Historicon 2017 Day 1

 I ran my first game in the morning on Thursday and had a great group of test subjects - oops - I mean players.  I was really nervous as this was the first time I've run a game using rules that I wrote.  Of course I borrowed form other rule sets like Donnybrook, Bolt Action and others, but still it was a bit nerve wracking.

I was very fortunate the Mike and his son could make it down on Thursday to help out with the game.  Mike's been super busy at work and I was worried he couldn't make the con.  We'll start planning for next year in a few weeks.

 I also may have been a bit too zealous in keeping them to one page - the print was a little small!  The morning game was "DAK and Dragons"  We did discover that a Panzer III can, indeed, kill a Dragon but it was a very prolonged fight!

The objective for the game was for one side or the other to get into the catacombs and capture "Professor Ackbar" and then escort him off their map edge.  It seems the mad professor is trying to resurrect the dreaded Mummy King.

 The game play moved very quickly and everyone seemed to grasp the basics after the second turn.

 First team into the catacombs.  Everywhere there's a yellow dot, something happens when a team gets within 6 inches - usually something with sharp swords or large teeth.

More teams making it underground.

The French get their FT-17 stuck in a doorway and now need to find a new way out while being chased by Gnolls.

 The throne room has been breached! and professor Ackbar is in sight - but he has some friends guarding him

 A single surviving German figure manages to get Ackbar out after several rounds os see-saw combat .  This game went to the Axis but it was touch and go.

 My first group of players and myself on the right.  Game one was a blast to run and everyone seemed to be having a great time.  One of the benefits of GM'ng is you get to meet a lot of great people and strike up friendships.  One of my favorite players is Florence, of "the Notorious Flo" as I've named her.  She is a lovely person and a fantastic player.  And, yes, she commanded the Panzer III that put down the dragon!

 Game two started at 3:00.  It was the same game concept but we used modern figures rather than WW2, hence the name change to "SOCOM and Sorcery"

 The Throne Room was first breached by the Taliban

 One player figured out he could access the thrown room from the pyramid and sent a US marine team to snatch the professor away from the weekend Taliban as they were' being shredded by the Devours of Amnant (the croc-guys)

 The Professor was bundled into a HUMVE and driven off the map - victory to the coalition!

I also acquired a self appointed jr GM (Connor, the young man giving the Thumbs-Up).  He insisted on rolling for the monsters and ended up correcting me on the rules I had written.  He was usually right.  I had a lot of repeat players during the con which is a sign people liked the game.  Cody, the young man in the Yellow T-Shirt was the first.

I ran a third game but forgot to take pictures.  That was roughly 10 hours of GM'ng on Day1.

 Now for some pic's of other games - amazing Russo-Japanese War ship models.  I love wandering around the con and looking at what other people create - so many fun ideas and standards to aspire too.

 An old Architects of War resin well.  There's some nostalgia there...

 This table had amazing Frostgrave terrain - it's a modeling standard that I aspire to but haven't achieved yet.

 wow!

 A thirsty foot long Team Yankee table - look at all the Soviet tanks

 Lots and lots of Russians

 Not so many NATO opponents.  I did suggest to one of the GM's that they could simulate a tactical nuke by simply flipping over one of the panels.  That idea wasn't received as openly as I would have thought.

There was a lot of Team Yankee at the con and people seemed to be really enjoying it.

 Dave S's brilliant tank battle table

I really regret not getting a chance to play this game.

There were a lot of Cigar Box Games battle mats at the con.  I used three of them for my desert terrain - it's just SOOOO much easier to transport terrain cloths than panels to a con.  I like how this able used the ones that have printed trees and other details.

Stealing ideas for a Jungle themed terrain.

 A whimsical Pirate themed table.  I picked up some Pirate stuff from the Blood and Plunder line and have been thinking about a Pirate game for Historical 2018...

Just thinking at the moment...

I was really excited to win an award and ended the day exhausted but really happy.  A lot of work goes into making up a game and seeing the players have fun at the table is really rewarding.