01-napoleonic-miniatures

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 17

CHARGE! The annual Historicon gaming event is the largest gathering of historical miniatures gamers in North America. Photo by Gerald D. Swick.

In 2009, Historicon, the largest gathering of historical miniatures gamers in North America, passed a milestone, closed one chapter of its history and prepared to open a new one.

Subscribe Today

• Subscribe to Armchair General Magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!
 

Sponsored by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society–East, the event held July 16 – 19 marked its silver anniversary: 25 years of rolling dice, pushing small soldiers across tabletops, and reuniting with old friends. It also marked the last Historicon to be held at the Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, home to the convention for the last 18 years. In July 2010, the miniatures will be marching across tables in the Baltimore Convention Center in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland.

The coming move was a major topic of conversation during this final show in Lancaster. Change always brings mixed feelings and many gaming veterans have a strong attachment to the Lancaster location, but HMGS board members say the move is necessary if the convention and the hobby are to grow. The new location will dramatically expand the areas available for gaming and dealers’ tables.

The 25th anniversary was commemorated with special cakes, extra goodies in the swag bags, and a special exhibit based on the Sharpe television series inspired by Bernard Cornwell’s historical novels—Jason Salkey, who played Rifleman Harris was even in attendance. And of course, there were acres of gaming!

Armchair General and Weider History Group sponsored some of the approximately two dozen speakers at the War College, including Col. David Glantz, author of some 60 books (When Titans Clashed; The Role of Intelligence in Soviet Military Strategy in World War II, etc.), renowned game designer John Hill (Squad Leader, Johnny Reb, etc.), and software designer Peter Mancini. We also recorded additional material for our new podcast series that recently debuted on HistoryNet.

Click here to see photos from the HMGS awards ceremony.

Help Armchair General by bookmarking to