Fall In 2018
This past weekend my wife and I attended the HMGS convention, Fall In. The convention was held in Lancaster, PA at the Lancaster Host. Much has been written over the years about the site and I am not going to rehash all of that.
We arrived on Friday afternoon and very easily registered. She attends more for shopping, though I keep trying to get her to game. HMGS provided a drawstring "swag bag" and a pen with laser pointer. I saw someone online that wasn't impressed, they wanted custom miniature figures, but my thought is that they don't have to give us anything at all and he only custom figures I ever received were from Historicon. To me the items were nice, and appreciated. Thank you.
On Friday I played in the Raid on U-201 game. It was a magnificent game board.
It even had working lights! After all, it was a night raid...
The GM, John Emmett, said that the buildings were Grand Manner and the street lights were a Kickstarter from, possibly Norway. He said that the street lights activated with a magnet.
The British SAS and French Resistance were trying to attack the U-Boat. The only issue was that someone had let the Germans in on the raid.
The game was played using Chain of Command, from Too Fat Lardies. I have the rules, but haven't played them. Fortunately the GM was willing to teach them, and they really were picked up easily.
The French and British had two entry areas, and while we had been told that it neither were limited to who could use them, it ended up that the French forces came in near the cafe (there was wine on the table), and the British on the other entry area.
The French deployed a MG42 team in the upper level of the cafe to be able to provide cover fire. The other French forces deployed around the cafe to, hopefully, advance against the enemy.
The British began occupying the buildings across town.
The game progressed but unfortunately both the French and British forces got bogged down in the town. The highlight of the game was when one German player wanted to try throwing a grenade over a roof, onto the British forces. After checking the rules, the GM said that the only thing that could possibly hurt the German, was if he rolled a 2 on 2d6. Anyone care to guess what he rolled? If you said anything but a 2, you were wrong. Everyone had a great laugh over that one.
The French tried advancing across the street under cover of smoke, but were pushed back by the Germans.
The British player was finally able to get his kayaks on the board, but the German opened up on him from the U-Boat.
In the end, it wasn't a good day for the Allied forces. The Germans had won the day and the war would continue.
On Saturday I ran a Sergeants Miniatures Game, Pegasus Bridge scenario.
The game was set for six players but I ended up having eight play. Fortunately Lost Battalion Games was there. One person had asked if he could possibly get in, since all the tickets were gone. I figured I could handle one more player, but just in case, I set up and ran to the dealer hall and got some more Germans and British forces. How often do you see a German / British emergency?
This was X243, the Pegasus Bridge attack with X-Terrain and night rules. I was really grateful for Rob Belli's help. He stopped by and realized that with eight players, it was going to get hectic, really fast, and stayed to help with running the game. Between the initial audio level in the Distelfink room (which did calm down after a couple of tables cleared out), and the number of players, I probably would have ended up going totally crazy by myself.
This scenario is not for the faint of heart. The Germans set up in the X-terrain and the British attack. The one German player gets hit immediately. To make things more difficult, there is no firing allowed on turn 1 unless British Player #2 fires. That stipulation ends at the start of turn 2.
Basically the battle developed into several small fights. At the far end (from me) the fight for the cafe (house) continued throughout the entire game.
At the other end of the bridge, the one German player was eliminated very quickly. I felt bad that it happened so quickly but close range fire combat can be very deadly.
The other two German players, a father and son, held on as long as possible but eventually the odds were too much, and the British captured the bridge.
Because of the number of players we only played four turns. It just took a very long time to complete one player's part, before moving on. Rob mentioned a few ideas to help speed things up for future games (if you have a lot of players).
I really enjoyed the game (and I hope the players did too). One thing, if I ever run this scenario again at a convention, that I would change, is the allocation of German VPs. The Germans did a lot more damage to the British forces than in real life. Perhaps a bonus for killed British troops. Also, maybe a bonus for holding the bridge per turn. That would sort of signify the need for speed by the assaulting force in case the bridge was wired for demolition.
After the game I spent some time in the dealer hall talking to LBG. I didn't pick up any rumors about upcoming things for either SMG or SDD. They did mention that the Rally Kickstarter finally finished shipping, so hopefully that will mean more good news for the Sergeants series.
LBG did say that next year they want to start with the Sergeants tournaments again. They are looking for conventions where they can do them.
One of the players in my SMG game, said that he heard of a British expansion for SDD but didn't remember where he heard that at. So, while I would love to see it, I don't know if that can be backed up or not. Especially since I did hear at Historicon that the SDD sales weren't that great because people weren't buying the extra soldiers. They get the base game and that is pretty much it.
