Historicon 2023

This past weekend, I managed to make it to Historicon 2023. A lot of life changing events had occurred between my last convention, Cold Wars 2023, and this convention. I was looking forward to the convention for the hobby aspects as well as to forge ahead with some new (and unfortunate) "normals" in life. My longtime friend Rob also attended which always ensures a good time.

Thursday night Rob and I got in a game of Bulldogs Away. I took command of a couple of Sa'ar missile boats and Rob had a small squadron composed of Osa fast attack craft and a T43 minesweeper. Although the Arab forces outnumbered the Israelis by two to one, it was quickly evident the Israeli boats were superior. Arab Styx missiles were launched without much success due to Israeli electronic countermeasures, chaff and flares. The Arab boats had no such defenses from the Gabriel II missiles that came back in reply.

We didn't have any photos of the game but we had a blast, we will definitely play Bulldogs Away.

Friday day, I watched Rob play a Man o' War game between the Dwarves and the Bretonnians. Alot of fun and it reminded me that I need to paint up my old fleets from Games Workshop. 

Friday night, we kept with the nautical theme and played a game of Form on the Admiral's Wake (FotAW). I have been going to HMGS cons for 20+ years and I have played games of FotAW in the majority of them. These games usually happen on Friday nights and it's something both Rob and I really look forward to. 

Rob and I played as parts of the Dutch fleet going up against the English in the Anglo-Dutch Wars. Rob had the van and I had the rear, we and the rest of the Dutch captains made aggressive moves and got stuck in on the English fleet. The English captains may have felt they were familiar with naval history but they were inexperienced with the rules and we made them pay. The English fleet was battered and suffered a serious defeat. Rob heard one of the English captains lament that while they were looking for a wargame, the Dutch players "were looking for a knife fight". I take that as a great compliment.

Historicon featured a painting competition. My friend Rob took second place in one category. There were many great entries and this rather macabre vignette of an ACW hospital caught my eye.

I didn't take many photos but this game of Pelieu during WW2 was an eye catcher. Between the vendor hall and the flea market (Wally's Basement), I didn't spend as much as I normally do. I purchased some scenery and a book on Wellington in India. In the flea market, I purchased some random Pendraken packs and some 1/700 WW1 aircraft and balloons.

Overall I had a blast, it was a lot of fun and the convention seemed to have a resurgent attendance. It was a bit odd coming home to a different "normal" but it is something I will have to get used to. I can't wait for Fall In 2023.