I ran five games at Fall In and helped Dave run another game, so I didn’t have as much time to wander around and take pictures as I usually try to do. Below are some pictures of games that I and other HAWKs ran.
I ran a 10mm Fate of Battle game of the battle at Reichenbach in May 1813. This was a scenario I found on the Web. I was looking for a good six-player game. I wasn’t sure I would get too many players at 0900 on Friday, but the game was full. The French outnumbered the Russians 2:1 in infantry but had parity in cavalry. While both sides had about the same number of batteries, the Russian guns were bigger and had greater ranges. The scenario went very well, I think, and all the players had an exciting time — even the guy whose cavalry broke and ran as a result of the Russian guns on the central ridge.
Jim ran his ever popular six-player Saga game in which the opposing sides are trying to gather loot from a small village. I didn’t hear who won, but all the players were engaged and having fun. A couple even showed up for another Saga game on Sunday morning.
Zeb ran a 28mm Winter War game using my old Beer and Pretzels Skirmish rules. I’ve been busy with other projects, so I haven’t put BAPS on the table in quite some time. It was nice to see this oldie but goodie in action again. I heard that the Russian tank was knocked out early. Zeb used the Winter War Kickstarter figures from Baker Company a few years ago. Apparently he is one of the few people who actually received his figures. I haven’t gotten mine, which is the only Kickstarter that has stiffed me.
The HAWKs ran a series of “urban” scenarios with different rules and set in different time periods all weekend. All of the terrain came from Don’s collection. Most of the buildings were Miniature Building Authority with a few Crescent Root ones.
Eric ran a Napoleonic game with his Continental System rules.
Dave ran a 28mm ancients game using Fate of Battle. The scenario was a Roman Civil War battle with the potential for auxiliaries to change sides during the game.
Duncan and I set up the same scenario to be run twice, once with Command Decision and once with Look, Sarge, No Charts: WWII. The scenario was written for Command Decision, so I had to interpret the order of battle. It was interesting to see how Command Decision and Look, Sarge approach the same issues from different perspectives but achieve similar results. The scenario, The Ride of the Wielkopolska Brigade, had German armor trying to hold a town against Polish cavalry. All this German infantry was on the other side of the table and didn’t arrive until late in the game. This made it very difficult for Duncan’s tanks and AT guns to hold out against determined cavalry action.
Chris ran his Bear Yourselves Valiantly Lizardman Island game
Chris and I helped Dave run a double blind game of Creighton Abrams rushing to relieve Bastogne. He used Look, Sarge, No Charts: WWII. The spotting rules for LSNC really lend themselves to double blind games. After the convention, I received an Email from one of the players thanking Dave for such an exciting and suspenseful experience. I really enjoy double blind games, but they take twice as much terrain and several game masters to pull them off.
Tank ran his impressive-looking ancient game using Bear Yourselves Valiantly.
One of the urban games featured goblins and other bad guys attacking Santa’s workshop. This one attracted young gamers as well as a few moms.
There were many other great games in the HAWKs room that I neglected to photograph. Greg won an award for his Dr. Who game on the urban table. Mike and Patrick Byrne ran a couple of Force on Force modern games. Geoff ran his ever-popular Lego pirates game. Dave ran a 25mm fantasy game. Eric ran his fantasy Blood and Swash game Sunday morning while I was running my Roman Circus chariot race game. I had a pretty good convention. All of my games were full, and the players seemed to have a good time.