First, all the bad things you've read or seen about Cold Wars are probably true. And of course, what was good about it is also likely true. The real measure is: compared to what? Compared to nothing, it was the best convention of the season. What all HMGS conventions have in common though is fun games, seeing old friends, some spectacles and some bargain shopping opportunities. They never fail to create a place where folks can congregate and participate in an amazing hobby involving historical miniatures. That much was achieved and I saw nothing buy happy gamers everywhere I looked.
I should add that Gettysburg is about an hour closer to my Virginia home than Lancaster, so it was an easy decision to attend and see what was up. Going through my records, I see that I haven't been to a Cold Wars since 2012! Definitely time to return. In the early aughts, I recall driving to a Gettysburg based Cold Wars from NYC only to find I had gotten the date wrong and I was a week early! Tons to do in the area so it wasn't a waste. Further my car broke down on the way out, taking all my vendor hall money and more. In any event, I went in last week without a strong emotional connection to this event. I have high expectations for Historicon (though last year, for the first time, those expectations scraped by), and I expect less at Fall In, but that one has consistently been way better than I am prepared for.
My expectations, to be clear, were set long ago by the standards set by Historicon's glory years (we should discuss when that was actually), where I was amazed by the large showpiece games, blown away by the brilliant new games, and could find more stuff in the vendor hall that I wanted but couldn't possibly afford. I want to be inspired; I want novelty and variety. For Wally's and vendor hall, I want stuff I need and can use. That's basically my standard. I'm a day tripper, a voyeur and a shopper. I know a few people, most of them vendors, but rarely have time for a game. A short, concentrated event is simply more intense and more affordable: my preference.
So, the world, the economics of the hobby, and even I have changed a lot in the last few decades, Much of what I've ever needed I now have. Much of what I want is from Europe or the UK. I still have an appetite for seeing games - as indicated by the content of this blog, but rarely see them as tastes have diverged from mine or is it that my tastes have diverged from the masses? That is not to say there are not flashes of inspiration, but they are increasingly fewer in number.
I'm still going to cons, but I get less and less enjoyment from them. There is life in the Warhammer/Fantasy/SciFi worlds (where all the kids are), but we've regrettably moved away from a robust historical hobby. Yes, the irrecoverable graying of the hobby canard has been heralded since the 70s but each year it seems to be more and more true.
But it's not dead yet, and everyone should appreciate what it takes to organize and run a convention game. It's an amazing achievement to get all this stuff out to entertain perfect strangers over he course of a weekend. The guys who do it are the real heroes. I know it is hard and stressful but part of my gripe is with those that can, who don't, not those that do.
On Saturday, we arrived soon after it opened, hit the main hall first (quite by accident), then made our way over to the "everything else" which happened to fit in one large room with even more room to spare. Then we trekked back to the main hall where the car was parked. We had seen basically everything by noon and the pictures are basically in the order I took them.
I'll start by going out of order and post what was my favorite game which was this LRDG assault on a kraut airfield in WW2. This was in the space adjacent to Wally's.
Now the rest in no particular order:
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| These Crescent Root Studios buildings will always get a shout out from me - there are just none better. |
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| Cool dice box! Are these piles, extra canopies or is it just another woods? |
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| I like these one piece farms - from Hovels I'm told. They'd make a killing here. |
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| Just maneuver around their flank - a full frontal would be ridiculous! |
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| I'm a sucker for graveyards and cemeteries. |
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| From Mark's Game Room |
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| This one had award winning terrain - well deserved - perhaps my second favorite of the show! |
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| An HMGS staple |
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| Oooh shiny! I do love these markers - smart. |
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| Ah! 15mm Zulu game! When was the last time you saw one of these? |
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| There was an Iow Jima game though maybe it was in this one off room at a later time? |
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| There is a lot to be said for a bespoke teddy bear mat. Gorgeous! |
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| Back to Mark's Game Room's beautiful Napoleonic game |
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| This was another highlight of the day! Original and inventive! |
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| How long until one of those steel spikes pierces my flesh? I hope this table had liability insurance. |
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| A Gettysburg game in Gettysburg! |
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| Sometimes it's easy to skip over painted units in the dealer hall - after all I paint the myself. you have to provide your own pikes for these militia - just like they did! Beautifully painted! |
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I do have need for painting references for early colonial Indians.
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I love this set - I'm sure I have it somewhere around here too.
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Having time on our hands we drove up to nearby Little Round top and a freezing wind repelled us from the site then wandered around Gettysburg itself stopping at the toy soldier shop. I saw a tour on YouTube from a couple years back and knew what to expect. They have a big table with a rotating theme that was excellent so I'll include those shots here:  |
| I thought at a glance that this was based on Major Foster from March or Die. But it wasn't. RIP Mr. Hackman, |
That's the lot! 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
