Historicon 2013: Friday

We had a whirlwind of gaming and I fell behind in my Historicon updates. Friday was good, a leisurely morning in the vendor hall, a fun Lord of the Rings game, and our first try at World War II naval action. There were also tons of great looking games I only managed to snap some photos of.

Pics and thoughts after the jump!

War at Sea, Pacific Naval action

This was the first modern naval game I'd ever tried. In an alternate history, the U.S. is tipped off before the Pearl Harbor raid and manage to get most of their fleet to sea. Our Japanese fleet, having done minor damage to Pearl are steaming back to Japan when thy run into the main U.S fleet sent to stop them.

Japanese fleet preparing for battle

After a bumpy start the game really picked up once we started rolling dice. We managed to cripple a good chunk of the U.S. fleet, but after losing a carrier and the bombers freshly armed on her deck, and with Enterprise making an appearance to our rear, the game was called in favor of the Americans. The "War at Sea" rules and miniatures are part of the "Axis and Allies" miniatures line. Mike and I liked them, and will probably keep an eye out for them on eBay.

Battleship hiding under cloud cover, a crippled destroyer to the rear

"Ruins of Karna", Lord of the Rings

Our second game was used GW's Lord of the Rings rules. I'd played them once or twice since they were published, but was incredibly rusty. Luckily gamemaster Del had the rules down pat and could run the whole scenario from his head so we could focus on individual tactics.

Skirmishing in the ruins of Karna

Our orcs and Haradrim ambushed an expedition of elves, dwarves and men en route to plunder the necropolis of Karna. The unquiet spirits of that doomed city made an appearance and provided an extra complication to be wary of. Once we positioned ourselves and came to blows we managed to tear through one warband, but having suffered heavy casualties in the battle we were unable to break the Gondorian shield wall. Fun game and a good group!

Charging into melee around the cursed oasis

Siege of Jerusalem

The ruins of Karna themselves were being played by Jerusalem which was in the process of being prepared for a later Crusades game. I had a lot of time to take a look at the set up and it captured my imagination. The terrain and miniatures were everything I love in a game -- detailed, unique, lots of table scatter, and color schemes that tied units together. I took the opportunity to snap a bunch of reference photos for my own project. I had a ton of questions (who makes all of the market goods and stalls? Who are these bald warriors? Is this red and black muslim unit accurate or artistic license?) but we had to jet to our next activity.

Uncivil War

I signed up for Miles Reidy's Black Powder game the following day, but I managed to stop by and check on the preliminary skirmish on Friday. Really impressive terrain!

SAGA

A mini saga campaign featuring raiding vikings. I love these longboats

Steampunk Mars
Another impressive game being prepared. Clever miniatures and varied terrain.

BIG Games
I found a few large scale games with 40 or 54mm figures. Photos can't quite capture the spectacle. These were really cool to see in person.

And the Rest

So many great looking games. Here are some I found most unique.

Battle for Berlin, 28mm

T-34s approach a German defensive line

German snipers amongst the ruins

American Civil War

Loved the scrubby ground cover

Colonial Game. Impressive walls!

Impetus. Really striking paint jobs.

Those blues and yellows are more vibrant than I typically use but I really like the effect.

Teeny tiny naval game. The board is maybe 24" square. Those ships could fit on your fingertip!

Indian Wars game

"Circle the wagons!"

Soviet attack

Western desert

All in all a good day with more to come tomorrow!