Historicon is the annual flagship convention of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society – East Chapter, billed as "Historical Miniatures Gaming’s Biggest Summer Vacation!" The show also features "the world’s largest hobby shop" as well as a huge hobby flea market over the four-day event.

In addition to the seminars that Armchair General is supporting, several companies are donating prizes that will be given away by some of the ArmchairGeneral.com staff, whom you can meet at the convention. Look for the ACG logo in the list of speakers below to find which seminars we are sponsoring.

For more details on the presentations, click here.

Pre-registration attendance fee is $35 for non-members for the four-day event (slightly higher on site), or $15 for one day (available only on site). You can register online starting May 12. This fee allows you to attend the seminars, shop in the dealer room, and sign up for games (some games are designed for beginners and welcome last-minute drop-in participants).

Click on the logo to go to the Historicon home page to learn more about it, nearby lodging, directions, etc. See Events (PEL) link there for full details after May 15th.

We hope to see you there!

Historicon™ is a registered trademark of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society – East Chapter (HMGS-East).

Guests of Honor & Featured Guests – HISTORICON 2008

The following are this year’s Guests of Honor and Featured Guests, who will be hosting seminars – with some also hosting games – at the convention.

René Chartrand – Guest of Honor: Former Chief Curator, Parks Canada, Ottawa, worked for nearly three decades of experience as a curator of specialized in military history in Canada’s National Historic Sites. Mr. Chartrand worked on the development and restoration of most of Canada’s historic forts. He has also been attached to the Department of National Defense by ministerial request. He is also the author of over 30 books dealing on a broad range of military subjects pertaining to the Americas and Western Europe, and is also a lecturer to military, academic and specialized audiences in North America and Europe. Educated in Montreal, Boston, and Nassau, Bahamas, he has carried out extensive research in archives, libraries, museums and historic sites in Canada, the United States, France, England, Spain and Portugal. Currently, Mr. Chartrand acts as a consultant for the development of military historic sites and museums. He also occasionally serves as historical advisor for documentaries.

Mr. Chartrand is currently a governor of the Company of Military Historians and its vice president for publications. Mr. Chartrand will be presenting a series of five theme-related seminars about Light troops in French and British armies, c.1650s-1760s: Beginnings to the Age of Louis XIV (Thurs. 5 PM); New France – Light Troops in Frontier Warfare, 1680-1740 (Fri. 3 PM); Frederick the Great (Fri. 8 PM); Triumph and Its Limits – The Battle of the Monongahela, 9 July 1755 (Sat. 3:30 PM); Anglo-American Light Troops in the 18th Century (Sat. 8 PM), plus book signings at the Osprey Publishing, Ltd. booth (see onsite program for details).

Colonel David M. Glantz – Guest of Honor: Served for over 30 years in various field artillery, intelligence, teaching and research assignments in Europe and Vietnam; taught at the U.S. Military Academy, Combat Studies Institute, and the U.S. Army War College; founded and directed the U.S. Army’s Foreign (Soviet) Military Studies Office, and established and currently edits The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Has written or co-authored more than 60 books and self-published studies and atlases, as well as hundreds of articles on Soviet military strategy, intelligence, and deception and the history of the Red (Soviet) Army, Soviet (Russian) military history and WWII.

Colonel Glantz will be presenting four seminars at this year’s convention, all under the general title of “Operation Blau: The German Advance on Stalingrad, 1942”, as follows: Preliminaries to Operation Blau and Blu I and II, 1 Apr.-23 July (Thurs. 3 PM); Operations in the “Great Bend” of the Don River and Between the Done and Volga Rivers, 22 July-2 Sept. (Fri. 9 AM); The Struggle for Stalingrad’s Suburbs and Center City, 3 Sept.-5 Oct. (Sat. 4 PM); The Largest Tank Battle in History? (Sun. 9 AM); The Struggle for Stalingrad’s Factory District, 6 Oct. – 18 Nov. (Sun. 11 AM).

 

John Hill – Guest of Honor: In the field of tactical wargame designs, few designers have had as much innovative impact as John Hill. In the 1970s, John started his own company, The Conflict Game Company, to design and publish tactical and operational games that broke from traditional wargame mechanics such as Verdun, Overlord, Kasserine Pass, and Bar-Lev. John decided that he preferred to design wargames rather than run a business, so he sold the company to Game Designers’ Workshop and became a freelance wargame designer. From that point on, John’s designs for Avalon Hill, SPI, SDC and others, became noted benchmarks for their innovative approaches to simulating unique tactical situations.

