I spent an enjoyable few hours Saturday at MIGSCON XXX in Hamilton, Ontario. For those unfamiliar with this convention, check here. It's a small regional convention, organized by the Military Interests and Gaming Society in Hamilton. I've been an on and off m
ember of the club for nigh on 25 years and the convention has always been a guaranteed outing. Rarely have I put on games over the years and probably even more rarely have I played in games. My modus operandi at conventions does not normally include game-mastering or playing. Something extraordinary needs to take place for either of those to occur: for the former, a spark of a new period or genre (Carlist Wars, for instance), a need for peer recognition (lessening as the years pass), or a persuasive argument (very rare); for the latter, a new set of rules I'm interested in, a game-master who intrigues me, or nothing else to do. Besides, participating in games takes away from socializing and shopping. As to the shopping, it was disappointing that Terry from North Bay Games & Hobbies didn't attend. He usually has the largest booth and the greatest selection of historical gaming items (and I normally spend at least $100 at his booth whether I intend it or not).
Despite Terry's absence, my congratulations to the convention organizers! The con looked busy and most games seemed to be fully-stocked with gamers. The games looked to cover a fairly broad range of periods, scales and genres (WWI aerial, ancients, WWII, Napoelonics, SYW, pulp, etc) and were of a moderate presentational quality on average. Some were rather nice but many were...well, not. To each his own but a green cloth with figures on it doesn't inspire me in the slightest (and yes, I'm self-aware enought to realize that they aren't doing it just for me). I'm as guilty as the next guy for doing this, but at a convention? Isn't the point to showcase something? Figures, terrain, rules? To be clear, however, some games can look quite good with a simple green sheet, well-painted and based figures, attractive terrain pieces and a congenial host (and there were some of these at MIGSCON). But, if I want green cloth with ho-hum figures and ho-hum terrain pieces placed on top, I can game at any number of other places. This is perhaps another reason I don't normally participate in games at a convention. Enough pontificating...
Frank Kalik's 25mm Napoleonic skirmish game. I say 25mm (and not 28mm) because Franks' collection is made up of Minifig figures. Frank always puts on interesting games and is one of the gentlemen of the hobby.
Another shot of Frank's 25mm Napoleonic skirmish game.
28mm WWII by Kirk Doherty. Kirk is a mainstay at the local conventions. He also hosted a very nice 28mm Seven Years War game using Age of Reason rules.
28mm ACW by Mark Rutledge et al. The sculpted terrain boards were quite well done and only 4' x 8'. This is a good example of how a 28mm horse and musket game can be successfully staged on a table of limited depth.
ember of the club for nigh on 25 years and the convention has always been a guaranteed outing. Rarely have I put on games over the years and probably even more rarely have I played in games. My modus operandi at conventions does not normally include game-mastering or playing. Something extraordinary needs to take place for either of those to occur: for the former, a spark of a new period or genre (Carlist Wars, for instance), a need for peer recognition (lessening as the years pass), or a persuasive argument (very rare); for the latter, a new set of rules I'm interested in, a game-master who intrigues me, or nothing else to do. Besides, participating in games takes away from socializing and shopping. As to the shopping, it was disappointing that Terry from North Bay Games & Hobbies didn't attend. He usually has the largest booth and the greatest selection of historical gaming items (and I normally spend at least $100 at his booth whether I intend it or not).Despite Terry's absence, my congratulations to the convention organizers! The con looked busy and most games seemed to be fully-stocked with gamers. The games looked to cover a fairly broad range of periods, scales and genres (WWI aerial, ancients, WWII, Napoelonics, SYW, pulp, etc) and were of a moderate presentational quality on average. Some were rather nice but many were...well, not. To each his own but a green cloth with figures on it doesn't inspire me in the slightest (and yes, I'm self-aware enought to realize that they aren't doing it just for me). I'm as guilty as the next guy for doing this, but at a convention? Isn't the point to showcase something? Figures, terrain, rules? To be clear, however, some games can look quite good with a simple green sheet, well-painted and based figures, attractive terrain pieces and a congenial host (and there were some of these at MIGSCON). But, if I want green cloth with ho-hum figures and ho-hum terrain pieces placed on top, I can game at any number of other places. This is perhaps another reason I don't normally participate in games at a convention. Enough pontificating...
I have included some random photos from the convention below. They were shot with my Crackberry camera and are decidedly inferior but that was my only option.
Frank Kalik's 25mm Napoleonic skirmish game. I say 25mm (and not 28mm) because Franks' collection is made up of Minifig figures. Frank always puts on interesting games and is one of the gentlemen of the hobby.
Another shot of Frank's 25mm Napoleonic skirmish game.
28mm WWII by Kirk Doherty. Kirk is a mainstay at the local conventions. He also hosted a very nice 28mm Seven Years War game using Age of Reason rules.
28mm ACW by Mark Rutledge et al. The sculpted terrain boards were quite well done and only 4' x 8'. This is a good example of how a 28mm horse and musket game can be successfully staged on a table of limited depth.
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