Historicon 2022: (Almost) Post-Pandemic Gaming

 

Steve and Joe, punchy already on Day One.

Based on the way most folks carried themselves at this year's convention, you'd be hard pressed to find evidence that the pandemic is only just now--possibly, hopefully--winding down. "I see a lot of old white guys without masks," my pal Jared noted about the Historicon photos he was seeing on social media, and he wasn't wrong. Mask wearing was sparse, elevators were full, and the flea market known as Wally's Basement was elbow to elbow whenever they opened it back up for a new round of shopping every two hours. 

I confess that I let my guard down for most of my time there, which for me started late Thursday afternoon and lasted through Sunday morning. I wore a mask whenever I had to ride an elevator because that seemed like a potential swirling vortex of viral entrapment, but otherwise I somewhat resignedly went with the prevailing approach of hoping that a double boost of the vaccine would keep me from death's door. The fact that I skirted COVID on a two-week trip to Europe earlier in the month seems miraculous to me given all of the folks I know who have travelled recently and fallen ill. The idea of contracting COVID at Historicon seemed a fait accompli: I remember turning to my Scrum Club mates John and Steve at one point over the weekend and saying that if we don't all end up with COVID from this convention, it'll be some kind of miracle.

Despite this disregard for masks and social distancing, there was still a bit of a pall over the proceedings. I had a great time, but overall attendance seemed down around 75%, the vendor hall felt less energized, and Wally's Basement was lucky to fill half the tables at any given session of the flea market. To be honest, I kinda liked the sparser attendance overall. Navigating everything felt a little easier.

A downside was that there were fewer games overall, which meant fewer genre/non-historical games on the schedule this year. While not our explicit intention, John Sears and I remedied the imbalance a smidge by pulling together impromptu pick-up games of his Star Schlock game. John is about to open up a public beta test of the rules, and these games gave him an opportunity to get in a few more playtests with strangers as well as hopefully gin up some positive word of mouth. In the end I helped John run the game two times off-schedule during the convention, once on Thursday night and again on Saturday night.

Ed Watts and son Brendan.

The games I did get to play in over the weekend were all quite enjoyable, and I feel like I've found a new gaming compadre in Troy Nowak, the game master who ran a Friday morning Star Wars game I played in. Gaming at 10:00 a.m. is never something I'd do outside of a convention setting, but I'm glad I caffeinated myself enough to jump into Troy's game.

STAR WARS

Troy used the old 1991 ruleset Star Wars Miniatures Battles, which had just the right amount of crunch for me (though I'm guessing Troy may have simplified it a bit for convention play). We even got to play with his 25mm figures that had been issued when the game was published. Much of the rest of the table was filled with what I believe he said were 3D printed buildings and terrain pieces that he had produced during the pandemic. All in all, it was a fun game, with easygoing players. Me and one fella played the imperials who had laid a trap for the rebels who needed to shoot their way free. Classic Star Wars stuff, and classic fun. It was a fast moving nail bitter all the way to the end, with lots of dice chucking. Our game had an appropriately cinematic ending, as the rebels barely eked out a victory literally on the very last move of the the last turn with a final flurry of blaster shots missing the back of the sole surviving rebel scurrying out the gate. Here's Troy's official description of the game:

Like Rats in a Trap
Alliance forces received information that a large Imperial arms shipment is being assembled in a local hanger for transfer off-world. Any weapons the Alliance can capture will be a boon to the local resistance. Capture the weapons to help restore the Republic or secure the hanger and defeat the rebel scum. Learn basic game mechanics playing this official introductory scenario using vintage lead miniatures. 

The table before any of the players had deployed their forces.

Your humble scribe, mid-game.

My stormtroopers trying to pin down the rebels to keep them from escaping out one of the two gates.

The rebels start the game surrounded in the middle of the table.

My teammate's imperial troops at the other end of the table.

Troy, our GM.

A scrum broke out at one point near the center of the board once some of the players realized they had some pretty powerful melee weapons.

Later that afternoon Troy ran another session using the same rules but an entirely different scenario. On the far left is my pal Andy Campbell. I like him despite the 1980s Ozzy shirt.

This scenario later in the day incorporated vehicles, and I was told some Jawas hot wired a landspeeder and started running over everything in their path, Grand Theft Auto style.

Wasileski's Literary Mash-Up

Jeff Wasileski's games fill up fast, and for good reason. They're some of the smartest, most raucous games you'll find at Historicon or any convention for that matter. At Scrum Con 2020 he set up an expansive game set in Shakespeare's London for about 16 players. This year's Historicon game accommodated a similar horde of players, and incorporated a mélange of literary referents either written during or set in the early 1800s. A simple look at the game's title below will give you the literary genealogy for Jeff's inspirations. But literary allusions don't make a game great. What Jeff does so marvelously well is weave together all of the characters and plots from those sources into a game in which every player has some thematically appropriate objective that stretches beyond those found in a traditional wargame, recreating something akin to the Braunstein antecedents that pointed the way to role playing games in the early 1970s. Several characters were meant to either get married (or stop such nuptials), challenge others to duels, or promote/diminish some other player's social standing with special abilities like "Withering Remark" and the like. In other words, all the sort of conflicts and dilemmas one might find in such novels but with the addition of a mysteriously growing horde of undead shaking off the dirt of the grave and shambling across the board. The whole event ended with the successful marrying off of one of the Bennet sisters in spite of the pesky zombie uprising. 

