Greeting fellow gamers,
Gencon will soon begin (and on my 68th birthday). And alas I will miss it once again. From 1973 to now, I did attend 43 of them. I missed some for deployments and have not gone since Lor passed. Gencon was to be my first convention and what a fine way to get an intro to a hobby. By 1981, I was able to start GMing Jagdpanzer games. (Yes, vexing my players since then) Sometimes sleeping in a campground, sometimes in my car, worse case driving back and forth. There were times that I would even schedule my leave for the con.
When we had our two boys, I took a hiatus from gaming, but we would always go to Gencon. The boys loved it and so did Lor. We had the traditional games of Silent Death, where the fam made sure they all joined forces to take out dad.
The kids could go off on their own and explore and play, Lor would shop and continue with her love for the game of Werewolf. We gather back in the room and regal each other with our exploits
This continued on until 2020, with the kids meeting us down in Indy, for another weekend of memories. No matter how many cons I go to, Gencon will always hold a special place for us.
Well back to this issue. We have a very nice thank you letter for our donations to K9s for Warriors. The bar has been set, let us see if we can top it for next year. Next is a reprint from La Vivandiere Vol I, No 4 / 1974 about Gencon. It is hard to believe that it was over 50 years ago.
We have Autumn Wars coming up, where we are accepting events and preregistration for badges. This great 3 day convention is only $10 USD for members and $20 USD for non-members. We will also be offering as a door prize a great compressor and airbrush from our sponsor Iwata. Hosted once again at the International Tower (10th floor), enjoy tabletop gaming with a sweeping vista of the Chicagoland skyline. Three days of gaming and fun, we also have the War Chest on Saturday. A day-long flea market co-located in the gaming area. A chance to clear out some space for the items you were never going to use. Of course it is the chance to promptly replace those minis with new treasures.
Next up is the HMGS-Midwest elections. Ballots were be sent out to members on July 7th, and there are three positions open. The incumbents have all expressed an interest to return. See the attached calendar for announcement dates.
Also is an announcement for the 51st Annual Military Miniature Society of Illinois' show. They will have a "Miniature Gaming" category so get your best units ready and submit them. Next is another reminder to help support our partner museum "The Chicagoland Veterans' Campus" lets help keep history alive.
Keep up to date with the 2026 Calendar. There are plenty of save the dates. Also keep in mind some dates may change, so always check the most up to date newsletter. We are always open to publish your works on gaming, so don't be shy.
Before I close thanks to all who attended and ran games at out Naval Wars/Wars in Woodstock gaming day. It was a big hit and we are planning a return in 2027.
See you at the gaming table,
Kevin
(The above picture is yours truly running a "Kharkov 1943" scenario (Jagdpanzer) at Gencon in Milwaukee, circa 90's.
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