The Weekend - 2014

I've just returned from 'The Weekend'. This is an invitation-only weekend of gaming in Lancaster, PA run by Otto Schmidt. It's not as exclusive as it sounds, email Otto and he'll be happy to include you as one of his invited friends, that's how I got to attend last and this year.  'The Weekend' is a non-convention. I like to think of it as gaming with 50 of my best friends, all of whom I may not have known before I met them. There's a casual sitting area to shoot the bull, snacks, beverages, a free stuff table and a bring-and-buy table and oh yeah, a ton of great gaming. The games are primarily historical miniatures games with the occasional board game or sci-fi/zombie game tossed in for flavor. The historical periods run from ancients, which to my pleasure seem well represented, through WWII. There's no signing up for games and I was able to walk up and get in every game I wanted to play in.

The first game I played in was an epically large Siege of Alesia game using hundreds of beautiful 28mm figures and a fantastic set of terrain. My command was bloodied by the Gauls fairly well but all in all the Romans did fairly well. We ended up letting some Gauls out through one area of our siege walls giving them a minor victory. The major victory was getting to play in such a beautiful and well run game.

On Sunday morning I played in a 28mm Black Powder "Seven Years War" game. This was Prussians attacking a castle held by the "local inhabitants" with support from a relief force of Austrians and Saxons. Mike ran a great game and as you can see from the photos and video below, the scenery and scenario were very creative. I played in this one just for my friend Byron, who's an avid Seven Years War aficionado.  Byron, this one's for you :-) Watch the videos first for best effect.

As the Saxon and "Kandi Guard" commander I was somewhat overwhelmed bearing the duty of defending against the main Prussian thrust. My one Gingerbread Man Sepoy charge was repulsed by a fresh Prussian infantry regiment. The other Gingerbread Man Sepoy unit held nicely against repeated Prussian dragoon charges finally crumbling under the pressure (pun intended).

My Saxons did reasonably well but eventually started to show signs of wear from constant Prussian pressure. When the Prussian siege train deployed I lacked the resources to prevent it.  FYI, the scenery and the two special Gingerbread Man units were wonderfully whimsical, but in truth this was a great set piece 7YW battle and reinforced my affinity to the Black Powder rules for large games.

I'd like to thank Otto for organizing the event and all of the game masters who hosted games I had the pleasure to enjoy.