While Jeff and his co-game master controlled the zombies terrorizing the English town, the players were divided into two camps, the "respectable folk" and the "ne're-do-wells." I was typecast again amongst the latter, and played the role of a "zombie catcher" who was paid for killing zombies or, better yet, capturing them in my caged wagon to be dragged off to the burning fields. Despite the important public service I was clearly providing, my character, Davenport Sedley, and his band of thugs were not above conking the heads of the still living and passing them off as undead for payment. I couldn't help but imagine myself as Boris Karloff in my favorite movie he starred in, The Body Snatcher. In the game's finale, my character was dragged off to hell through a mystic portal in a nearby woods. (Fellow ne'er-do-wells played by Virginia Montrie were Mary Shelley and her creation Adam. I tried to convince Virginia that she should improvise her own secret objective of marrying off Adam to one of Austen's Bennet sisters.)

All of this would be a convoluted mess in lesser hands, but Jeff is a theatrical master of ceremonies that somehow is able to tug the narrative thread along to the game's end while undergirding the proceedings with quick-to-learn rules, in this instance a simplified version of The Silver Bayonet. I've wanted to play in one of Jeff's games for years, and I'm happy to report it matched my high expectations.  Here's the official game description:

Sharpe’s Pride and Prejudice and Master and Commander and Zombies
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." – Jane Austen. In a Regency England overrun by the undead Unmentionables, can the Bennet sisters find suitable husbands? The chances are good since England’s heroes have returned to fight the undead, including a roguish rifleman and scallywag sea captain together with their mandatorily Irish sidekicks. What hope do mere zombies have against some of the greatest heroes in English literature?

(I think I might have filched a few of the below photos from Mr. Wasileski's own Facebook account. They have been used here without permission but certainly with gratitude.)

Jeff Wasileski, the best dressed man in wargaming!

The players sit in rapt attention as they listen to Jeff's introduction to the game.

It helps to play the part and summon your most stentorian stage voice in the cacophonous game hall.

John and Virginia Montrie, wargaming's most charming power couple.

This was my little band of ne'er-do-wells, trying to capture zombies without getting caught unawares by the ravaging horde. My dogs hated zombies.

You can guess what a mess that fat bastard made when you shot him.

Lots of little interactions, deals, alliances, and loose role playing happening in small clusters every turn as each player pursued their own objectives.

Mein Zombie!

On Saturday morning I played in a fun zombie apocalypse game run by the rule's designer, Michael Moran. I liked the rules enough to wander over to the vendor's hall afterward to pick up my own copy of Mein Zombie, thinking it was the kind of game I'd enjoy running and the Scrum Club would happily play. Michael put together a fun game, and as the writer of these rules he was able to teach it quickly and keep the action rolling along without spending any down time consulting the rule book to answer edge-case questions. 

I ended up seated between a 12-year-old boy and his grandfather (who was distressingly not too much older than me). It was fun seeing the gap between generations close while we all scrambled to work together to stop an ongoing horde of zombies from escaping the town's sewers. There were nine of us at the table playing the survivors who had volunteered to go into the sewers and close off five access points that the zombies could use to crawl above ground and eat the townsfolk. 

I worked closely on our side of the table with the aforementioned grandpa and grandson, and we managed to close three of the five portals on our own; what the other six players were doing over on their side of the table still baffles me because 3.5 hours into our game they still had failed to close either of the two remaining portals. Eventually we had to go over and give them a hand, making noise to draw zombies off so that they could finally get the job done. In the end, we succeeded in closing all five portals and clearing out the 100+ zombies still roaming about. I suspect the brain-eating zombies would have been sorely disappointed in what the players on the other side of the table could offer in that regard. 

My dice luck was at a comically low ebb in this game. My first action in the game was to run through the sewer toward a few zombies, hoping to quickly clear our path. I failed my movement roll and skidded on my ass into said zombies. I managed to stand back up and swing my bat at my foes only to roll so poorly that not only did I miss, but somehow hit myself in the back of my own head. It was a sure premonition of how most of my rolls would go for the rest of the game.

I did eventually recover enough to help another player later in the game. A fellow player's character rounded a corner to be confronted by his own mother, now zombified. He wasn't allowed to attack her, so I put her down for him. He darkly chuckled and asked where was I 30 years ago?

Here's the official game description:

Zombies Into the Sewer
Using the fun and fast play rules Mein Zombie, you will take an intrepid hero down into the sewers beneath the town to eradicate the zombies. But there is more to it than just killing a few zombies in the dark, they keep pouring in from several different locations. It is imperative that you find and close all entrances while battling the zombie horde. This game is great for beginners or the experienced a like. If you like fast play games of zombie killing, this game is for you. 

My character. 

Grandpa to the left of me, grandson to the right...we held up our end of the bargain.

