Historicon: Day 2-4

As it turns out, my ambition of blogging each day of Historicon was waylaid by circumstance. Friday saw Ken and I run six demo games at the booth, all while doing bang-up sales! I lost count at some point but I think we ended up running 14 or 15 demo games at the booth over the course of the show. If I don't know the rules now, I never will! We played around with some experimental rules during the demos and talked alot about different things we can do with the rules as well. We even bandied about the idea of using ATKM rules for WWII! Yes, WWII. More of that anon. Also, Friday saw a massive 54mm AWI game hosted by Bob and Matt Lehman from Ohio, using ATKM figures and rules. Ken and I met Bob and his son Matt last year at Fall In! They are loyal customers of Ken's but more importantly have become very good friends. We always look forward to seeing them at conventions now. Their game was indeed massive, on an 18 x 6 table with 15? units per side. Unfortunately, I have no photos to hand of the game since I left my camera (with the pictures) in Ken's hurdy-gurdy which now is in Georgia (home of ATKM). If you're wondering what a hurdy-gurdy is, feel free to email Ken with your query. I'm sure he'd be happy to chat about the pros and cons of hurdy-gurdies. My thanks got to Dick Caldwell, who sent the photos in this blog entry to Ken. Dick was a very pleasant and agreeable demo game player and customer.

After a long Friday, I was off to dinner and drinks with friends who live in the area and Ken spent a quiet night at the hotel. So, no blogging Friday.

Saturday we were up bright and early again, at the booth for the 9:00 am influx of punters. This day would prove to be a real struggle to get through, and not because of any negative events. The day was great but WOW we were tired at the end of it. We were hopping at the booth all day and looking forward to the ATKM Invitational game that evening. The invitational game is becoming a tradition where Ken hosts a big, big game for his loyal customers. This year saw a 16 x 6 table with 34 units (18 on the American side and 16 on the British). We had seven players, beautiful figures and terrain, a small smorgasbord table, and a cooler full of beer. What more could you want? Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this game either (see my comments above). Everyone seemed to have a good time and even the neighbouring gamers were showing great interest (of course, that may have just been the prospect of free food and beer...but I will go on that rant some other time). We finished up around 11:30 and after packing up the gear (thanks to all for the help), we were able to relax with cigars and friends before heading back to the hotel and collapsing from near exhaustion.

Sunday morning was a more relaxed affair in the dealer hall. The punters are fewer in number and the vendors are thinking forward to the logistics of going home. It's also a time to say goodbye to good friends and new ones as well...until the next convention. One of the more interesting things to watch at a convention is the flurry of activity that breaks out when the dealer hall doors are finally closed to the buying public. It's like watching an AutoBot transforming into an 18-wheeler (in slower motion, of course).

Ken and I had a great time at Historicon this year. My thanks to all the great demo players and customers for making the entire show a fun experience. And that's what it's all about, after all. Kudos go to Bob and Matt Lehman for all their help and friendly camaraderie. My especial thanks go to Ken for his hospitality and the opportunity to help him out. He is truly a prince in the hobby!

The dynamic duo!