Fall-in this year was memorable for the snow, the gaming, and perhaps the last state-side visit for Phil Barker and wife Sue Laflin-Barker.
I got to Lancaster late Friday afternoon (drove across state after work) so missed the Thursday nite game and Big Battle Teams. Larry, my usual partner, found a substitute Stooge, and Mark Pozniak filled my slot. Was he to be a Joe DeRita or a real Curley kind of guy? The duo went on to win the event, so I guess he can be an official Stooge!
After shopping in the vendors area I came away with few finds…a nice hill for DBA and some camp pieces. We also took the plunge and bought some DBMM rules for some of the Pittsburgh guys. It seems that there are fewer 15mm historical figures for sale each year….I didn’t even buy any figures at all!
My first game was a DBA 3.0 demo of the Battle of the Hydaspes. Porus and minions versus Alexander of Macedon. Maybe someday he’d be great, but he had to win here first. Bob Beattie provided all the 25mm figures and board. Roland Fricke chose the army for Porus whiler Larry Chaban and I allocated the Macedonians. We chose to concentrate all our mounted on the left, leaving General Colin Rice to command the right flank (who we knew would do his duty for Macedon!). The game was called a few hours later after two Indian commands had broken and many dead elephants littered the field. We didn’t get to see a lot of 3.0 considering the lack of maneuver space, but did get to see how some of the newer combat match-ups will be handled. Pike and elephants are VERY different. Some discussion with Phil and an after-action report of our thoughts on the rules was written and handed in for his view later.

Bob Beattie and Phil Barker observe the Macedonian left.
Next up for me is running the perennial favorite Midnite Madness, a single-elimination open event. We got eight entries, so a perfect tournament number meant the final game was over at a reasonable hour…2:15am or so. Mike Guth (Bosporans II/26) bested Matt Torres (Free Company IV/74) in the last game.
After a few hours sleep, we began the next day with snow falling steadily outside. This evidently affected attendance that day as a lot of day-trippers bagged it. There were many more empty tables than normal in the room we use.
First game up was “That Embattled Isle”, a DK/DS extravaganza. from the con listing:
9am – 5pm
That Embattled Isle
15mm Armies Provided
A series of 7 scenarios centered on Beleaguered England, and its Invasions. Each player will play in every battle. There will be a side A winner and a side B winner. There will be prizes. Games will be preset terrain, preset deployment, and sometimes special rules. We will be using Fast Blade rules (for the MIR, who have one element, and for the Viking Raiders, who have like eight) in scenarios where they apply. We will be using Fast Spear rules (for the Picts, who have half a dozen, and for the Feudal English, who have one) in scenarios where they apply All armies and terrain supplied — just bring your bad self.
GM: David Kuijt and David Schlanger
This excellent tourney featured historical battles and the players rotated through the games as attacker or defender. Each game provided different challenges, and some special rules were used to give historical flavor to the battles. I pretty much split my games, but had a great time in the event. This type of tournament is one of my favorites, and much thanks to Dk and DS for putting in so much time and effort so we could all have fun!

Dave Schlanger and David Kuijt (outsides) congratulate Mark Pozniak and Jeff Franz for "That Embattled Isle".
The day finished with another DK/DS production: “Viking Fury”! This game has each player running a kingdom. If you successfully invade another kingdom, they become your vassal, and any conquests they make contribute points toward you as their overlord.
My forces, led ably by Jarl Bjorn Ironside, were Viking raiders. First we had to capture a base for our raids and I chose to attack Northumbria…whoops…those guys were tough! “Back in the boats, lads…we’ll seek our fortunes elsewhere!”
Next round, I landed at the Isle of Man, hoping to secure it as a strategic point close to many hopefully weaker kingdoms.Could I hold it was the question as Jarl Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye (Spencer Ginder) set his sights on the same little island. Battle would determine the owner!

Spencer deploys his Vikings.
Spencer’s nice longship camp was used by my army as the waterway was to my rear. Spencer made a landing behind me, but after a few turns I eliminated that threat and later got enough casualties on his army to prevail.
Yay! I have a base! A few rounds later and I amassed a large enough power base to win the event, with seven other lords under my command. The last round was funny when DK told me he took away part of my “tree”, but he didn’t know that I conquered HIS overlord in the same round!

A rare shot of the Diceman (Rich Baier) in the last round
Fall-in was over that night and the next morning saw all the snow gone from the highways making it a safe trip home.
My thanks to all the guys who played and ran games (especially to DK, DS, and Bob Beattie) and to Phil and Sue for giving me so many years of good gaming with their rules….