Overall, it was a good convention. It looks like this might be the last Fall In at Lancaster. At least at The Host. Next year moves to Valley Forge. I am not planning on going to that one. The area is so congested and chaotic, that I would rather skip it. I know people hate The Host, and that they have said the new owners are increasing prices, but it is a shame to lose it. The hotel across the street, The Continental, is becoming a Cartoon Network themed hotel. For anyone with families that might have been helpful to be able to attend a convention in Lancaster. Historicon is moving to the Lancaster Convention Center downtown, so some people may still stay out of that area and commute in.
Next up is Cold Wars in March. I am planning on running SMG and am working on something for La Fiere Bridge. The, hopefully, upcoming movie by Captain Dale Dye, and produced by Tom Hanks, No Better Place to Die, has inspired me.
We arrived on Friday afternoon and very easily registered. She attends more for shopping, though I keep trying to get her to game. HMGS provided a drawstring "swag bag" and a pen with laser pointer. I saw someone online that wasn't impressed, they wanted custom miniature figures, but my thought is that they don't have to give us anything at all and he only custom figures I ever received were from Historicon. To me the items were nice, and appreciated. Thank you.
On Friday I played in the Raid on U-201 game. It was a magnificent game board.
It even had working lights! After all, it was a night raid...
The GM, John Emmett, said that the buildings were Grand Manner and the street lights were a Kickstarter from, possibly Norway. He said that the street lights activated with a magnet.
The British SAS and French Resistance were trying to attack the U-Boat. The only issue was that someone had let the Germans in on the raid.
The game was played using Chain of Command, from Too Fat Lardies. I have the rules, but haven't played them. Fortunately the GM was willing to teach them, and they really were picked up easily.
The French and British had two entry areas, and while we had been told that it neither were limited to who could use them, it ended up that the French forces came in near the cafe (there was wine on the table), and the British on the other entry area.
The British began occupying the buildings across town.
The game progressed but unfortunately both the French and British forces got bogged down in the town. The highlight of the game was when one German player wanted to try throwing a grenade over a roof, onto the British forces. After checking the rules, the GM said that the only thing that could possibly hurt the German, was if he rolled a 2 on 2d6. Anyone care to guess what he rolled? If you said anything but a 2, you were wrong. Everyone had a great laugh over that one.
The French tried advancing across the street under cover of smoke, but were pushed back by the Germans.
In the end, it wasn't a good day for the Allied forces. The Germans had won the day and the war would continue.
On Saturday I ran a Sergeants Miniatures Game, Pegasus Bridge scenario.
Basically the battle developed into several small fights. At the far end (from me) the fight for the cafe (house) continued throughout the entire game.
At the other end of the bridge, the one German player was eliminated very quickly. I felt bad that it happened so quickly but close range fire combat can be very deadly.
The other two German players, a father and son, held on as long as possible but eventually the odds were too much, and the British captured the bridge.
Because of the number of players we only played four turns. It just took a very long time to complete one player's part, before moving on. Rob mentioned a few ideas to help speed things up for future games (if you have a lot of players).
I really enjoyed the game (and I hope the players did too). One thing, if I ever run this scenario again at a convention, that I would change, is the allocation of German VPs. The Germans did a lot more damage to the British forces than in real life. Perhaps a bonus for killed British troops. Also, maybe a bonus for holding the bridge per turn. That would sort of signify the need for speed by the assaulting force in case the bridge was wired for demolition.
After the game I spent some time in the dealer hall talking to LBG. I didn't pick up any rumors about upcoming things for either SMG or SDD. They did mention that the Rally Kickstarter finally finished shipping, so hopefully that will mean more good news for the Sergeants series.
LBG did say that next year they want to start with the Sergeants tournaments again. They are looking for conventions where they can do them.
One of the players in my SMG game, said that he heard of a British expansion for SDD but didn't remember where he heard that at. So, while I would love to see it, I don't know if that can be backed up or not. Especially since I did hear at Historicon that the SDD sales weren't that great because people weren't buying the extra soldiers. They get the base game and that is pretty much it.
Overall, it was a good convention. It looks like this might be the last Fall In at Lancaster. At least at The Host. Next year moves to Valley Forge. I am not planning on going to that one. The area is so congested and chaotic, that I would rather skip it. I know people hate The Host, and that they have said the new owners are increasing prices, but it is a shame to lose it. The hotel across the street, The Continental, is becoming a Cartoon Network themed hotel. For anyone with families that might have been helpful to be able to attend a convention in Lancaster. Historicon is moving to the Lancaster Convention Center downtown, so some people may still stay out of that area and commute in.
Next up is Cold Wars in March. I am planning on running SMG and am working on something for La Fiere Bridge. The, hopefully, upcoming movie by Captain Dale Dye, and produced by Tom Hanks, No Better Place to Die, has inspired me.
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