wonders: Can Fernando do 1/285th?
Last weekend saw Canberra host Australia's biggest wargames event, Cancon, and Chain of Command was well represented with not one but two sets of Lardy Ambassadors displaying the game. Here is the first report from Sydney Ambassadors Neil Milne and Shane Hill, who flew the Lardy banner on Day Three of the event.
January the 27th saw two Aussie Lard Ambassadors attend the third day of the biggest gaming convention in Australia, Cancon. We traveled nearly 300kms south to Canberra from Sydney to show off the Lardies' WWII platoon-level rules, Chain of Command.
We set up a small French village, le Petite Nerf, and ran a small scenario using three weakened German sections and two under-strength U.S. para platoons. We were able to run two games during the day, with them enjoying the game mechanics and showing a good deal of interest in the rules. It turns out after that by mid-afternoon there was not a Chain of Command rulebook to found anywhere among the retailers attending the convention. In the end, we had to let people know that the rules were also available as a download from the TooFatLardies website. Rumors are that resupplies are on their way to Oz as we speak!
While one of us was demonstrating the game to those playing, the other was more often than not seen talking with other gamers with a keen interest in the game. There were a few that had not heard of the rules and were showing a lot of interest in the game as they watched the game take place, there were some who had heard of the rules but had not seen them in action and again they showed a keen interest in the game, there were even some that had already purchased the rules but needed to see a game in action to get a good feel for the rules.
On the next table to us, a gaming group from Melbourne had put together a very nice-looking table showing Chain of Command's versatility, as they ran a participation game using a Modern theme – but I will let them tell you more about that game!
On the way home, we discussed our thoughts on the day, coming to the conclusion that the day had been a complete success. We were able to talk to many Australian gamers who wanted to chat about the rules, as well as demonstrate their great qualities on the tabletop. A complete sell-out of the rules among the traders present must surely be an indication of just how well these rules are being received.
Oh, and with the Lard Ambassador project being relatively new, I became more aware that the TooFatLardies brand is far more well-known Down Under than I thought!
Our thanks to Neil and Shane for their hard work. Later this week, we'll hear from the Berwick Ambassadors with their Modern Africa game using Chain of Command.