The World at War Game Day at Ft. Meigs

The World at War Game Day is a fun little event that is held the first weekend in November at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg, Ohio. It is a one day mini-con with a strong family focus.  Rusty, Ted, and I from the Black River Area Wargames Society  ran "Looking for Bigfoot".   The Toledo Blade was there and took some photos of the event.  Here are a few shots we took of our game.

Players chased Bigfoot with a civilian figure of their choice.

We tried to make the terrain as diverse as possible

"Looking for Bigfoot" is the brain child of Ted who is a really big Bigfoot fan.  No, I mean he's really big and looks kinda "Squatchy" (sorry Teddi couldn't resist)! The rules were a collaborative process between those two, their children, and myself.  Initial game development took place on the car ride to and from Historicon.  I was taking notes and could barely keep up with all the flying ideas!   When we got back I worked the notes into the semblance of a game and we started play testing.

At one point we had 3 Bigfoots running around!

 The action was fast and furious as the players searched for, then chased Bigfoot all over the place!  According to the feedback we got, from kids and parents alike, I think we succeeded in our goal of making it a kid friendly, challenging, fun game.  Everyone had a great time including us!

Martians invade NOWSCON

I ran my Victorian Science Fiction game at NOWSCON back in September.  Northern Ohio Wargaming Society runs a small convention every year.  They are a diverse group of gamers who enjoy playing all sorts of games.  The scenario I ran, Aristotle Down, is the same one I have run before at other events.  It is a large battle based on John Carter of Mars. I use Black Hat's wonderful 18mm Martian Empires range along with some trusty Old Glory Brits! My friend and constant opponent, Rusty was there helping me run things and taking pictures.  It seems we are only ever on the same side if we are the ones running the game! It was an intense battle full of surprises, and everyone had a good time!

Carl Scheu, president of NOWS (far right), plots a devious move while I go over things with other players.

Things get deadly around the downed HMSS Aristotle!

The British end of the board empties out.

Carl's Green Martians overwhelm some Imperial Martin cavalry. In the meantime, his Calots had gone ahead and overrun the British supply column giving his faction a victory!

Old Glory Tour

Doing a little catch up from last year...

My friend Rusty, his son Cole and I got talking to Russ Dunaway of Old Glory as we were packing our cars to leave Cold Wars 2012.  He graciously invited us down to tour the Old Glory facilities and we, of course accepted!  Finally got it set it up and what a great trip for Miniature Wargamers it was!  Now be advised, if you ever make the trip, that the location can be a little um...challenging to find!  Let's just say that even with GPS we had some trouble!  But man, oh man was it ever worth it! Pulling up, we all felt like we had Golden Tickets! 

Your author getting his land legs after a twisting
drive through the hilly PA countryside.

Connie Dunaway, the "Real Boss" gave us a wonderful tour.

 When we walked inside we were greeted by Connie Dunaway who took us on our tour and explained every aspect of the operation.  I learned a lot about the casting process, and the business in general, that I did not know. The first thing we noticed were the molds lining the shelves throughout much of the shop.  Hundreds upon hundreds of them all systematically arranged so they could easily be pulled down to cast.  The actual casting area was much smaller than I expected.   Overall, the whole operation was smaller than you might expect.  The key to their success seems to be their highly efficient production process.  We were all impressed at just how quick their casting could be.  Rusty had hoped to get a look at a wagon he was thinking of buying, but they did not have one in stock.  Despite his protests, Connie insisted on having one cast for him to see. About 10 minutes or so later he had it in his hand!  Everyone in the shop was just as friendly and informative as they could  be, and the whole place had a real family feel. 

Rusty, Cole and myself in the packing area.
You can see a tiny fraction of the molds behind us.

The "Big Boss" (Russ) showed up after a we were there a while, and made sure to find out what Cole (14) was into (Zombies Vampires & Werewolves of course) and gave him a box of their very nice 28mm Blue Moon figures. We then discussed a variety of topics. Everything from the state of the  hobby, to the new location for Historicon, to what periods & rules we liked to play.  Russ was very interested in what each of us would like to see next in the way of figures, and our opinions were solicited about some current projects they are working on at the shop.  Cole and then Rusty eventually wandered off to shop. Both of them laughed as Russ and I continued our conversation.  It seems we both tend to get rather, shall we say, involved and passionate when discussing gaming!  Russ and I talked gaming until he had to leave, and he gave me an idea to try for some rules I'm working on.  Then I picked up a few "necessary items" (I started my pirate collection) and, with no small amount of regret, we were on our way home.

 

Kids in a candy shop!

Visitors who have shopped Old Glory at conventions will feel right at home.  They have all their traveling displays set up in the shop along with shelves and bins full of product. Now I am biased, since I have been a customer of Old Glory since they first started, but I was impressed with the whole operation.  Old Glory has a quality facility, making quality products at an exceptionally reasonable price.  I want to say thank you again, on behalf of Rusty, Cole and myself, to Connie, Russ and the whole gang at Old Glory for a most informative and enjoyable visit!