Rapier 2015

Well, I'm back from Jacksonville and I had a blast! The Rapier game con was terrific and I'm really glad I went. I got to play some good games with good people and made a few new friends. I'll do AARs for some of the games later in the week, but for now I'll just post some pictures of the action.

On Friday afternoon, Junior and I got into a SmallWorld tournament. This was our table for round 1.

78 points put me into round 2. Junior had a lowly 59 and had to bow out.

The "winners" table - round 2. I ended up 4th - the lady on the far left won with a very strong 90 points. Game 2 was played using the "Underworld" variant. We all had a good time an I liked the group, although the bald fellow at the top of the picture was quite the foulmouth.

A pretty cool regatta with lovely models.

Friday night gaming - Mike broke out Starfire and we blew up spaceships for a couple hours.

Saturday morning - I played a game of Blue Sky / Red Sun. I really enjoyed this. WW2 airplanes. I handled a Japanese group, dive-bombing the USS Yorktown at Midway. I think this was my favorite game of the weekend.

 One of three entirely way-too-large Waterloo tables. Impressive in 25mm!

 Another angle

French cavalry commanded by brother Mike.

 Advancing Prussians led by Mark.

 Another heavily laden Waterloo table. 

Gorgeous British cavalry.

Mark (far) pushing lead towards Mikey's Frenchies. The game was interesting but far too ambitious and the rule system (Column Line Square) seemed terrifically complex for new players. At 1:00, many of the players had to bail in order to eat lunch before the 2:00pm session began. The Prussians were well on their way to victory when we left.

Oh.... Mark's Hussars swooped upon a French gun position a gave it a proper duffing. A highlight of the battle to be sure!

A group of 6 was playing All Quiet on the Martian Front. The American Land Ironclad was quite a spectacle! Apparently 5 lbs (2.25 kg) of resin and metal!

Across the room, I played Strike Legion: Planetary Ops with Mike, Mark, Bill and James. It was very warm up there on the 6th floor and tempers were short. Despite Bill and James falling asleep during the game, the stuffy room and testiness of the awake players resulted in a true classic. The noise, heat and B.O. stench added a lot of atmosphere not often found in war gaming. I think that SLPO game won't soon be forgotten.

I didn't win any of the raffle prizes although James did well. I did pick up a few goodies - I'll post pics later. A wonderful con and I hope I can get back next year.