GAMING NEWS: The Shield Convention Report & More...

Hi Guys,

As many of you might know I attended The Shield gaming convention this past weekend and had a good time.

Here's a short encapsulation of the convention:

Hi Mike,

I attended (Saturday-only) and had a good time... definitely $10.00 USD worth, although not $20.00 USD worth.

I only played in two games:
1. Pirates Games hosted by Flagship Games guys.
2. DBA Tournament.

I felt that there was good vendor attendence for a smaller convention and ran into tons of friends that I've made over the years. I didn't see Ron's B-17 game (Avalon Hills B-17 Queen Of the Skies) although I did see him and his son.

One of the odder things I encountered was there being no registration when I arrived. I actually had to track down Manny (the convention director) to pay him!

If I had to capture the feel of The Shield, I would call it a slightly larger and more glorified MWS meeting... nothing fantastic, but there was plenty of good, clean and fun gaming.

I would go again.

=================

The big reason I attended the convention was to play in the DBA tournament with my friend Dick. Dick was kind enough to bring armies for both of us. He played a Roman army and I played an Indian army.

The DBA torunament rules can be found here at The Shield web site:

http://www.geocities.com/ancientconference2004/conference_002.htm

Northern California 15mm DBA Tournament
- (4) Rounds
- DBA Version 2.2
- Preset Terrain
- BUA's treated as bad going and all BUA rules ignored.
- No dismounting during the game by armies capable: must be dismounted at deployment.
- 2 Variations of army list may be used.
- Rounds will begin at 6pm on Sat.

I used the following Indian lists:

We were allowed two different variations of one list:

#1.
x1 Elephant general
x2 Elephants
x2 Chariots
x2 Cavalry
x5 Bow

#2.
x1 Elephant general
x2 Elephants
x2 Cavalry
x6 Bow
x1 Blade

I may be off a unit or two, but that's it or close to it off the top of my head.

The biggest news for me on a personal level was that I WON the torunament!

I really wasn't expecting to do well... let alone win.

I think I was out-maneauvered and out-strategized almost every match, but...

I wasn't out-fought!

Sometimes, that's enough...

==================

One of the bigger vendors there was Monday Knight Productions:

http://www.mondayknight.com/

I spent most of my "play money" with them and came out with quite a lot for my purchase... several stackable Battletech buildings, some small starfighters, some 6mm MAATAAC AFVs, a bunch of mini bases, and a 25mm resin vehicle.

The 25mm vehicle I ended up with was a big six-wheeled high-mobility affair. I couldn't find a link to it in 25mm, but I found its 6mm counterpart:

http://www.gtns.co.uk/store1....0.12070

It's product code and name are: DSM-115 STRIKER MMRAV rocket artillery vehicle (MRL)

The top hull comes in two pieces and I'll covert a flatbed cargo area for the rear of mine to take the place of the rocket launcher. I plan to make the rear flatbed module magnetic so that I can switch the rocket launcher and cargo module in and out.

I'll be using the 25mm vehicle as a "Salvage Dog" for the Star Mogul campaign that my friend Mark is running.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
I almost forgot to share a link for the Pirates Game from Flagship games:

http://www.flagshipgames.com/

http://www.flagshipgames.com/Pirates!.htm