Saturday at the HAWKs BARRAGE Convention

 This past weekend was the HAWK's annual BARRAGE miniatures wargaming convention.  We had a good crowd for both days, and a great time was to be had! Here are some shots of a few of the games on Saturday.  For Fridays, photos, see here: Friday at BARRAGE.

 A Balin's Tomb game.

Ancient Galleys.

Flames of War Tournament

Battle of Hoth

Norman Dean's "The Plains of Peril"

A Gentleman's War

The HAWKs celebrated their 25th Anniversary at the con!

A view of the hall Saturday night.

Mark Morn's "What a Tanker!" game

The Bridge of Khazad-dum.  

Friday at the HAWKs BARRAGE Convention

   This past weekend was the HAWK's annual BARRAGE miniatures wargaming convention.  We had a good crowd for Friday, and a great time was to be had! Here are some shots of a few of the games on Friday.

Sam Fuson's "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Blue Carbuncle" game using GASLIGHT rules

A War of the Roses Skirmish I ran using Feudal Patrol rules.

John Thomasovich's "Smolensk 1941: The Encirclement" game using modified KISS Rommel rules

Bill Slavicsek's Star Wars RPG game using the Star Wars Role Playing Game rules

Rob Dean's Medieval Mayhem game using homebrew rules.

Bill Molyneaux's 55 Days at Peking game using homebrew rules.

Roxanne Patton's Semper Adversor game using Combat Patrol rules

Mike Pierce's Flank Encounter 1862 game using Sharp Practice rules.

The BARRAGE '19 Website is Open for Registration!

    Just an update to let everyone know that the BARRAGE '19 website is open for registration!   BARRAGE is being held September 27-28 in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
    Gamemasters get you games in, as the grid will fill up fast; and players, now is the time to sign up to get the slots you want!

     Barrage is a low-stress gaming event, focusing on having fun with miniatures games of many different genres, scales, and sets of rules.  In the past we’ve had a half dozen dealers, a few flea market tables, over 200 attendees, and thirty or more miniatures games. 
     Full details at the BARRAGE Webpage: BARRAGE '19

In the HAWKs Room Saturday at Cold Wars

     This past weekend was HMGS East's Cold Wars Miniatures Gaming Convention in Lancaster PA.  I arrived Friday morning, and had a great couple of days gaming, and running a well-received War of the Roses game on Saturday using the under-development Feudal Patrol rules.   Below are some shots of a bunch of the games that were run in the HAWKs club room on Saturday.

     Thanks to all the great gamers who came out to play in the club's games!

The War of the Roses game I ran,"Feeding the Roses", using the underdevelopment Feudal Patrol rules.

Close-up of my War of the Roses table.

Dave Wood's  version of "The Saxons at Wagram: 1809", using Fate of Battle rules.

Kevin Fischer's "Heavy Gears Everywhere" game, using HeavyGear Blitz rules.

Bill Acheson's "Hill 315" game, using Combat Patrol rules.

Dave Wood's "Look, Sarge, We Are Invading Russia" game, using Look, Sarge, No Charts: WWII rules

Buck Surdu's Operation Platinfuchs game, using Combat Patrol rules.

Harry Kogelschatz's "Samurai and Pirate Showdown" game, using Blood and Swash rules.

Geoff Graff's perennially popular kids Lego game, Plastic Pirates Produce Problems, using Plastic Pirates rules.

Zeb Cook's "Motti Breakout: A Russo-Finnish War game" using Combat Patrol rules.

Don Hogge's "The Germans Roll East" game, using Battleground: WWII rules.

Buck Surdu's "Tales of the gold Monkey" game, using GASLIGHT rules.

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In the HAWKs Room Friday at Cold Wars

      This past weekend was HMGS East's Cold Wars Miniatures Gaming Convention in Lancaster PA.  I arrived Friday morning, and had a great couple of days gaming, and running a well-received War of the Roses game on Saturday using the under-development Feudal Patrol rules.   Below are some shots of a bunch of the games that were run in the HAWKs club room on Friday.

Greg Priebe's post apocalyptic game "Wasteland 101" using This is Not a Test rules.

Japanese cavalry on the advance in California, Duncan Adams' "Sayonara Gringo" game using Combat Patrol rules.

Zeb Cook's "High Himalayas" pulp adventure game using Astounding Tales rules 

Don Hogge's "Winter Along the Mohawk" game using Muskets and Tomahawks rules.

Dave Wood's "First Battle of the Boer War" game using the Combat Patrol: British Colonial Variant rules.

