Historicon, Day Two...

Reports from the front coming in... pictures to follow...

So, it's early (ish) on Saturday morning. Last night was a bit late, so I put off blogging until now. Sorry about that. The Yuengling may have had something to do with it. That's my excuse, anyway.

Day 2 started early with an 0800 game. The boys tried out a new (to them) set of Western rules called "High Noon." The folks putting it on had a HUGE (200+ square feet!!!) table set up, with towns, ranches, deserts, Indian villages and mesas. Unfortunately, the boys lost (they were on a team together), but they did have a couple of very dramatic moments, including one point in which Dane dove a character through a window, came up with guns blazing, and killed one of the cowboys.

Next up was my game, "After the Unobtainite". Happily, I had all six players show up, so I had a full game. I think everyone had a good time, and I made no major mistakes. HMLS Prince Charles burned down about ten Martians before succumbing to multiple hits from the Martian artillery. Another high point of the game was when one of the Soldaten went rogue and charged into the unsuspecting back of a squad of Maton's Masked Minions! The British force was virtually annihilated in the end, and the automatons were plagued with mechanical difficulties, leading the Martians in good position to destroy the pack animals which were carting off their unobtainite for the wetland devils. Colonel Sir Harlan Sanders, KFC, will have a hard time explaining his losses once he returns to the Crown Colony!

The boys hit the painting table while I was running my game, and Dane even got a class in painting for beginners in. They continued to practice painting at the Paint N Take Event. You will see that mentioned again, as they have spent a lot of time there! Thankfully, I have checked with the ladies in charge (Heather is the best!), and I am proud to say they have gotten glowing reports on model behavior. I suspect bribery...

Next up was a trip through the dealer's area, and the flea market. I picked up a couple of things for a friend of mine back in Houston, and the boys found a new copy of a game called AT-43 (science fiction) for half off, and pooled together to buy it. It's nice because the minis are pre-painted and neat looking, so you can pretty much play as soon as you open the box. Dane also bought a few minis at the flea market, while Grey and I went looking (unsuccessfully, so far) for some Reaper brand paints. Those may just have to wait until we get back home to order some for him.

My 1900 game - the one I was probably most looking forward to, Airfleet Battles by GASLIGHT, was cancelled as Chris was very ill. I did manage to get into another game that I had wanted to try which was run using the rules "Valor, Steel and Flesh." That was fun, and the minis (by Parroom Station - the game was run by the sculptor, Bob Charette, incidentally) were fantastic. I wish I had taken a few more closeup shots of the tanks, especially. I played the Prussians in an Earth Alliance attack on a pass held by Martians. The infantry did well for me, but neither of my tanks could hit anything. I think it must have been Oktober, and the tank crews were celebrating a bit much the night before. Hangovers are not good for accurate gunnery. Honestly, I don't know if it was possible for us to take the pass, but we gave it a good solid try, and the sands of Mars are a bit more red as a result!

Grey and Dane had a game at 2000, in which they each took command of a 25mm scale buccaneer ship. They didn't win their game (we have had some rotten luck this weekend!), but did have fun. Dane blamed a couple of his allies for getting in his way so that he couldn't come to grips with the enemy, as he ended up the game essentially unharmed, but frustrated in most of his attempts to blast the British ships he was raiding.

So, once my game was finished I checked in on the boys (who still had an hour to go) and then I hit the free beer line. Yes, you heard me: Free. Beer. Yuengling Lager, no less, which I am rather fond of but have a hard time getting my hands on in Texas! Got my beer, called up my friend Patrick (Gallowglass of TMP fame), and went to hang out for a bit. He was just starting to run a Moderns game (Ambush Alley, I think), so he was busy, but I chatted with a few other players while there.

Anyway, except for the cancelled game, which I luckily replaced with another game I wanted, Day Two was another good day of fun for us all at Historicon.

I'll post Day Two photos later. Promise!