Michael Moran (left), our game master and the author of the Mein Zombie rules.

Good ol' Joe Richards moving his character (hopefully) out of harm's way.

Cornered in the sewers. The first player casualty. 

The event cards could offer a reprieve or unexpected obstacles!

My character sheet.

Games and More Games

I didn't take as many photos of other games this year as I often do, but there was some truly great crafting at a lot of these tables this year. Here are a few I did think to snap shots of.

Somebody said this was a modern battle set in Ukraine. Too soon.

Bill Molyneaux, the nicest man in wargaming.

Bill's San Juan Hill game in 54mm!

Battle for Crete. Coincidentally, I just spent a week on Crete earlier in the month for a friend's wedding.

Chris and Felicity FitzPatricks' booth in the vendor hall. I wanted to play a demo game of WarGods, but the timing never worked out.

More WardGods.

This giant Battle Masters game combined eight copies of the early 1990s classic that introduced lots of kids to the basic concepts of wargaming. When I came back a little later, every seat at this table was full.

Steve Braun fell in love with this game and played several demos of it over the weekend. This is an employee posing for scale comparison.

A most impressive looking Siege of Troy game in 54mm. Looked like great fun, but I'm of the age where this maxim applies: "Don't get down on the floor without a plan for getting back up."

I've seen this game at Historicon a few times. These giant Warhammer robots are make a big impression. We're going to see if we can lure these fellas to Scrum Con to run a game of this.

Loot Haul

I bought a lot of stuff this year in the vendor hall and flea market (Wally's Basement). The best deal I got was all of the beautifully painted miniatures I picked up from John and Virginia Montrie, who had lots of stuff to sell this year. I also beat a quick path straight to the Miniatures Building Authority booth in the vendor hall because they almost always have some clearance-priced items that I can't resist. This year was no different, and I picked up a cool gatehouse for $20. 

The heartbreakers for me were the couple of things I somehow didn't get to in time in Wally's Basement. The first were three Heritage plastic miniatures sets (Cleric's Quest, Wizard's Bane, etc.) that Frank Weaver beat me to. I've literally been looking for these for years on eBay, and they just never turn up. Frank scooped them up for $10 a piece.

The other teeth-grinding "one that got away" was on Sunday morning, when Wally's Basement opened an hour earlier than I anticipated. John sent me a photo of some guy selling a bunch of 1st edition D&D modules for $10 a pop who was "willing to make a deal" for the lot. I bolted from my room and across the convention center to check them out. I actually have a lot of modules for first edition D&D, but I'd happily fill some gaps in my collection for $10 each. I got to this fella's table literally as my pal Tony Marano was closing the deal for the entire stack. Tony let me flip through to see what I missed, and there were two extremely collectible RPGA modules in the pile, including "To the Aid of Falx," which goes for hundreds of dollars. I'm glad they went to Tony, but still...

Anyway, I left with lots of loot I was happy to get. See below if you're curious...

Pent up consumer demand writ large as folks stampeded into the opening Wally's Basement session Thursday night. Not for the faint of heart these days, and I heard plenty of anecdotes of folks who decided it wasn't worth the risk. I put on my mask, made a quick round, and stepped out again until the crowd started to thin 15 minutes later.

Brand new. I really loved the look of these Minotaurs.

I only ended up paying about $4 a piece for these eight Warhammer blister packs. I'd buy these all day if I could have found more in Wally's Basement.

The contents of this HeroQuest supplement are new and unpunched, but the box seems to have gone missing years prior. I'll make a new, better box for this.

Now I'm only missing one pack of these Lucid Eye-produced hobgoblins. The hunt is on!

Funny enough, I have a use for a swarm of oversized frogs in an upcoming game. Pure serendipity. 

Picked up all of these crucible packs on the cheap: three packs for $5.

Got it home and it is actually complete. Amazing for a punched chit game from 1979. Didn't realize it, but I guess this has a bit of a fan base still all these years later. Looking forward to giving it a whirl.

All of these painted figures below were picked up from John and Virginia Montrie, who did a lovely job with them.

$20, usually $80.

I consoled myself from losing out on the D&D modules by picking up this stack of Polyhedron magazines. I've never actually owned a copy of the RPGA Network's newsletter, though I always wanted to join as a kid back in the 1980s (just couldn't afford the dues). It has been fun reading these this week and getting a peek into early game culture. These are issues #7-19, and were published around 1982-83.

Closing Thoughts and Parting Shots

Was it great playing games and buying cool stuff to add to my collection? 

Of course.

But what I enjoyed even more was making new pals like Troy Nowak. Getting to see my friend Ivor Evans receive an award for the amazing crafting he always puts into his games. Catching up with Tony Marano, Andy Campbell, Keith Sloan, Jeff Wasileski, Michael Colton, Eric Schlegel, Ed Watts, John and Virginia Montrie, and a number of other pals I often don't get to see in any other context. Helping John introduce Star Schlock to new players. Eating almost every meal with Steve Braun. Having a late night drink with Walt O'Hara in a poseur cocktail lounge late at night overlooking the Lancaster skyline.

Games are fun. But the friendships are everything.