In 1977, John designed Squad Leader for Avalon Hill. Squad Leader broke the mold for how tactical combat was portrayed on the gaming board, and the impact of Squad Leader – which has had more “expansion kits” than any other wargame – is still felt today. Some of John’s awards included being the first freelance wargame designer inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame (1979), along with Charles Roberts and H.G. Wells awards for best tactical wargames (1977, 1983) and the readers of Campaign magazine selected Squad Leader in 1980 as the “Best Wargame of All Time.” To the historical miniature wargamer, John is best known for his Johnny Reb miniature rules for the American Civil War period. After 25 years, Johnny Reb – now into its third edition – remain as popular as ever.

In the 1980s, John’s flair for innovative tactical simulation brought him to the attention of the Government’s Defense and Intelligence Communities, and for the next 16 years he worked for the government as a senior military analyst. Following a final four year tour at Los Alamos National Laboratory, John retired from classified government work and is currently working with today’s wargame companies to update and republish many of his older designs and to, once again, explore new directions in tactical simulation.

Mr. Hill will be presenting three seminars on the American Civil War at this year’s convention: A Fresh Look at Bull Run (Thurs. 4 PM); The American Civil War in the Southwest (Fri. 11 AM); Ben Butler – The Union’s Most Underrated General (Sat. 1 PM); and will be part of a panel on The Largest Tank Battle in History? (Sun. 9 AM); .

 

William B. Protz, Jr. – Guest of Honor: Bill started the hobby as a board gamer in the 1960s. The decade was not over before he branched out into historical miniatures wargaming. His first miniatures were Jack Scruby Seven Years’ War (SYW) 20mms. He continues his life-long passion for the SYW to this day. Bill founded the Seven Years’ War Association and Journal in 1982, remaining at the helm for a decade. He’s written articles for Wargamer’s Digest, MWAN, The Courier, The Journal of The Seven Years’ War Association and Battlegames. Published wargame rules include Wargamer’s Guide To The English Civil War, Drums of War Along The Mohawk and his brand new magnum opus, Batailles de l’Ancien Régime 1740-1763 (BAR). BAR’s multi-brigade dynamics are visually stunning, fun, easy and historical.

Mr. Protz (with Mr. Jim Purky) will be presenting a theme seminar about new ways to form miniatures for battle – How To Deploy Seven Years’ War Battalions and Brigades (Fri. 4 PM), plus three theme games of BAR – Seven Years’ War: Austria versus Prussia (Thur. 6 PM), Seven Years’ War: BYOM – Bring Your Own Miniatures (Fri. 6 PM), Seven Years’ War: Hold Until Relieved! (Sat. 10 AM). You may visit Bill’s Old Regime Rules website – www.oldregimerules.com – or email him at oldregmerules@msn.com.

 

Jim Purky – Guest of Honor: Active wargamer for 20 years, introduced to the hobby at the HMGS Midwest’s Little Wars convention in 1985, where a particularly colorful game featuring the Seven Years’ War (SYW) caught his eye and Jim has been an avid enthusiast of Eighteenth Century warfare ever since. Jim joined the Seven Years War Association (SYWA) and credits this collegial band of brothers for his grounding in user-friendly wargame rules, spectacular “big battalion” games and detailed terrain that he continues to use to this day. He also credits the late Peter Gilder and several visits to the Wargame Holiday Centre in the UK as having a similar influence on his approach to the hobby.

Jim ran a series of “Leuthen Day” mega wargames during the mid-1990s that recreated Leuthen, Kolin and two hypothetical SYW scenarios loosely based on the terrain and events at Antietem and Waterloo, although with an 18th Century twist. These Leuthen Day games featured thousands of 25mm figures and 20-30 players each. The big game concept has been revived with Jim’s annual Old School Wargamers game day in each of the past two years. Jim was editor/publisher of the Seven Years War Association Journal 1991-99, accumulated an extensive library of books on the SYW and War of Austrian Succession, and visited a number of Fredrician SYW battle sites in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic (particular favorite sites are Leuthen, where Frederick the Great achieved his greatest victory, and Kolin, where he suffered his first major defeat; both sites are in pristine condition to this day). Jim continues to host large “big battalion” games at venues such as the SYWA Convention and Little Wars on a regular basis. Other wargaming interests include American Revolution, Napoleonic (1805-07), ACW and Late Roman Ancients, all of which are conducted in the grand manner.

Mr. Purky (with Mr. Bill Protz) will be presenting a theme seminar about new ways to form miniatures for battle – How To Deploy Seven Years’ War Battalions and Brigades (Fri. 4 PM), plus three theme “big battalion” games – Seven Years’ War: Austria versus Prussia (Thur. 6 PM), Seven Years’ War: BYOM – Bring Your Own Miniatures (Fri. 6 PM), Seven Years’ War: Hold Until Relieved! (Sat. 10 AM). For his thoughts and musing about 18th Century wargaming, go to “The Alte Fritz Journal” (http://altefritz.blogspot.com).

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