Historicon 2023 Show Recap

[@TraitorsGambit]

Miles with the savage responses

[@LittleWarsTV]

Better have thick skin in this club! Or a full head of hair.

[@TraitorsGambit]

@@LittleWarsTV Do you have a source for your Korean War minis? Criminally underrepresented conflict on the tabletop so kudos to you guys for doing it (albeit one of the more famous engagements)

[@LittleWarsTV]

@@TraitorsGambitPendraken 10mm! That’s who we use. They have a great Korean War range

[@milesreidy7864]

@@LittleWarsTV Darn, all I have is a thick skull and if I tilt my head down, the whole full head of hair thing kind of, ummm, has a hole in it

[@davidtofer3634]

Came to Historicon 2023 with my 4 kids. They love it!!! It was worth a two hours drive 😉

[@robertmoffitt1336]

You guys are simply fantastic, and great for the hobby. Thanks for bringing this event to all of us out here in the hobby! 🍻

[@billyblumpkin2742]

Recently found your channel, and have been on a massive binge the last few days. I’ve absolutely found a new hobby in this and definitely want to attend this event some day. You guys rock! Keep it up!

[@LittleWarsTV]

Welcome aboard!

[@TheArmchairEmperor]

Hi a small correction, Fort William Henry in 54mm was not a Bill Molyneaux game, we ran it. My wife Shelby built the fort, most of the miniatures were mine and painted by me. I also wrote the rules and gmed the game. You can see me in the dice shirt explaining the rules. It may seem petty but all convention people were walking up to Bill and congratulating him on our game. Honestly Shelby deserves most of the credit just for building the fort but I have a feeling no one approached her because she's a woman and they assumed she was just family hanging around.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Our apologies on this! We'll post a direct link in the description to Shelby's interview with Bill!

[@anathardayaldar]

Wherever I travel, I always scope out the nearest grocery store for cheap solutions.

[@sparkey6746]

Steve and Shelby are good people. Going to make sure I get in one of their games next year. -Alex

[@TheArmchairEmperor]

@@sparkey6746 thanks!

[@TheArmchairEmperor]

@@LittleWarsTV it's no problem

[@StormofSteelWargaming]

That Peleliu table is amazing. Great report chaps!

[@adamhammer5210]

Big Fan! Thanks for sharing!

[@DH.2016]

Thanks for another good report on this convention and bravo to you guys for supporting it so well with so many games. Thanks also for the outside shots of the town. Living on the other side of the Pond, we stopped for about an hour in Lancaster when touring Pennsylvania some years back and recognising both hotel and the buildings across the junction from it brought back memories of a very enjoyable holiday (vacation, as you guys say 🙂).

[@raymccusker]

Very AWESOME work as always guys! THANKS!! Also a shot out to everybody at HMGS! Also am very happy to see so many young people joining the hobby! GAME ON EVERYONE!!😉😃

[@tabletop.will.phillips]

850 54mm minis on three 20ft tables? My goodness that is all kinds of impressive.

[@davidfinch7407]

I was there on Thursday and I was keeping an eye out for you guys. Didn't see you, but that's probably for the best as I would have geeked out like a fangirl.

[@LittleWarsTV]

I think Miles was our only Thursday early arrival. The rest of the gang rolled in Friday!

[@lawrence142002]

You know, I'm a Pennsylvanian as well (although here in the west near Pittsburgh). Your videos have really made me want to take part in the hobby since I discovered them, and I would love to see something like this organized over in this half of the state.

[@tonymarano913]

Bro you have the Steelers, Pirates, Penguins... let us have something out here in the middle 😅

[@thewarroom9028]

Great to see a lot of younger players!

[@LittleWarsTV]

There were absolutely more young people at the show this year. We still have a long way to go in this regard, but any uptick in a younger age demo is something to note!

[@MrFlyXwire]

So fun! Great to see, and hear that's there's young folks coming out too.

[@Nigel296]

What a wonderful hobby we share. And shown at its best here.

[@picoarmor7237]

Great recap. This was my first time attending Historicon. I was impressed with the setup and attendance. We had a great turnout for the games we ran.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Glad you made it for your first show! And even more pleased that you could see our 3mm PicoArmor game in person!!

[@MisterNizz]

Yes, I certainly was scrumptious in the orange shirt. Ladies, please. Contain yourselves.

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Thanks for the recap and the long shot guys are tremendous

[@LittleWarsTV]

Love their stuff!

