RECRUITS! this weekend

Any wargamer who's even remotely close to the greater KC area should head on over to RECRUITS this weekend. Can't say enough good things about this con. Very kid friendly, dirt cheap and full of great vendors and games. I'll miss a lot of it, and won't be able to put on a game this round, but there's always Spring!

Building a new Wargaming table

I'm moving next month. Bad thing (besides the sheer stress of it all): Had to demolish old table of 11 years. It's been sturdy held up to years of abuse in my cold dank basement.
Good thing: Getting a really beautiful gaming area. The new place has an area that was probably meant for a pool table, complete with bar. My wife, being the wonderful creature that she is, is letting me use it for the war room. "Wargaming is part of family. Why hide it?" God, I love her.
Now I have to build a new table, and it must be worthy of the room. So, I'm thinking of taking common kitchen cabinets to use for storage and a base, bolting them together, putting the whole thing on locking casters, and:

Thoughts?
UPDATE: More Details:

Fistful of Lead (in the Future)

Lead Addict has been bugging me for years to take my Fistful of Lead Wild West rules into other areas. So, when I wouldn't get off my ass and do it, he took a turn at writing some stuff. After a few e-mail exchanges we got some basic ideas locked in that needed play testing. With most of my toys boxed up for the move, I had to play a system I knew by heart. So, Thursday the play test happened.

Gangers seek cover in the hills

The scenario involved 4 rival gangs hunting for resources (cleverly disguised as rocks) in the post-apocalyptic future. The gangs were balanced, but I wanted a variety of weapons to try out.

The big guy goes down with a shot to the grape.

Like original FfoL rules, I didn't want any record keeping, one die type,  and a minimum of gaming clutter on the tabletop. The game evolved into the usual jockeying for position until close range. There wasn't much in the way of cover (I wanted weapon testing, not cover). The automatic weapon rules worked great, simulating suppressive fire well, without alot of extra dice rolling. As with real modern weapons, it was pretty deadly and quick. Through use of treachery and kid luck the Boy came out on top. The rest of us were food for mutated three-headed vultures.

The desolate wastelands

Future play-tests will include vehicle, armor and more advanced tech. But that'll have to wait till after the move.

So much blood.....

No game this week, RECRUITS! is in town.

Happy St Patrick's Day

I'll be spending it with one of these, some friends, some dice and a bunch of little lead soldiers.

Thursday Medievals

"I say Sir Archibald, this looks like it's going to be walk in the park."

With almost everything but minis and terrain packed away for the big move, we had to play something I knew by heart. Flower of Chivalry (or Battle Lust, as it's affectionately known) is favorite for everyone.
We started with everyone getting the same base troops: ONe unit of dismounted knights or retainers, one unit of billmen and one of longbows. Then, starting with the generals, each player picks one unit from the pool. This alternates sides till everyone had four total (for a quicker game).

The forces arrayed in all their splendor

The fun comes when we dice randomly for each commander's efficiency, always a nail biter, especially with the leaders. Of course, one side got a "Buffoon" and the other a "Brilliant" commander. I could see the look of doom come over the Buffoon's side, Roderick the Simple. In the rules, your commanders command radii and ability to issue orders are based on their level of efficiency. It only got worse when his subcommanders rolled another Buffoon, a Plodding and an Efficient, while most of the other side were Brilliant. It looked like it was going to be a short game.

Preparing for the inevitable clash

Wham!

Ahhh, but it was not to be! Through careful management of our meager resources, we (the followers of Roderick) were able to stay in the fight to the bitter end, only losing by one unit! With great glee I crushed the forces opposite me, of my 10-year-old son (hey, he had to go to bed anyway).

No Game tonight!

Why no game? The Basement General's motto is "Quality Gaming Every Thursday Night"? Well, the wargaming table now holds dozens of boxes, because if all goes well we're moving.
A bigger house, a better gaming area, an office space for my over worked wife who now toils away in a cold basement, and my kids still go to the same schools. Huzzah!
So, my posting schedule will be off for a couple of weeks. Hopefully I can still squeeze in RECRUITS with all the insanity swirling around. I'll post pics of the new digs, if all goes according to plans. But, you know what they say about best laid plans.....