Pro or Con 2017 convention report

     Another Pro or Con convention has come and gone. The games were beautiful, the company convivial and the bargains were available. My game was oversubscribed and I ended up with twice as many players as I had figured on; changes were made and everyone had a good time. Due to the press of action in my game I was not able to take a look at any of the other morning session games (apologies to the many gamemasters that had games with excellent terrain and beautifully presented miniature, I could only glance at your displays).
       After a short break for lunch I was able to photograph some of the afternoon session games. See below.

 

the first game I was too busy to take any photos, the second game had fewer players

 and they had a handle on the rules which allowed me the luxury of taking pictures

here we see the French on the right and the Dutch on the left

 

both sides advanced resolutely toward one another, the Dutch aware that their advantage lay in shooting, the French opting for a opportunity to charge gloriously into battle

 

the farmhouse in the center of the battlefield again acted as a magnet 

attracting troops from both sides

 

on both flanks the Dutch occupied cover, with a Forlorn Hope unit in the near hedge 

and several Commanded Shot in the wooded hill on the opposite flank, 

they pressed forward in the center to gain good fields of fire

 

in the center the French were gaining an advantage in the firefight , but on their right a catastrophic morale failure saw one of their Shot units flee the field after trivial casualties

 

to redress the uneven fight in the center the Dutch advanced the Forlorn Hope from the tree-line to the hilltop, and the Trotters unit from the center , despite taking casualties on the approach their combined fire broke the French Shot unit

 

with an opportunity to charge the French Gallopers tried to clear the hilltop

 but bounced away leaving a trail of casualties behind them,

meanwhile, in the center of the battlefield (top center of the picture), the farmhouse drew a Dutch Shot unit toward it, combined fire of three French units saw the Dutch Shot wiped out before they got to the building

 

the farmhouse continued to draw forces toward it, the French trying to anchor what was left of their right flank on it and the Dutch throwing a unit of Trotters, a unit of Shot and a unit of Commanded shot into the effort to capture it, in the lower edge of the picture the Dutch Forlorn Hope was decimated by the French Commanded Shot and the last of the trotters died under a hail of lead from a French Forlorn Hope hiding in the central woods

 

the final scene as time ran out; both sides were moving troops toward the fatal farmhouse which had finally fallen to the Dutch, in the distance the Trotters were winning a grinding melee with the Gallopers and their last Forlorn Hope unit moved toward the farmhouse, the French prepared to attack the farmhouse with a Shot unit as they moved the Forlorn Hope that way as well, nearer the camera a Dutch Shot unit and a French Commanded Shot unit eyed each other from just out of range

 

apologies to the game-masters, I lost my copy of the flyer and I don't know who was running these games but they struck as attractive and evocative, first is a Pulp Alley rendition of Dracula's Castle

 

this game had the COOLEST accessories, check out the fancy dice-rolling trays

 

not to mention the grim and foreboding castle that dominated the center of the table

 

outside the walls were a series of smaller, but every bit as attractive, vingettes

 

next was a massive Rapid Fire game

 

the painted game-mat made it look like aerial reconnaissance photos,

very cool indeed

 

 

the rest of the terrain and the miniatures were first-class as well

 

however limiting the pre-painted terrain mat may be, the look of the table is simply superb 

 

the classic Fire & Fury rules, pretty soon 

they will have been around five times as long as the Civil War lasted

 

I do love the look of tiny figures used in very large numbers

 

it reminds me of one of the things that got me into wargaming;

the illustrations from the old Time-Life books on the Civil War

lastly there was a huge 54mm WW2 game 

using the hilariously titled "Betty Grable's Legs" rule-set

 

the sixteen foot long table allowed room for lots of these giant models to be in use

 

the players seemed to be having quite the time as well

 

the sheer size of the terrain was stunning

(where do you store all this stuff?)