The Wargamer

Introduction

The final convention for the Eastern Chapter of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS East) began the day after Veterans' Day, November 12, 2004. The occasion was Fall In 2004, held once more in Gettysburg, PA after a brief hiatus down Maryland way in Timonium. Yet again the hobby faithful gathered at the Eisenhower Inn and Conference Center for three days of gaming, shopping and the renewal of old friendships, normally over a strong libation in the bar. Fall In is the junior and smallest of the three HMGS East conventions (the other two being Cold Wars held in March, and Historicon in July), but its attendees were no less enthusiastic as they made the Eisenhower rumble with the crash of miniature artillery and the clash of swords just as small. At least one pleasant surprise was in store, however as the Eisenhower Inn had expanded its facilities providing a lot more room to enjoy the festivities.

This year's theme for the convention was Against All Odds: Forlorn Hopes and Lost Causes. Like most themes at HMGS East conventions, this one was designed to promote slivers of military history that deserve much more attention than either historians or wargamers give them. So what exactly was Against All Odds all about? Think Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Think Chard and Bromhead at Rourke's Drift. Think Leonidas and 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, but most of all think of Confederate General George Pickett and some damn fool charge up a hill back in 1863, just a couple of miles from the convention site. Games portraying the theme were always to be found, to include a well attended fight for the Alamo though we knew how it was going to end and that a sequel was very unlikely.

All in all some 1540 folks stopped by Fall In, to include family and dealers who themselves played more than a few games. Indeed, there were some 340 games played, to include the ubiquitous Ancients Tournament and its Renaissance Society cousin. The break down was as follows:

As happened at Historicon, gaming World War II was the undisputed champ in terms of numbers, though this time around those of pike and pilum affiliation made quite a respectable showing at number two. Nevertheless it seemed the Napoleonic folks had the obvious lock on quality with their 16 games, if for no other reason than one of them was mine (ahem).