[@hamsteronthepaintingtable6465]

great vid guys, maybe one day I'll cross the pond for this, looks great. Some really great games including Jim's game he is a total gent :-)

[@theofficerfactory2625]

I honestly felt this was perhaps the best convention I attended in my 8 years of doing so. My very first game; my Magic & Tech; was a husband, wife and son team. I had them on one side and me another and wow; what a game! My own game kicked my own butt. Good sign.

[@LittleWarsTV]

That's awesome. And I think many of the guys here in this club would agree with you. We all commented afterward how this show ranks up there as one of the best we've had in a long time. Not entirely sure why. But it had a good energy and felt very busy with gamers.

[@theofficerfactory2625]

@@LittleWarsTV Oh, absolutely. Good vibes around.

[@scootergsp]

Surprised to find out their are sci-fi/fantasy games at what I thought was an event explicitly geared towards historical miniature gamers. 😮 Happy to see the two can coexist in the same venue. 😁

[@LittleWarsTV]

At a typical HMGS show, as many as a quarter of the games are not historical!

[@ALuciferBlack]

@bartleybutsford7259, strong disagree. I started in 40k at 10, found a shop that had 40k AND historicals, which gradually converted me to historicals almost exclusively. Absent that 40k gateway, may never have gotten here.

[@TSD4027]

@bartleybutsford7259 No, they shouldn't. HMGS is a non profit with a specific mission. The organization is historical based, sci-fi and fantasy are just tolerated, unlike the fantasy conventions where historicals get placed in bad conditions.

[@stevenrobertcurrie]

Great recap. I was there on Saturday. It reminded of me how things were in the old days. The dealer area was great. I too have been looking at The Wargaming Company's Napoleonics.

[@paulwilliamson6663]

Historicon was awesome this year. Played two days with Miles and had to witness Tony beat me. Great job everyone!

[@milesreidy7864]

It was a pleasure to have you around the table Paul - you’re more than welcome in any of my games

[@patangman2117]

Looks like great fun. Congrats guys.

[@bigsarge2085]

Fun, wish we could've attended!

[@13thLegio]

Next year......Got to attend....

[@j.b.macadam6516]

Thanks for the video! Here on the West coast, I miss past conventions in the Bay Area such as Pacificon, Dundracon and others. Those were good days! I am happy to see younger gamers taking up the torch! Keep on gaming!

[@andyshaw5378]

Great review guys

[@studyhistory989]

Super show huge thanks to all the staff and volunteers.

[@Corvinuswargaming1444]

Great to see an Ottoman battle at Historicon, that Malta table looked excellent

[@KrisV385]

LWTV has such enthusiasm and passion for this hobby! You guys get me excited for it and I have been wargaming all my life. Amazing stuff thanks!!

[@Soundwavesghost]

Wonderful. You could feel how much everyone was having a good time and see it on folks faces. Little far north for my budget but it is certainly a wishlist venue to visit.

[@reglavcor]

Great too see that "Long Shot" was there. They ALWAYS have impressive looking battlefields.

[@sparkey6746]

Woo-hoo, I got two cameos! 🤪 Throughly enjoyed the opportunity to play and talk to y'all. I'm going to wear my LWTV T-shirt to our next club game and make everyone jealous 😅 We hope to return next year, Becky may have talked Diane into volunteering. -Alex

[@clarkcommando1983]

Plan to attend in 2024

[@doncygan3067]

Great Recap, guys. I missed this year, but loved the 2022 HIstoricon and definitely hope to attend again in 2024.

[@BlueSideUp77]

I met one of your convention goers at an airport as he was headed home. He mentioned what he was out in Lancaster for, and we got to talking a bit about it. Hoping to get in touch with him again, and going to next year's event!

[@dungeonslayer4692]

I really wanted to go, but had to work that weekend. I'm going to plan ahead for next year. I built a huge army to run Ravenfeast and learning the system. Getting ready to build my terrain now for the table.

[@giovannifusco00]

mesmerising

[@masqueradevictim]

This was so much easier to get to when it was in Fredericksburg, VA for two years. Haven't been able to get there since it moved back to PA. Miss going though!

[@banksixdeis94]

Two time historicon attendee here (Midwest resident). I presumed it had long lost it's youth and luster. I'm very excited to know I've been proven wrong. Punch my ticket in 2024.

[@Tancread99]

Walt! Saving the world one guidebook at a time!

[@simonhaines3441]

Long way from England, may try next year.

