Zombies Come to Harford Mall

The HAWKs supported the Harford Community College gaming day, HARCON, this past weekend.  The theme for HARCON this year was zombies.  Last year we changed our model for supporting HARCON.  In the past we ran a handful of games, but we found that many folks at the convention didn’t want to devote four hours to a miniatures game.  Last year we set up a large French and Indian Wars game so that a player could take a small group and execute a short, one-hour mission.  That worked well for us last year.  This year we set up the zombie shopping mall that we built as a club project in addition to a convenience store (“stop and rob”) and parking lot.  When players wanted to join the game, we gave them a survivor group and told them to gather supplies.

A view of the zombie mall before the carnage began along with the HAWKs who orchestrated the event.
A view of the zombie mall before the carnage began along with the HAWKs who orchestrated the event. (Picture courtesy Greg Priebe)

We used G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. as the rules for the game.  When players searched an area, they made a Save roll.  If successful, they drew a random supply chit.  Each chit had a certain number of “victory points” as well as an “encumbrance.”  Encumbrance was depicted as a reduction in the movement allowance of the figure carrying it.  There was no maximum number of supplies a figure could carry, but eventually figures moved pretty slowly as a result of all the stuff they were carrying.

Bruce, the big winner for the day, quietly gathered up supplies while herding zombies toward the inexperienced players.
Bruce, the big winner for the day, quietly gathered up supplies while herding zombies toward the inexperienced players.
A view of the area around the stop and rob.
A view of the area around the stop and rob.
Many of the HAWKs engaging in zombie squashing.
Many of the HAWKs engaging in zombie squashing.
Part of the table including the downed helicopter and the the stunned survivors waiting to be escorted to safety or eaten.
Part of the table including the downed helicopter and the the stunned survivors waiting to be escorted to safety or eaten.

Survivor groups included the Scooby Gang, The A-Team, the Ghostbusters, police, Boy Scouts, Mountain Folk, corporate women in high heels with guns, rampaging nuns, and others.  It enabled the players to choose a gang thats or too fit their personality and then play for an hour.

BA Barracas and Hannibal Smith duking it out with a mob of zombies.
BA Barracas and Hannibal Smith duking it out with a mob of zombies.

When the smoke cleared, we had about twelve players join us for an hour to 90 minutes, including a number of people who had never played miniatures.

Two young ladies joined the game along with their mom.
Two young ladies joined the game along with their mom.