Historicon 2024 is in full swing through the weekend. Though it is primarily focused on historical wargames, there is something for everyone. Let’s take a brief look at the first day!
Historicon is a long-running, historical gaming convention, hosted by The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, or HMGS. This spectacularly massive event has taken over the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania this year and is truly a sight to behold! The first floor of the convention center is dedicated to tournament play and the Vendor / Exhibitor Hall (more on that later), with two more floors dedicated to hosted games and a basement with a board game library and a flea market.
Games of all types and sizes are hosted all over the convention center. There are tiny skirmish games with just a couple models per side, there are more “normal” sized games happening all over the place between two players, and there are massive, sprawling, aw-inspiring games with hundreds, even thousands of models and multiple players per side. Every time period imaginable is represented, including sci-fi and fantasy, if you want to count those as “future” and “Mythological.” Yes, there are Warhammer and Warmaster games, as well as 40K, Aeronautica Imperialis, and a host of other non-historical game systems. But those are side shows compared to the main focus of the convention: Historical Wargaming!
As I said, every historical period is on full display, from Ancient and biblical times up through the modern day (yes, there was a War in Ukraine wargame. Whether or not that was in good taste is up for discussion). The Dark Ages, Wars of the Roses, Napoleonics, Franco-Prussian War and World War II have been well respresented so far, but with so many more days of the convention to go there is plenty of time for other conflicts and eras to steal the limelight. But that’s not all, every scale is represented as well! Both a Napoleonic and a WWII scenario were played at 2mm. Dozens of 28mm games are currently going on, with similar numbers of 10 and 15mm games as well. But the big surprise to me is the number of 54mm games, using the plastic Civil War and Revolutionary War minis I grew up playing with.
Lastly, let me tell you about the Vendor and Exhibitor Hall and its treasures. Miniatures and game manufacturers are well represented, as are retail outlets selling the same, and they show up in force, with displays that could stock a full brick and mortar store. But smaller, online outlets are here as well, selling 3D printed minis and terrain, or resin casts done in a home studio. Many of these smaller outlets also have a large supply of second hand or out of production items. It would be very easy to walk away from some of these stands with fully painted armies for a variety of game systems, or unopened GW stock from the Red Box era and before. And this is the Vendor / Exhibit Hall, not the flea market. That doesn’t open until tonight!
This is my first year at Historicon. I am truly blown away by what I have seen so far, and it’s only Thursday! Are you interested in historical wargaming? What got you into it or held you back? Let us know in the comments!
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