The Trip
 

I wasn't sure exactly where to put these. They really don't qualify for the 'Photography' thread, and I've already talked about it in the 'What Are You Doing Now?' thread, so this is just to post pictures of my trip and then let it fade away.

The first ones were taken while driving through southern Idaho, north from Utah.\
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psniwflc5t.jpg

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Next is my poor vanling stuck at the repair shop in Idaho Falls.
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I wish I had taken some driving with my friend as we pulled into Washington State, but I didn't and there's nothing I can do about it now.

I propose that we have a new category in the best of subsim

"Anticlimactic thread of the year"

:rotfl2:

kidding aside, i hope your troubles are behind you, nothing like a drive through "God's country"

We went the night of the 9th and registered for the convention, and watched a little of the gaming.

On the 10th my friend Greg got involved in a Napoleonic miniatures game. I spent the day wandering around looking at the different games, talking to people and taking pictures.

First is the Napoleonic game.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psybhnunuw.jpg

Played with tiny 6mm figures.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pseqw7dmc4.jpg

It was the Germans against the French. This is part of the Prussian line.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps1b8apujj.jpg

French Artillery.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psgecc4vfi.jpg

American Civil War game.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psuoienmy3.jpg

Confederates closing in.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psvjtc7lb0.jpg

One of several WW2 games. This is the Afrika Corps vs French.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psn1o4j1sq.jpg

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Lego Pirates. This was kind of fun for the players, since you didn't have to sign up for this one. Anybody could take a ship, learn the simple rules, fight somebody else for an hour and then leave.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psvpotjgfl.jpg


Island base.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psk3rtyrlf.jpg


Harpoon raft.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psemmkatlz.jpg

My favorite, of course, was the WW2 naval game. They used an old set of rules called General Quarters, and some large 1/1250 scale ship models. Though very large for my taste, they were very nicely done.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psazaswvx5.jpg

The scenario was a German troop convoy on its way to support the invasion of Norway. They are escorted by two battleships, two large cruisers and eight destroyers. The French force is two battleships, two large cruisers, two light cruisers and four destroyers. At this point at least one capital ship on each side has taken hits.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psyuo1pcry.jpg

The German battle force.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psjkcbuo3f.jpg

Designated target.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pspivuhv2s.jpg

The German convoy.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pssnb77mm9.jpg

German destroyer screen.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pspzzzjeqw.jpg

Long view of the fight. One really cool thing was the way they did the gaming tables. For the scale they were using the usual 8' x 8' table wasn't big enough, and playing with ship models on the floor is just begging for trouble. Their solution is to have several 4x8 or 3x6 tables on wheels, each with its own blue covering for the sea. As a column of ships nears the edge of a table a new one is brought into play, and ones no longer in use are moved around as needed. This way the "table" itself moves across the floor.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psva9eu1dm.jpg

French battleship burning.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pswxcnxyll.jpg

German destroyer making smoke to screen the troop ships.
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http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psvwlrxnxc.jpg

Both sides were using spotter planes to help with the gunnery. Both sides were successful at shooting down the other side's spotters. The downed planes were set on this window sill. There were many more before the game ended.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psiof16bw0.jpg

Later in the day. The Confederates ended up winning, mainly due to good die rolls on their side and bad ones for the Union. Both sides said that there were a couple of points where the fight could have gone either way.
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The naval game continues. The Germans ended up getting their convoy through safely.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps2xm8csaq.jpg

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That night I did join in a naval game set in 1905, with a small Russian force trying to escape a Japanese blockade. I was on the Japanese side.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pse0w83kfg.jpg

Japanese.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pswc0ezlx7.jpg

Russians.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psk3axv3sl.jpg

Brings back oh so many memories, especially of my brief foray in the Napoleonic miniatures hobby.

Would have loved to have been there :sunny:

Sunday, the 11th. Just pictures of the convention center itself. I didn't take any pictures of the oversized van the shuttle company uses, as the trip was entirely at night.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pssy7immjc.jpg

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Subscribed :rock:

Wow. Haven't seen that much tabletop gaming since I used to haunt the cellar of the local hobby store as a kid. :up:

I think I have a copy of General Quarters I bought in 1980 still floating around somewhere.

I haven't even heard of anything like that. Steve, can you explain it? I don't even know what questions to ask.

This was actually quite a small convention, only 51 people. I've been to Origins in Los Angeles and GenCon in Milwaukee, both of which feature dozens of booths selling stuff and more than a thousand gamers.

Basically people interested in fighting battles and recreating history, or fantasy, write rules for combat and paint figures, put them on the table and fight each other. I don't know if you saw my pictures of our airplane game in my 'Steve's Models' thread, but it's basically the same concept. The ships I've been building are all for my own ship game I've been working on forever.

Rules control everything from movement to shooting to casualties. Dice are used for shooting, determining the extent of the damage, and morale checks if the game uses that. Every single game is different, using different types of dice and different levels of complexity. Mostly it's for people who want more than Monopoly or Risk have to offer; people who want to paint and build things and try to have it look like a real battle. Also people who like history and like to talk about the reality behind their particular game.

It's a lot of fun, and worth making an occasional thousand-mile trip just to do.

I hope that's a start on an explanation, and enough to give you the basics. Anything else, please ask all the questions you want.

Looks like a great time Steve, glad to see you enjoyed it :yeah:

And that's a very impressive collection of stuff for a group of just 51 people!

Well, you've seen my airplane collection. In most cases all the stuff for a game is owned by one person. Everybody else is along for the ride.