This was the first time I did an overnight (Friday night) at Historicon in many, many years. Starting to wonder if Friday is the day to go rather than Saturday, if I had to choose, as a lot of product was sold out Saturday morning. (Indeed, I had a hand in some of that, methinks.)
In short, I had a good time - it felt steady rather than crushed - maybe all the space helped? Parking is the weak spot, if you weren't staying on site. I had to make car runs on both days.
The other point against Saturday is the painting contest was wrapped up and cleared before I had a chance to inspect the entries, and when I left about 3 pm it felt noticeably quieter. I also wish some of the neighborhood stuff was open longer on either day. Much of it shut down at 4, 5 with the Market thing even earlier. (Christ, it was hot in there).
Far less kids around too this time - which may bode poorly for the future of the hobby? I haven't read a word of reviews about this year to know others' opinions about the overall quality or attendance.
I wish the Hobby University rooms weren't so far off the beaten path. There's virtually no chance someone would stumble upon it accidentally. They need a quiet spot, they sure got one.
The dealers I spoke with seemed happy though Old Glory had the smallest foot print in product I've ever seen. I'm trying not to read too much into that.
I think the overall appearance of games is up - lots more good teddy
bear fur instead of the billiard green table cloths that used to
predominate.
I also noticed that games were set up Friday for Saturday time slots so
rather than sort them out by day these will just go basically in the
order I took them meaning you'll see some set ups twice.
Unless I missed it, there wasn't a single big showcase of a game - much more even quality this year. And for once, I felt the Bolt Action tables in the Tournament area were the best in show this time. Pretty sure I've never said that about tournament events though I've long appreciated the Flames of War tables.
Let's get on with it!
 |
So good, right? This is the first in a series from the tournament room.
|
 |
Come back breath!
|
 |
Love this one!
|
 |
I don't think I've seen a clothes line in a war game before.
|
 |
| AWI |
 |
Blue Moon miniatures? Terrific!
|
 |
Back to Flames of War
|
 |
Feudal Japan on the mezzanine
|
 |
Knuckleduster? Dead Man's Hand? Does it matter? One of my favorite tables this year.
|
 |
Splendid!
|
 |
We'll see more of this one later - great table!
|
 |
The details sell this - sorry bout the blur!
|
 |
Useless for gaming purposes, but a really beautiful touch. Nothing to do but admire it. [Edit - I stand corrected! This has far more potential than I had realized after my cursory glance. Thanks Doug!]
|
 |
Can you say PWEB-LOW?
|
 |
The first of the Jane Austen vs Zombies shot. I would have liked to have played this one but it was very popular - and for good reasons!
|
 |
I see Citadel mausoleum, and fencing and Terraform slabs too - all lovely.
|
 |
First time in the HAWKS room this trip.
|
 |
Emerald City - we'll see more below.
|
 |
Back in the Dealer Hall
|
 |
From a Hastings game?
|
 |
I fell in love with these bamboos stands. Maybe we could grab coffee and get to know each other better. Don't tell my wife!
|
 |
Perfect mat for this great game whose name escapes me.
|
 |
Star Wars gets a shot
|
 |
Pig Wars! I bought them when they came out - this looks modified to handle larger formations.
|
 |
That's gangsta!
|
 |
Great interior
|
 |
More AWI
|
 |
24-30 man units - this is the way
|
 |
This table is near perfect
|
 |
I like the way they handled woods and the woodline
|
 |
Nothing more inspiring to me than French infantry on the assault! En avant!
|
 |
It'd be fun to say this gallery was brought to you by Hovels. But it wasn't. 15s, 25s - its all great.
|
 |
Gnome Wars Out West - the girls chickened out, otherwise we would have played this one.
|
 |
More Wars of Ozz this year.
|
 |
Teddy bear fur mastered - great table!
|
 |
The girls would have got into this one had we stayed Saturday night. Good GMs here doing the hard work of getting new/non-gamers involved. Hats off!
|
 |
I always bitch about tall trees being portrayed flat on these. Too "gamey" for my tastes. That said - I wish I could have gotten in on this Sherlock Holmes game, via GASLIGHT. Looks like fun, and I'm a sucker for the genre.
|
That's the lot. What was your favorite part of Historicon 2022? Did I miss anything?
As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and
encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there
too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858
