Another Homercon is in the books. This is the con's 20th year, but 21st actual convention (one year, way back when, we did two of them).

I had wanted to drop nightly reports here, but was way too burned out each day to even try. Even after a good night's sleep, I'm still not working on many cylinders at all. We are getting older, it seems.

The crew was a little lighter than normal this year. A number of regulars couldn't make it this year (even though we had some first-timers and guys who had not been to the con in a long time). The obvious group reason would be economic. 

A lot of testing work was done this year. I remember walking through the Hut at one point and noting that every game being played was a playtest prototype except for one game of Combat Commander. This changed later as another (or two) Combat Commanders were played plus the usual selection of Zombie and Pandemic games.

Test games run were: The Blitzkrieg Legend (OCS, France 1940), Velikiye Luki (BCS prototype), Smolensk (OCS prototype), It Never Snows (SCS, Market Garden), Gettysburg (LoB prototype). I have a bad feeling I'm missing one or more. If so, I hope the participants will chime in to correct me.

The two largest tests (both in foot-print and number of players) were the INS and Gettysburg games.

The INS game was run twice. The first time, the team got to turn 4-5 (out of 17) before the Allies decided they could do better now that they experienced the game a little, so they reset and ran through to turn 11-12 when they decided they had done what they could and the clock on the con had run out. IIRC, they had gotten XXX Corps up through the map to south of Arnhem where they looked upon that last link up as "A Bridge too Far". All of them seemed to have a great time and they produced lots of good feedback on the game so I can adjust it for future testing. Now, I just need to await their write ups so I can.

The Gettysburg game was the one I was involved in. There were about 8 players involved and we ran through to the end of the 2nd day of the battle by the time the con ended (two game days per historical day... lots of action in both days). The battle teetered on the brink a couple of times, but ended at nightfall on the 2nd with the Union intact. Playing the 3rd day would be interesting, but we were out of con time to get it done. The game generated lots of good material for the prototype rules and a few things I want to polish up for the LoB rules before it premiers with None but Heroes shortly. As a whole, the game was the most realistic Gettysburg I've ever seen... and a whole lot of fun.

The con ended with the traditional Circus Minimus game, which I avoided playing in (mainly because I tend to be a bullet magnet and get killed very early on). They did have a full slate of players, including a lady named Becky who was not only at her first game con, but playing her first "wargame". The rest of the crew decided to be nice to her in the first move or so (big mistake). She then fought with the best of them, starting with her first kill, a driver trying to run along the track after rolling his chariot. There were, IIRC, three chariots of the starting seven that made it across the finish line, with Becky's getting the furthest in the last move making her this year's champion. Now she needs to come back next year, with the trophy, to defend her title.

Good fun for all.