The Wargamer

Heat of Battle sponsors.

Author:  Jim Zabek

In my past coverage of Heat of Battle conventions I referred to it as the “coolest” gaming convention on the planet.  That might be a bit of a misnomer, I’ve realized.  “Hottest gaming convention” is probably more apt.  Heat of Battle’s name was deliberately crafted as a double-entendre to imply not only the heat of gaming, but also to recognize that the gaming convention is held in New Orleans in August – typically not the most temperate of climes.  Why, one might ask, would the convention be held in the tropical heat?  The answer, simply, is economic.  The Courtyard Marriott, just down the road, was offering convention-specific discounts of around $69/night.  If last year’s hotel wasn’t quite up to snuff for everyone, this year more than made up for it.  The Courtyard is closer, nicer, and no pricier than last year. *

Some of the exhibits that greet visitors. 

*Truth in Advertising

OK, in the interest of full disclosure: part of the reason I love this convention is because I spend time volunteering at the museum, so I’m not completely unbiased.  Also, although I stayed in the city at last year’s convention, this year I did not; I drove home each evening.  So I didn’t see the hotel first-hand, but have it on good authority that the accommodations were excellent.

Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

I love attending gaming conventions.  Gamers are an unusual breed, and wargamers moreso.  Able to memorize abstract rules, read up on history, and parse the sometimes dark history from the game at hand; to outsiders we may appear slightly out of the mainstream.  Accurate as that picture might be, cheering for the Soviets to clobber the Germans (or vice-versa) in a wargame isn’t too much different for cheering for your SEC (http://www.secsports.com/) rival to win over an ever more hated team from another college football conference.  If politics can make for strange bedfellows, gaming can, too, and gamers have the advantage of knowing it’s all a just a game and can shake hands with their opponent and walk away with a smile on both of their faces after it’s over.

Southern Hospitality

The Deep South is known for its hospitality, and New Orleans is no exception.  The food is outstanding and folks will go out of their way to make you feel at home.  I’ve been to a lot of gaming conventions, and I don’t intend the following remarks to come out disparagingly.  I’ve had some great experiences at gaming conventions.  But…(you knew that was coming)…most gaming conventions – especially the large ones – are money making operations.  Having been on the inside I know that the folks who get the special treatment are those who pony up the most money.  Exhibitors enter the gaming halls first and leave last.  They tend to take care of themselves, working after-hours trades and horse swaps for each others’ goodies.  Gamers, the central focus of the convention, all have a good time, but especially at the large cons are one of thousands of others.  Hotel prices are at a premium because it’s where the action is.  Fun though the large cons are, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. 

An upsized game of Memoir '44.

Smaller gaming conventions are typically held in more money saving venues.  Dingy hotel convention halls are more normal, where looks are secondary to fun.  There’s still plenty of fun, but it is had on a shoestring budget.  Nothing wrong with that, but there are few places where gamers can find a sweet spot – inexpensive fun, a smaller venue where you may see a number of friendly faces, and top shelf digs.

If that middle ground is what you’re looking for, Heat of Battle is the place to find it. 

Sponsored by the Education Department of the National World War II Museum the Heat of Battle convention is held with the explicit purpose of educating the public about the museum.  Most wargamers already have stacks of books on World War II around their homes, but they may be less familiar with the Museum itself.  Conversely, the museum draws a lot of folks into its doors that know less about the war but have come to learn more.  By hosting a wargaming convention in its heart, the Museum adds another tool to its educational mission: games can be vehicles to get folks interested in history and primed to learn more.

Some of the games being played.

OK, that’s what the museum gets out of the convention.  But I noted above that gamers have something of the royal treatment at Heat of Battle, and that’s very true.  As if three days of gaming focused on World War II isn’t enough, there were daily Lunch Box Lectures held where gamers could eat their lunches during a lecture about some aspect of the war.  Even better than a day of gaming, after the museum closed its doors at 5 PM, gamers had an extra three hours to roam the exhibits by themselves.  So gamers could play all day, then spend the early part of the evening taking in the exhibits before retiring to the hotel for more gaming.  If that isn’t as close to gaming heaven as you can get, I don’t know what is.

 From the Museum’s perspective Heat of Battle is highly successful.  Each year the attendance has grown, exceeding projected attendance.  From gamers’ perspective the opportunity to play favorite games, try out new ones, and have exclusive after-hours access to the exhibits is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.

A massive D-Day battle.