[@LittleWarsTV]

We heard some English accents at the show, so you wouldn’t be alone! Met a number of international gamers who all tend to make a weeklong trip out of it, including some regional battlefields.

[@davidnemoseck9007]

This is definitely on my list to go to. Though most likely in 2 to 3 years.

[@chrisrobinson196]

Thanks for this. A couple of weekends ago as we were driving to our monthly all-day game, a wargaming buddy and I pinky-swore (the most serious vow) to make it down from Canada next year. Probably by car, as we don't want to pay the surcharges for overweight luggage on the flight back...

[@LittleWarsTV]

Met a couple Canadians this year at the show. It’s a long drive, but if you’re into historical gaming, I can assure you the trek is worth it

[@chrisrobinson196]

@@LittleWarsTV Yes, one of the regulars to our regional con has been tormenting us on Facebook with pics from his trip there 🙂

[@DeePsix501]

That settles it - I need to make my way to Lancaster

[@diecycling]

Looks like a fantastic time! What wargame was being played with the desert setting and WWII tanks? Appeared to be 1/72 scale? Focused Firepower perhaps?👍

[@LittleWarsTV]

At the start of the video was a Chain of Command Malta game! Not sure if that’s the one you meant. It was a great set up

[@williamwray2522]

If y'all can make a reminder for where and when the next Historocon is, I would be more willing to go

[@LittleWarsTV]

Oh we will! Don’t worry.

[@dluff]

Great show

[@larrysmith703]

A good convention report you guys should check out Mark's game rooms report. That's a great one. You would enjoy it. It's good to see another club doing a report on the convention

[@LittleWarsTV]

We helped them film it! They did an outstanding report and we are rooting for their channel to take off. A great club with some real video talent!

[@giovannifusco00]

If Miles is so brutal I don't want to play against him.

[@wayoutwest7]

wow guys, great recap. I am going next year for sure.

[@LittleWarsTV]

You should! It’s an incredible time. So much fun.

[@josephgough30]

Awesome event as always!

[@1teamski]

Had a great time this year! As usual, a lot of dollars rolling out of the wallet......

[@Jacob-pu4zj]

16:40 I had that same case on my iPod a few years ago.

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Woo hoo Walt oHara!

[@bondoly66]

It was a good show. A good show.

[@mourka01]

this looks like the best convention yall go to

[@LittleWarsTV]

It is for sure. Historicon is the top.

[@raymondphillips1563]

I saw Edgar Pabon! good to see some of our HMGS South friends there.

[@frankscala4644]

i have gone to Historicon, Cold wars and fall in since the 80,s but i love the HOST and never enjoyed any shows when they moved around so now i only go to Cold Wars

[@orbitalair2103]

There are some great layouts there. But where you store those? My room is only 12x12, I can barely setup a avalon hill game. Do you let guys play the old AH or new GMT games there or is it just minis?

[@wilsontheconqueror8101]

All of your videos had exactly 717 views! Strange! But good stuff!

[@chrismoraal1769]

Who made the 10 mm Napoleonics? Those looked fantastic!

[@LittleWarsTV]

The Wargaming Company. The folks who do ESR rules

[@GreyhawkGrognard]

I had a wonderful time at the con this year. If I had a complaint about the venue, it's relating to the bar/restaurant in the convention center itself, which is ridiculously over-priced. Plus no free breakfast was an unpleasant surprise. But the con itself was terrific, and I noticed the same thing about there being more younger people (and women) there.

[@LittleWarsTV]

The Plough has great food, but it's not cheap, no. With Lancaster Central Market literally across the street, though, there are so many awesome food options around this venue. And if you're willing to walk even 2-3 blocks, there have to be over a dozen more restaurants and bars. Kind of a dream scenario as far as eating/drinking options.

[@GreyhawkGrognard]

@@LittleWarsTV I discovered the South Market for the first time, which had a lot of really good options, too.

[@zachnar0125]

Im sorry for asking but is there anything happening in Southern Cal anytime soon? Anywhere from San D to Bakersfield and im on it!

[@rcspaintserviceandgaming]

Is there plans for a Historicon 2024 and when and where will it be?

[@paradox7358]

Do you guys have any plans in the future to do another series like the Pyrrhic war campaign?

[@LittleWarsTV]

….stay tuned!

[@audrey2231]

0:00-0:06 and 13:31-13:36 hottie boombalottie in the white shirt :o

[@poohhbeeaar]

Can you guys do a tour of your club?

[@frankdonatelli343]

😂 get 'im miles!

