HISTORICON 2012

HISTORICON 2012 with Joe Krone HISTORICON 2012, Fredericksburg, Virginia: This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our 2012 Mid War Nationals at HISTORICON along with our sales booth in the dealer hall.  The I-95 Gamers presented 30 fantastic tables in conjunction with our efforts and together we combined to run three tournaments.

Throughout the gaming hall we had other Flames Of War enthusiasts presenting their take on great, themed, FOW games, including some set in the jungles of South East Asia. We also had a highly energetic group of gamers volunteer to incorporate the Wargames Illustrated Sevastopol table into their multi-table themed Crimean War games. Overall the weekend provided some great games and the new venue was a great place to hold HISTORICON.

HISTORICON moved from Valley Forge, PA, to Fredericksburg, VA, (some 200 miles southwest). With any move comes learning curves and the HISTORICON staff was very gracious and accommodating at every turn. You might think that there would be a drop in attendance when a convention such as HISTORICON moves such a great distance from its original location but the Flames Of War Nationals attendance could not have proved that theory more wrong. We had 86 players attend Nationals and a lot of great looking armies were on hand to battle it out in six games presented over two days (the convention also saw attendance numbers close to previous years). The combination of a random mission selection process, the 3rd edition rules being fairly new, and impact that 3rd edition has had on army selection created some great competitive play. In the end, only one winner can be declared but I feel lots of players went home happy with their tournament (and convention) experience.

Next to the Nationals we also hosted the Iron Cross Painting Competition and saw some fantastic entries this year. The judges had some hard decisions to make, but the true standout was a Sherman platoon painted by Bill Wilcox.

Below: Bill Wilcox's Sherman Platoon.

Over the coming weeks you will have an opportunity to see pictures from the Tournament as well as the Iron Cross Painting Competition, and keep an eye on the horizon for a future Wargames Illustrated article covering all the US Nationals events, as well as the Iron Cross.

Here is your list of winners and congratulations to all of those who attended our shows during the 2011-2012 Tournament Circuit.

Overall Champion Bill Wilcox	Second Overall John Desch	Third Overall Phillip Messier

Best General Eric Turner	Best Sport Chris Fretts	Best Army Shawn Morris

Player's Choice Dennis Campbell	For King and Country James Huff	Hero of Mother Russia Jim Rush

For The Fatherland Kurt Reese	Favorite Opponent Marcus Abraitis	Forgotten Hero Matt McCarthy

Old Blood & Guts Steve MacLauchlan	Three Up, Three Down Award Bryam Koches, Mike Mansfield, David Vigor, Chris Fretts, Chris Glennen, Kevin Hovanec and Chris Jackson.

Shawn Morris' Best Army

Comrades in Arms