Each year Mike Bobe brings over a slice of his inventory from Pensacola, Florida in order to give gamers the opportunity to pick up some games, miniatures, or supplies that they might want (or need).   Each year I drop some money there – this year picking up a German Puma model from Revell and some water effects that I’ll add to the bases for my Warhammer 40k army.  Mike’s collection is hand-picked to try and bring a variety that will appeal to the folks there.  Mike’s Flames of War collection was impressive (and appropriate since there was a Flames of War tournament held this year), but there were also plenty of model tanks and planes, games that ran the gamut, a healthy selection of books, and a wide variety of tools for the modeler.  Mike knows his audience, and if I had had the cash available, his return trip would have been much lighter than it was already. 

Bobe's getting blitzed.

We had some heavy rain on Friday, but the rest of the weekend was perfect.  Not too hot, not too cold.

Friday I found myself in a game of Command Decision- Test of Battle hosted by Dudley Garidel.  Every year the local guys put on at least a couple of games of Command Decision.  It’s a World War II (what else?) miniatures game set at the platoon level.  There are several good reasons to play Command Decision at Heat of Battle.  First, the folks who host the game always go out of their way to put on a show.  The maps are generally large, and sometimes they are huge.  The spread is always impressive, but visuals aside, Command Decision is a good game system.  While no game system is perfect, Command Decision has the goal of accurately simulating a combined arms tactical engagement.  Game turns take about 30 minutes of real time and are designed to simulate an equal amount of game time.  The result is a fun game that allows gamers to see history unfold in front of their eyes on a nearly real-time basis.  I honestly do not know how complex the rules are; each time I’ve played the game it has been in the presence of several masters who know the rules and are able to streamline any questions with a minimum of delay – maximizing the enjoyment.  I don’t attend many local games of Command Decision (though I had so much fun this last time that I think I may have to drop by for the next one) but I always – always – make sure to play at least one game at Heat of Battle, if not one game per day.  This year Dudley’s game was Prokhorovka, a slice of the greater battle of Kursk. 

Getting some clarification.  Then the Germans plot their move.

The Soviets reacting.  And a glimpse of the table for perspective.

Another great thing about playing Command Decision is that the battles are large enough to accommodate several players on each side, and I shared command of the Soviets with two other gamers as we tried to stall the German advance.  As the Germans advanced toward the North we found a great deal of the action unfolding along northeastern edge of the map, and, much like the historical engagement, the battle degenerated into a grueling mauling of both sides.  Historically (and I know this because Dudley, our game host and GM, also gave a lunchbox lecture on the same battle over the noon hour) the Germans “won” in terms of casualties inflicted.  Unfortunately (for the Germans) giving five casualties while taking three of their own wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the overwhelming numbers of Soviets facing them.  A war of attrition was a losing hand, and the Germans lost.  History seemed to repeat itself in our game, and while the Germans fought a tough fight, the weight of numbers on the Soviet side carried the day. 

In the middle of the game, the group took a timeout for lunch.  Our game master, Dudley, not only was hosting the game but was also giving Friday’s Lunch Box Lecture on, what else?  Kursk!  I found it highly informative and enjoyable.  After the lecture it was back to the game for more.

Mid way through the Command Decision game, I found out there would be a hard hat tour of some of the construction on the museum’s expansion.   The Museum has received a significant endowment to expand into a facility worthy of being the official museum of World War II for the nation.  The result is massive construction that will expand its existing facility, which was created originally to honor D-Day, into something approaching massive.  The first phase of the expansion is on track to open this November.  The highlight is billed as a 4-D experience, meaning that it will not only be in 3-D visually, but that effects like rumbling seats have been added as well.  Some high caliber Hollywood talent is reported to have been recruited, everything from a senior Exec from Universal Studios to oversee the creation of the theater to Hollywood A-listers who will add their voiceover talents for oral stories in cases where the original voices couldn’t be found or used.

The photo on the left gives an indication as to the theater's size.  To the right are some props that will be used in the film.

Another prop - one from below, the other to descend from above.

Next to the theater will be a café with a 40’s style theme, along with dancing (live bands on weekends) and great food created by top-shelf chefs.  Next to that will be a less pricey restaurant.  Eventually the museum will expand to host nearly all aspects of the war, and a trolley will run between the convention center – a few blocks to the east – brining more visitors to the museum/restaurant area.  All of which will lend the city one more great area to hang out and enjoy New Orleans hospitality.

Frankly, there was a bunch of more gaming to be enjoyed, but I took some time out to see who else was gaming and what they were up to.  Then, because I wasn’t staying in the city, I headed back home for dinner and getting ready for Saturday.