The Trip

[Torplexed]

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

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

[fireftr18]

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

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

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

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.

Originally Posted by fireftr18

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

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.

[CCIP]

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

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

[Sailor Steve]

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.

[em2nought]

Brings back memories of hot FL summer days spent with friends in the air conditioning with a blue-green sheet on the bed and Avalon Hill's Jutland counters all around.

[fireftr18]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

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.

Thanks for the good and brief explanation. I basically understand now. Now questions now. I'll ask when I think of something.