The Wargamer

It’s that time of year again. The rebirth of the planet arrives as winter slips away into the void to be overpowered by the freshness of spring. The air smells just a bit sweeter; flowers begin to bloom in all their lustrous glory and many a young man’s fancy turn to thoughts of love. But most importantly, its time to mosey on down to Lancaster, PA and see how much money I really shouldn’t have spent at Cold Wars 2005. Friends, games and the biggest hobby shop this side of the North Pole awaited, and I wasn’t about to be late.

In Cadence, Count Off!

This year’s edition of HMGS East’s winter convention was held April 8 – – 10 April 2005, a little later than normal , mandated by some scheduling issues due to when Easter fell. happened to fall. As always, the Lancaster Host Resort was the gathering place for an event that celebrated a little covered avenue from military history’s long highway. The convention theme was the Dangerous Decades, the period from 1914 to 1939 when the great empires of Europe were supplanted by various revolutionary “isms” such as communism and fascism. These were the decades of the War to End All Wars (World War I), followed by the Polish-Bolshevik Conflict, Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia and the Spanish Civil War. A quick trip to the main exhibit hall immediately convinced me that related gaming would be well represented as the first thing I spied was some gamemaster in a Bolshevik cap with red star setting up his t ables for future battle.

Yet theme events were but one small part of a very large gaming pie. While an absolute breakdown from the convention staff was unavailable as of press time, a total 312 events were confirmed held at the convention, including three seminars and four painting events. This number, however, did not count the many tournaments held at Cold Wars, the most ubiquitous being the several Ancients tournaments sponsored by the North American Society of Ancient and Medieval Wargaming and the Pike and Shot tournament sponsored by the Renaissance Wargaming Society. Tournament honcho Scott Holder noted this could well have added another 150 – – 200 games, making a grand total of around 500 events.

Playing all these miniature battles were some 2049 hobbyists, broken down into 200 gamemasters who got in free, 1449 paid attendees, 252 vendors, 57 staff with the balance made up of visitors, minors and the like. The inclusion of dealers, staff and the others is significant as it points out these folks are miniature wargamers as well. This is particularly true of the vendors as many of their staff, and the purveyors themselves, often have other “real” jobs (Russ Dunaway, the owner of Old Glory Miniatures, for example, is a Protestant clergyman). They operate their hobby related businesses in many respects as a hobby itself, and trust me, they play lots of games. Thus I found Dennis Shorthouse and the crew from On Military Matters bookstore involved in a game already when I arrived Thursday night before the convention kicked off the next day.

Me, I shared a comp room due my being part of the Cold Wars staff as both Webmaster and staff photographer. This is the first time in 14 years I was able to actually stay onsite at an HMGS East con, and I’ll have to admit, it did my soon-to-be-50 year old body good (I also put the gas money I saved to good use . . . in the Dealer’s Hall, ahem). Yours truly once again ran a game but decided to pay the entrance fee anyway. As a member of any HMGS chapter, this was only $ 20 for the entire weekend and is a steal by any measure, especially since gamemastering is the ultimate have fun, get your ego stroked experience.

Let the Games Begin!

Since my own game was scheduled for ten in the morning on first day Friday, I wasn’t really able to get out and look at all the other offerings until Saturday morning when I shopped, strolled around the Host and took lots of digital photos. There were also friends to meet, some of whom I only see three times a year, and then only at the cons. Whether discussing the exact composition of Louis XIV’s Maison du Roi or chapter politics, renewing these friendships is always worthwhile.

And speaking of politics, the HMGS East Membership Meeting was actually held at 8:30 that morning. Having gone thru these during my six years on the Board of Directors, I usually sleep late or otherwise find something a little less painful (like a root canal) to do when this august body begins deliberations. The Cold Wars meeting has at the top of its agenda the nomination of those hearty souls soles who wish to run for election or reelection to the HMGS East Board. I haven’t received the official list yet to post on the East Website, but let me convey my sincerest condolen . . . er, ah, congratulations to all.