Union and Confederate forces face-off in Eric Schlegel's "Fury in the West" Battle of Shiloh" game using A Union So Tested rules.

Kurt Schlegel's "The Saxons at Wagram: 1809" game, using SAF Napoleonics rules.

Bill Molyneaux's "Battle of Hampton Roads: March 8-9 1862" game, using Beer and Pretzels Ironclads rules. 

Geoff Graff's "Jutland 15" game, using General Quarters 2 rules.

Buck Surdu's "A Hot Time in a Very Cold Place" game, featuring Finns vs Russians during the Winter War of 1939, and using Combat Patrol rules.

Don Hogge's "Battle in the Alps: Italy Moves West" game, using Battleground WWII rules

My Fall-In Game: Escape the Dungeon using "Feudal Patrol" Rules.

    At the Fall In gaming convention, held back on November 8th-11th, Buck Surdu, Greg Priebe, and I all conspired to run a trio of games on the new Secret Weapon "Tablescapes Dungeons: Mines" terrain that Buck and I had purchased earlier in the year via a Kickstarter: Tablescape Dungeons: Mines.  Between Buck and I, we had purchased 5 of the base sets, 5 of the mine track sets, and 4 of the walkway sets.  I also had bought some of the riser pieces.   We frantically got it all painted, with the goal of running games with it at Fall-In.

The players hear the rules brief, as Buck (on the left) helps a player with a question. 

     We picked Saturday to run our games, so we could set up Friday night.  Saturday afternoon, Buck would run a GASLIGHT game set in a secret Nazi laboratory, hidden in an abandoned mine, that GI's were attempting to raid to steal scientific secrets. In the evening, Greg would run a Dr Who game, also using GASLIGHT; that would be set immediately after Buck's scenario, with Dr Who arriving to stop an even greater menace that would appear in the Nazi Lab.   And I was set to start things off with the morning game.

The Dwarves are surprised by the appearance of a dirty trick generated Ogre, bursting through a door on their right. 

     My game was something of a reverse Dungeon Crawl, using the under-development Feudal Patrol rules. The scenario was called "Hunting Evil in Small Places".  Players would each control a team of adventurers; but they would be starting at the back end of the dungeon, already loaded with treasure, and need to escape with the treasure they had found.   Each player also had a half dozen "dirty trick" cards that they could play on their opponents in an attempt to slow them down and make them lose their treasure.  These were things like making monsters appear, or springing traps.   Also, on turn three, a trio of big bad evil monsters would appear at the back of the dungeon, spurring the adventuring parties to move even faster towards the entrances, or face an uncertain future.  Whoever got out the quickest with the most treasure, won.

The Dwarf Cleric, separated from her party, narrowly escapes some pursing Halflings.  

     I was pleasantly surprised when I had all 6 ticketed players show up; though I sadly had to turn two stand-by players away.    The players selected from a  half dozen themed parties, including: Dwarves, Elves, Humans, Halflings, Drow, and Barbarians.

A dirty-trick generated Large Boulder drops from the ceiling and begins rolling towards the Dwarf Wizard.  In the end he was able to outrun it, even with his short legs!

     The players were quick to pick up the rules, and soon they were racing through the tunnels, and throwing monsters and traps in the paths of their opponents.  It was a great crew of players, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, including myself.

The Dwarf Cleric finds herself squeezed between the Ogre, and one of the quickly approaching big bad evil monsters.  Again, she somehow escaped!

     A highlight for me was a big three-way brawl that broke out between the Humans, Elves, and Barbarians.  All the players had a lot of fun skirmishing in the tunnels.  Also enjoyable was following the course of the Dwarf Cleric, who got separated from her party, and took a rather circuitous route through the mine, facing all sorts of perils, but somehow coming out mostly unscathed.

The big three-way fight develops between the Humans, Elves, and Barbarians.   The white rocks spread around on the track are the Barbarian Wizard's "Ice Blast" spell which created a 2"x3" section of rough icy terrain that halved movement. 

          In the end, the Halflings won, by not only being the first out, but also managing to get their whole crew safely out, and recovering 6 treasures.  Somehow they passed through much of the dungeon being left relatively alone, as is true to their Halfling nature.   :)

We loved the Halfling Wizards surprised look as he came face to face with the towering Drow Sorceress.

The three-way fight continues!

Just as the game was ending, the big bad evil monster, Flame Elemental reached the Elf Ranger, and the Ranger actually managed to damage the Elemental without taking any damage herself! 

The winning Halfling party

A look at Buck's Nazi Lab game, as GI's rush into the main room.

Greg, seated, running his Doctor Who game for a group of enthusiastic players..