War minis and a drop down menu indicates Belgians. With one last click I know that the Maxim HMG and crew is $12. USD I'll pre-order it online so that Lon has it for me at the con. That's so much better than a simple list.

HG, the vendors do supply information on what we sell when we complete our application. This is done every show. Information about each vendor was supplied in the convention booklet, but over the years I assume this has been cut back to save costs. Is it still needed? I do not know but I am sure folks can email the BOD members and convention organizers and make suggestions.

To address the points made on this thread. We're currently at 68 exhibitors (with a 69th pending). Although there was much more space at this facility for exhibitors we still had to expand our intended footprint to include everyone.

The exhibitor information for attendees is at

link

on our website. The page contains a map of the exhibit hall. Each company name is a link if they provided a website. In the lower right hand corner of the map are 2 gray boxes, one allows you to share the map the other expands the map to full screen if it's hard to see on your device.

Below the map is an alphabetical list of exhibitors. Again, each company name is a link to their website if one was provided and the list contains booth numbers (although those numbers aren't on the map yet).

Last year's program book contained expanded information on the exhibitors including contact information and a brief list of what they carry. That will be included in this year's program as well and, if all goes well, an electronic version of that will be available on the website at least a couple weeks before the show.

Is there more we'd like to do? Absolutely! Is it all going to happen? We're all volunteers with only so much time and we have to prioritize what will get done and when. I read all the relevant threads on TMP and incorporate any good ideas into my plans for the show. If you really want to see an idea implemented I recommend sending me an email rather than a back and forth with other TMP denizens but that'll work too.

As far as staffing for the show, two senior staff have indicated they'll be stepping down, mainly for health reasons. Another is a current board member with a lot on his plate outside his convention duties and we'll be evaluating whether he can stay on or not (I sure hope he does).

So if anyone is able and willing, step up. Contact me and let me know you're interested, preferably before Historicon this year so we can get you into the volunteer structure and get people trained up. My invite to you all is still open, contact me before the show, hunt me down at the show and have a discussion. If volunteering isn't a fit for you that's no problem but please don't assume those that are volunteering are stupid or lazy or don't know what they're doing or are uninterested in improving the shows (this certainly doesn't apply to everyone in these discussions so if you didn't say it I'm not talking to you :) ). My experience is that's the farthest from the truth. And if your idea isn't implemented don't read anything into that either, we may want to but couldn't get it done this year. There may be reasons why an idea isn't a good fit for the show. I'm happy to discuss.

That all said, we've got a great selection of games and tournaments. Game submissions are still open (although some slots aren't available). Hobby University is hopping with a couple of great guest artists. War College is running a little late but it'll be worth it. It really looks like it's shaping up to be the best we've had in years. Thank you to the attendee that stepped up with some great help here, it's truly appreciated!

We hope to be announcing more guests in the coming days.

Thanks to everyone for their support. Sorry for such a long message. I know there's much more information that needs to be shared and we'll be continuing to update the website with that info.

Looking forward to gaming with you all soon.
Joby Miller
director@historicon.org

Joby:

Thanks for the info. I have no idea why such an innocuous post inquiring about a vendor list triggered such responses. It seems like something HMGS has always done, thus why I asked. I won't even try to explain some of responses.

Thanks for the link to the map. That is not what was coming up when I found (after many clicks) a map of the dealer hall. Thank you for posting, and thanks for the update. Like many, I'll be spending money there.

Not sure who slandered the volunteers. Having been one for many HMGS cons over the years (decades), I greatly appreciate their efforts.

Might be security issues with your computer, HG? The link you provided worked fine on my iPad.

Wow – Dream Pod Nine is going to be there?? Now that I'm looking, I see a few new dealers – in addition to our old friends.

First time since they moved it from the Host. Just trying to figure out the parking…

I will be there. My table No -100
miniaturelovers.com

Unfotunately I had to cancel my two games as I will not be able to attend Historicon this year, I emailed Bill White and Joby Millar to advise.

The two games I was going to run are
F09:100 The Battle of Camden August 16, 1780
S09:101 The Battle of Camden August 16, 1780

This will also open up slots in the following games that I registered for:
T09:435 Davis's Cross Roads – Chickamauga Campaign
T18:415 Battle of Cowpens, SC, Jan 17th, 1781
F15:214 The Seven Deadly Samurai Sisters
S18:425 Prelude to White Plains, Afternoon October 25 1776

What AWI rules do you use mindenbrush?

Age of Reason 1st Edition by Tod Kershner. Reasonably simple rules where it is up to you to keep your flanks and rear secure

Not this time. I normally run non-historical games, but have become burnt out on it. I had hoped someone else would pick up the torch and run some, after my doing it, but alas no. I saw exactly zero games in the PEL I'd like to play… :(

I know, as a primarily non-historical gamer, my non-attendance will not be a loss…

Bill, if you really can't find one game of interest from the hundreds available, then Historicon is probably not for you. In the summer you'd be better served with something like Origins or Gencon.

Yes! Lucky to have booked a room at the Marriott. My wife, my brother from Virginia, my brother-in-law from PA, my son and his buddy, we're all going! Really looking forward to it, should be awesome.

I would love to , but it doesn't look good right now . I think the new venue should prove to be a positive move for the largest historical gaming convention out there . Looks like a very good collection of dealers ( which is my weak spot ). Games will be good as always and I hope everyone has a great time . If I don't make it I wont miss the drive from Florida however ! Cheers

Bowman,
Yes you are probably right, but it isn't an option to attend either Origins or Gencon, due to expense and sheer drive time (7.5 hrs for Origins or 9+ for Gencon). Flying isn't workable for me, especially if trying to run games.

Even Origins is a pale shadow of its former self, miniature games-wise. Mostly tabletop and card game these days, unfortunately.

Then have a look at these:

ScrumCon

TMP link

Nova Open

TMP link

Might be worth a visit.