[@clarkcommando1983]

Was bolt action or flames of war played ?

[@LittleWarsTV]

Yes both!

[@TSD4027]

Yes but play is almost always limited to the tournaments for those 2.

[@clarkcommando1983]

@@TSD4027 that’s ok I just want to play win or lose

[@zachnar0125]

Well if you guys would host Historicom in the western states i would have gone 100%

[@Rollins36LP]

It there a similar event like this in germany, that you have heard of?

[@Kallistosprom]

As someone new to historicals coming from a warhammer start, I’m a bit overwhelmed by the number of systems out there and the differences between them. Is there any way for you to put what system people use for these various tables? Just to give us newbies a bit of direction.

[@Kallistosprom]

Follow note: I wish there was a newbies guide to historicals somewhere.

[@leroy_jenkins7974]

@@Kallistosprom Unfortunately, I am not aware of any one place that has a universal beginners guide to historical wargaming. However, part of the reason for that is because it can vary a bit by region and personal preference. There are 2 main factors to keep in mind when starting out: 1. What time periods and scale of conflict interest you? 2. What games are played by people in your area? A great way to to get started is by going to a nearby gaming shop or joining a local Facebook group, and from there you can ask around about games played in your area. From this list, you can more easily narrow down what system you want to get into as a start. Another upside to historicals is that even if you decide you like a different system more, your minis will still work across different games! There are also several forums online for historical wargames that can have good advice, with Lead Adventures and The Miniature Page being the two I am most familiar with.

[@dcb5176]

Not sure I saw any video of games from the Heritage Room, which had better lighting and as many attractive game than the dungeon, which has horrible lighting, which the camera corrects.

[@AdmiralKodai]

I was just trying to find where this is at. and all I can find is Lancaster County. ahhhmmm where the F is that.....???

[@tonymarano913]

Historicon is held in July at the Lancaster Marriott/Lancaster Convention Center on the square in Lancaster PA.

[@TSD4027]

You couldn't take 5 seconds to google Historicon 2023 and read the very first result?

[@AdmiralKodai]

@@TSD4027 Maybe English isn't your language so you didn't understand my question. But I did google it first, and all i could find was that it was in Lancaster County. Maybe you should take your own advise. But tony answered my question. Unlike you. :)

[@AdmiralKodai]

@@tonymarano913 thank you. :)

[@TSD4027]

@@AdmiralKodai The very first result for Historicon 2023 tells you the date, location, and venue. You were just too lazy to do it.

[@mevl4822]

The guys at little wars tv seem like great people and they make great videos, no one talks about the fact that they feed the losers of games to deranged circus bears. Just saying.

[@tonymarano913]

Well they'll be talking about it now

[@milesreidy7864]

@@tonymarano913 i take great exception to this comment. Ours bears may have issues, hey what bears don’t, but they are certainly NOT derranged

[@oskar6661]

Nobody show this to Guy from MWM...

[@LittleWarsTV]

Not a single Fascist in sight! Just folks having fun with toy soldiers. Hard to believe, right??

[@HillsgroveMike]

I'm jealous. Texas has nothing.

[@galimatias4455]

Not from there but the Anything But a One podcast guys talk a lot about MilleniumCon. Appears to be in Round Rock.

[@TheKerlae]

soos

[@attentionspanlabs]

"Great little city" --LOL. Historicon was good, but let's not be ridiculous.

[@tonymarano913]

Hardly being ridiculous

[@attentionspanlabs]

@@tonymarano913 What part of downtown Lancaster is the greatest? The dearth of parking? The meth fiends bouncing off the telephone polls having loud conversations with themselves? The fentanyl zombies shambling across traffic? Of the three cons, Historicon has the best venue but the worst geographic location.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Then we will have to respectfully disagree on that topic I guess. And that’s ok. Everyone has their favorite venues and locations for the shows. Our guys love the downtown location. Great restaurants, bars, the market, and HMGS even pays for parking for attendees. I think there are 5 garages within a few blocks so we have different definitions of a “dearth of parking.”

[@attentionspanlabs]

@@LittleWarsTV If you are there overnight or very early in the morning, I suspect you won't notice it. If you are a daytripper who gets there later in the day, it is not so nice. Last year every parking garage was full and I had to park at the Queen Street lot, which is over a quarter mile away.

[@tonymarano913]

Lol, are you sure you weren't in Scranton? I walked 4 blocks to my airbnb each night near midnight without any of the drama you described & i guess that because I walk a few miles every day at work 1300' from a parking space doesn't strike me as crisis material. Your mileage may vary. Hopefully your next Con experience will be more to your liking. Peace!

