"20–30 person 1968 Napoleonic campaign, realistic?" Topic

I'm researching an early wargame group and spotted in their newsletter, part of their group, and this is a local group—not international, not national, not even regional. They are starting up a Northern Italy, early 1799 campaign, OK cool. And they are "Hoping for 20–30 interested persons. Division commanders needed."

That ask for people to participate seems bigger than most groups of that time.

Am I off? Was this a norm or doable by groups of that time? 20-30 people to play Napoleonic miniatures with a commitment for a campaign, with division commanders?

I know there were articles about such things at the time in newsletters of the "how-to" variety. Though the letters and reports of actual play lead me to think these tend to be aspirational or at conventions. Please educate me, also please keep the time frame in mind, 1968.

Sounds perfectly reasonable from here. My old CLS group--Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and just across the border to Chicago--was drawing about 20 players to a "formal" (invitation only) game four times a year in 1968, and a lot of local players weren't invited.

(I think the actual reach was east-west Chicago to Dayton, north-south Ann Arbor to Indianapolis, but the people who could say for sure are mostly dead.)

There was a group in the late 60's or early 70'sthat rented a gym for the weekend to run the complete battle of Leipzig in 25mm on the gym floor. with probably at least 20 players involved.

Was it a mail-in campaign? Those were a thing as well.

The largest Napoleonic campaign I played in was at Fort Riley in 1984 with six players. We also had an Ancient campaign with 8 players.

We did Leipzig in a barn and a farmhouse with 30's and about 20 players over a weekend--I'm thinking October 1969. Could be a year off either way, but no more. Two boards, each maybe 6'x20'. I was there for that one. Von Blucher, were you there for the "gym" or might you have heard a slightly garbled story of the one I attended?

I was just assuming a PBM campaign from the original post.

Malchor, more specifics might help. Are you researching the Old Colony Gamers in Massachusetts? Sounds a little like them. I was Midwest Napoleonic Wargaming Confederation. We were sort of vaguely associated.

@79thPA, Nope, face to face and likely weekly or monthly.

@robert piepenbrink, Twin Cities. Dave Wesely, Ross Maker and Dave Arneson's crew. This is before they started meeting at the U of M or met Mike Carr and his crew.

Hmm. Rick Crane might know. He moved there a few years after that, and was still alive the last time I checked. You could track him down and ask.