It what is now a time-honored tradition, Dave, Chris, Greg, and I took a road trip to attend a non HMGS-East convention. This year Don joined us as we headed to Nashcon in Nashville, TN. We rented a U-Haul, hooked it to Dave’s Subaru and headed down, just minutes after I closed on a new house.
We each ran several games. Greg ran three Dr. Who games. Dave ran two WWII games and we co-ran a large Napoleonic game. Chris was scheduled to run four games; however, he had to cancel one because he wasn’t feeling well on Saturday night. I ran three Napoleonic games.
Above is a picture of Greg’s Dr. Who game set in the Northwest Frontier, that is sort of an “aethership down” scenario. Below is the setup for my Montereau 1814 game using Fate of Battle: Look, Sarge, No Charts: Napoleonic Wars.
Dave ably assisted in the running of this game. A major reason for me to head Nashcon this year (and Origins last year) was to evangelize the Look, Sarge, No Charts series of rules to a new audience. All of the games went well, and I think all the players had a good time.
Though the game seems a bit complicated when I explain them at a convention game, we’ve found that players catch on pretty quickly, even though the mechanics are novel — and we think innovative.
Here are two shots from Greg’s Dr. Who game, using the Dr. Who Miniatures rules. To Greg’s surprise, the players successfully got the aether ship back in the air.
There were a number of terrific games at Nashcon. Above is a picture of an impressive-looking Johnny Reb game run by Cory Ring, who I used to game with many years ago in Tallahassee. I had a chance to play games with two sets of rules I’ve been wanting to try: Songs of Blades and Heroes and Bolt Action. I enjoyed Songs, but I’m not sure it’s a game I’d like to play often. I’d like to give one of the other variants, such as Songs of Drums and Shakos. I played Bolt Action, but I was distinctly unimpressed with the rules.
Here is a shot from another Napoleonic game I ran, this time the battle of Craonne.
Chris and I ran a 14-player Mars game using GASLIGHT. None of the players had ever used the rules before, but GASLIGHT is quickly picked up. The players were generally aggressive, and the game went well.
The game featured various European factions facing off against Sanwar, red Martians, green Martians, rock men, white apes, etc.
This game was the first major engagement for my Female Hussars mounted on Death Jaws. In gross violation of Buck’s Law (i.e., the first time a unit is used in a game it gets spanked), they acquitted themselves well. Above you can see how the swirling melee that began when green Martians assaulted the females’ steam coach. The Death Jaw riders came to their rescue, creating a melee which lasted two turns.
The second coach found itself beset upon by Sanwar, green Martians, and a white ape. The coach managed to survive the game.
Dave ran an interesting WWII North African campaign game using Look, Sarge, No Charts. He had a full complement of players, and the game went well.
Nashcon was very well run. Bryant and Scotty did a tremendous job. There were a large number of dealers and a wide variety of games. Nashcon is what I hope Barrage will become over time.
