Coldwars 2012

Bob and I decided to go to the Coldwars gaming convention in Lancaster Pennsylvania. We haven't been there in 3 years so we were long overdue. Coldwars is one of the larger conventions that occupies the whole Lancaster hotel. All the ballrooms were used. After a 9 hour drive we were greeted with a $40 fee for the convention. Wow! Prices have gone up. This will definitely be an every other year event for me.

Well we got what we wanted from this event. The dealer hall!!!

Shopping anyone?

After doing some serious damage to our wallets it was time to game. This year's theme at Coldwars was the War of 1812. There was quite a few 1812 games presented. Some of the presentations were beautiful. One of the first I observed was the Battle of Chippewa done in 25mm.

Looking at ground level the Chippewa battlefield.

Most if not all the terrain was bought by the game host. Still the visual impact was evident.

A US regiment attempts to clear British skirmishers on the US left flank.

British Artillery

The 2 apposing lines get engaged.

I thought at first the British had the upper hand in this one but the US forces prevailed.

I saw the largest age of sail game in my life. It was the Battle of Beachy Head, June 30th 1690. This was a naval battle between an Anglo Dutch force and the French.

Naval battle of Beachy Head 1690.

This game was huge. I believe they were looking for 30 people to play it. The most I saw play was about 10. Perhaps it's size was intimidating?

A closeup view. An endless line of ships.

There was some excellent games going on. The neatest trend I saw was the use of mini flashing LED lights in cotton puffs. It really looked like gun fire through the smoke. I managed to capture the look in the photo below.

English civil war, 25mm.

The fighting gets hot as the opposing lines get closer (ECW)

One of the strangest presentations was the use of a sand table. These guys actually slugged bags of sand and put together some framing to contain it.

The sand is formed and ready for terrain colouring and trees.

The finished product.

 I can understand the versatility of the sand table but for gaming it's not practical for portability or even gaming. The sand is very soft so you can't lean on it. I even found it was difficult to even see the gaming figures on it!

A large ACW game done in 25mm.

I loved the beautiful terrain for this ACW game. The cornfield in the center became the main combat area.

The Rebs make a stand at the edge of the cornfield as the Union attack in column.

Gettysburg, Devil's Den, 15mm.

The one game I did participate in was the Battle of Queenston Heights, War of 1812. This was a fun game and a nail biter I might add. I played on the Brit/Canuck side and had to repel the US landing on the Canadian shore.

Boats full of US troops make their way to shore.

The US Forces managed to land on shore and capture the battery that was halfway up the heights. That became the area of fighting. The US tried to capture the town of Queenston but couldn't hold on to it. The game ended up with a Brit/Canadian victory.
Overall I highly recommend going to these larger conventions. Just the dealer hall alone is worth it.