[@grahamward3504]

why not show more of the games and less talking ?

[@dorotheaseiser3227]

P r o m o S M

[@knightschallenge9447]

Proper gaming with proper sized armies. None of this skirmish gaming rubbish. 8 men and a Tiger tank 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

Battlestar Galactica Assault on Colony 1 was fantastic! Needs to be more sci-fi and fantasy at this con, especially if they hope to attract younger blood. This convention reminded me alot of GenCon or Origins in the 1980s........fantastic. And HMGS, do NOT stop using this venue.......perfect for a high-caliber convention such as this. However, they need to get better with event registration. Lastly, if y9u arrived at the convention after 6 or 7 PM you were screwed trying to get a badge until the following morning. Not cool.

[@TSD4027]

Absolutely not. HMGS is a historical focused non profit with a mission statement to teach about military history through war gaming. 20-25% is already too much. You guys have Origins, Gencon, Adepticon, Pax, etc. already for that. Some of those cons have treated historical war gaming very poorly in the past. Let us have our con, thanks.

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

@@TSD4027 Many, many historical wargamers like myself crossover and play sci-fi because rules are often more complex, challenging and tactically granular. Becoming too "clannnish" and looking down noses at other genres of minis games will destroy attendance in the long run. I don't think you need to worry so much about Historicon's true mission being diluted; not at all. And remember, sci fi games will attract far more new blood which, as they get older will be more likely to study more history as well. It is a win-win. Starfleet Battles, for example, made me start enjoying modern naval games and WWII naval actions.

[@TSD4027]

@@patiencezero-xc9zl You're not understanding the part where HMGS stands for Historical Miniature Gaming Society, and the fact it is a non profit dedicated solely to that point. It is the ONLY convention to do so, and it should remain that way. I don't go to a steak restaurant and ask for sushi. No one is "looking down their nose" at sci-fi, but that genre already has multiple other larger conventions. If anyone, it was the sci-fi/fantasy crowd looking down on historicals by banishing them into random out of the way buildings at places like Gencon that led to HMGS being formed.

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

@@TSD4027 You are not understanding that while the majority of the con may or will remain FOCUSED on historical gaming, they already do not refuse other game game genres. If you are suggesting they begin FORBIDDING sci fi or fantasy minis, well then the convention will die. It is called evolving and accepting what people want to play.....who cares what the name of the con is. Again, you really are getting excited over nothing. There is no data suggesting historical minis are dying off. What do you say to the guy wanting to run Waterloo on day one, followed by an assault on the Death Star on day two? The answer is that HMGS could say nothing.....

[@TSD4027]

@@patiencezero-xc9zl No, the con will remain historical focused. This is in the mission statement, this is what the dues paying voting members vote for time and time again. Are you even an HMGS member? Do you pay dues and vote in the elections for BOD? I am guessing not because if you did you would know what gets consistently voted for by the membership that has been supporting the con for decades. Evolving and accepting what people want to play? Who cares what the con is named? Really? If you want to play sci-fi so badly and see it take over go to one of the MANY other conventions already dedicated to that and leave the 1 historical focused convention alone.

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

The only real complaint about your coverage I have is that you either did not know or chose to ignore a brief discussion with Larry Bond, who attended and ran several naval minis events. The man is an icon and you missed a huge opportunity.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Had no idea. But I’m sure we missed a lot of great potential conversations amidst the 2,000-odd attendees.

[@martynkelly6918]

@@LittleWarsTV I can second that Larry and Chris from the Naval Wargaming part of the convention have done a huge amount for the naval side of our hobby. They are also a joy to meet and talk to. If you don't know them, I would be happy to introduce you at the next Historicon (I think they mainly come to Historicon). I have always believed that creating a bridge from the Naval side of the hobby to the more traditional side of the hobby would benefit everyone. In fact my project for Historicon 2024 has this in mind, I plan to do a Harpoon V naval action on one table and the resulting amphibious landing using Force on Force on the adjacent table.

[@HillsgroveMike]

I'm jealous. Texas has nothing.

[@sparkey6746]

I used to go to MillenniumCon evey year when I lived in the Dallas area. Went back last year and had a blast. Hopefully the new venue Temple will be an upgrade. It's not Historicon, but it's still fun.

[@HillsgroveMike]

@@sparkey6746 Thank you. It's still a 10 hour drive from El Paso, although it might be worth it.