A Long-Expected party

As mentioned in earlier posts it's been very hard to get my friends together for games these past few years. Everyone has moved away or gotten busy. So last year I was sitting in one of my Knight's of Columbus meetings and looking around the hall, realized This would make a really good gaming venue. The meeting hall can be rented by members for the paltry sum of $100 which means it's usually booked solid for birthday and anniversary parties, not to mention the monthly Euchre Tournament. But by planning over a year ahead I got it booked and by making it an event, most of my friends were able to set the day aside and plan for it.

Eventually it was referred to as Cold Steel, to play off our spring convention Hotlead. I've been asked to plan a fall convention for a few years now, but frankly, I'm not up to it. One convention a year is more than enough. A light and casual games day with potluck for both games and food was easier. So I'm going to leave the fall gaming convention scene to MIGSCON and Council Fires.

All told about 30 people showed up with food and games from as far away as Wisconsin, North Bay and Ottawa. I added in some pizza and fried chicken and we had a gaming party. The games ran the gamut from big to small. A lot of horse and musket, but also 50s pulp War Rockets, WW2 air combat and Vietnam.

Perry snapped a bunch of pictures. Because of the large numbers of pictures I've reduced them all to small thumbnails for your pageloading ease. Click for larger views.



15mm ACW Fire and Fury game





25mm Victorian Science Fiction steam contraptions




The big tank is a converted GI Joe toy.




German jets vs. P47s and Mustangs.




War Rockets battle for the Unobtanium crystals. Or is it merely Mediocrite?





Don brought his 25mm SYW French army looking for an opponent.




25mm Napoleonic action too.



And Dave (him with the VSF Dutch army) also snapped a few pictures.


Rico's 20mm Vietnam game.




VSF flyer made by a very small girl.




Steam tank made by another youngster.




More steam tech. A locomotive cab on a Star Wars walker.




The Prussian's uberwaffen.




Which requires wearing goggles.




Four Musketeers versus the Cardinal's Guard.




There's always time to chat up a pretty tavern wench.



The tavern is a Dwarven Forge product and the figures are from Blue Moon. Loverly set up.I didn't get a chance to play, I was busy chasing the Scot's Greys around. But perhaps the owners of the game will bring it to Hotlead next year?

I had brought my WW2 stuff hoping to blood my German Fallschirmjaegers, but some others wanted to run their games and by the time we'd had dinner I was beat.

But despite the slight disorganiation and intestinal distress caused by too much greasy food and carbonation, it was good day all around. I even bought some toys from a dealer friend who was blowing out some old stock (100 bags of Lancashire Games 15mm SYW figures for $25), plus I recieved delivery of the stuff found for me at Fall-In by Peter and Brian. Some scouring of the flea market there got a trio of Battlefront 15cwt CMP trucks for my Canadians, plus Brian is trading me a nice die cast Typhoon, two Humber armoured cars and 4 more Bren carriers to paint some more German Fallschirmjaegers. Others were also buying, selling or trading too, so it was sort of a miniconvention.