A Most Excellent Day

I've mentioned before that my Gaming Friends are spread from Hamilton and Collingwood to Chatham. About a 3 hour drive at highway speeds from end to end. 

We're sort of the middle intersecting bit of a vast sprawling Venn-diagram of many Southern Ontario interconnected Gaming groups, clubs, or local scenes. So we don't get together as much as we'd like.

One of the lads, finding himself centrally located now, has organized game days during August in between his and another's birthdays.

So Saturday I rolled up my sea matt, packed my ships, and drove off to join a dozen of my friends,  old and new, for a day of barbecue and dice rolling.

I playtested a Snorkers! (Good Oh!) scenario I want to run next month at KEGSCon. I'm hoping to accommodate 6 players.

Swordfish get some good hits on Italian cruisers

British cruiser squadron under attack. This game saw a first. Not one, but TWO flights of aircraft getting shot down.

Italian DE flotilla making a torpedo attack on British light cruisers 

British destroyers finish off the Italian light cruisers

HMS Glasgow crippled by Italian torpedo 

Another view of the Swordfish making their attack

Learned some things. I'll review the fleet composition before the convention. Hopefully my friends had fun.

The gang

After dinner it was a game of Blücher with Keith's lovely 6mm armies. Joe and Paul ran the Imperial army. Rico and I played the Allies.

Allies in foreground. 

Swedes

Prussians

French, foreground. Not as many Prussians as I had started with in the back.

Danes

I'm not sure how it ended. I had to leave.

There were some other games on the dinner table. Age of sail using The Full Nelson.

And something involving pirates.

And there was cake! 

I can tell I had a good time because, despite being completely knackered, I had trouble settling down and getting to sleep. 

KEGSCon 2025 AAR

Well another KEGSCon in Chatham is done.

Fun was had, games were played, friends were caught up with.

Kamal from Centuries Historical Miniatures was there. His pricing is competitive. I got these two sets for Cdn$75 (instead of $110 on line).

So, I guess I've settled what the opponent for my 3rd Century A&A Roman army will be in Midgard. They've been on the table exactly once since I painted them back in 2019, and I'd really like to fix that.

Naturally I brought some Quar. The jungle terrain is great for conventions; looks dramatic and light weight for humping from car to venue.

The mat is some fabric I got on 50% off from a quilt shop. I like that it leaves room around the edges for off table stuff.

I used Quar of Command again, the Toulmorese players caught on quickly and butchered the Gloamers.

Me, in red shirt, explaining things

Some 28mm General d'Armee

In the morning I got to play in Keith's Blucher game. Played French this time. Tense exciting game and we managed to claw our way to a marginal defeat, instead of the decisive defeat that it had been shaping up to be.

Keith pointing dramatically. He's put a lot of work into the aesthetics (dice cups, measuring sticks, unit labels) which is nice.

Indians vs Moghul Persians in the 18th Century using Honours of War

Tanks, developmental and real, clash in 1946 Clash of Steel

IS-7s with 130mm guns... no wonder Western powers spent so much time developing big honking AT guns

Amazonian natives dispute the incursion of white mining interests in The Men Who Would Be Kings

28mm Napoleonic skirmish

54mm Commando raid Where Stens Dare

20mm Chain of Command. French vs Germans in 1940

Cavemen

Friday night Gaslands

I'm the green vehicles, lower right and upper left. Barely got past the first gate.

The monster truck eventually won, by just driving over everything

There was more, obviously. 14 games on Saturday morning and afternoon. About 40 people.