H-con '09 is history

All done with another Historicon, the last to take place in Lancaster for at least the next two years. As anybody who has been paying attention knows, there is a controversial move to Baltimore for 2010 and 2011. As a former Baltimore resident, and someone who flies in from the west coast for the con, this is a good thing, but most folks I heard discussing the move are four square against it. Now, the number of events that have been run at the largest con in the country has been diminishing; obviously, fewer folks are interested in putting on games. Maybe it is time to allow more vendors into the constricted vendor hall, and to open the con up to a wider audience who may have been put off by the Lancaster Host and its problems.

I am very willing to give the new venue a try, but it seems many in the gaming community have already written it off. Dommage!

Shots fired

Someone asked about Mein Panzer on TMP, with some specific questions on how it handled a variety of game issues. I posted a comment, which I know to be true, that MP2 is as good a game with tanks as without. Immediately following that was a supposed playtester of the 2nd edition who said "the infantry rules are severely broken." Now, that was not even true of MP 1st edition. But just making the complaint means it takes on a life of its own, like slinging mud, or slinging worse. We have played enough pure infantry fights using the rules to know they work great, and encourage and reward proper tactics, such as suppressive fire, smoke, HE fire, and the like. All perform together beautifully. Too bad one poster can make a very well-developed, good game seem flawed.

Historicon

The ODGW crew will be at H-con, running games and available for your compliments or complaints, as the spirit moves you. We always like to hear from our gamers, so stop by our host room, down the hallway on the left. Same location we have had for several years now. I will be running the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay on Friday at 10a with GQIII, not on Thursday as the program says. Hope to see some of you there.

The Lone Sentry

Here is a great site dedicated to providing contemporary information about WWII subjects. Within it are copies of field manuals, photographs, documents, and research on World War II. A wealth of good information, especially for those investigating infantry and artillery tactics of the war.

beta testing

We have hammered our latest module for General Quarters III into near beta testing shape. It has come a long way from an idea in someone's head to where it is now, and I am very pleased with the core around which the game has been built. Now it goes out to blind playtesters to try out. This is where the real test of the system happens, when people with absolutely no familiarity with the game try to play it. Are the rules well-written? Is the game playable? Is it balanced?

There is no substitute for this step, and games that do not go through it, or do it inadequately, show it. Glaring errors of syntax, grammar, holes in the rules, etc, point to this step being stinted. It is just poor editing and publishing. Not to say that anything is perfect, but a lot of situations could and should be foreseen by trying to break a rules system in advance of general distribution.