AdeptiCon Part 2 – Sorry for the length in advance- but a lot happened! Games on the Bolt Action and Chain of Command Bulge table were a ton of fun, but I also had the chance to play in and demo a bunch of games.

Wings of Glory- WW1 Bi-plane dogfights. I played it a long time ago and loved it so I jumped at a chance to play again. Love the mechanics that do a good job of simulating the quick/ chaotic feel of aerial combat. No dice for me to blame for my failures though!

Saga- I played in a huge Battle of Brunanburgh Vikings vs. Anglo Saxons with roughly 8 players to a side. I had Vikings and was paired up with a fun partner and opponent who had a ton of knowledge and helped me with some of the nuances I had been missing.. Needless to say I got tabled, even in a friendly match! In all fairness my opponent was in the National Championships…

Blood and Valor- a WWI skirmish game American Marines vs. Germans in the Battle of Belleau Wood. I wanted to try a WW1 skirmish game and this one was in the same family as the Blood and Plunder family of games. I played on the German side where the goal was to defend 3 objectives. We held 2 of 3 for a win. It was a fun battle. The mechanics were straightforward and it wasn’t a huge departure from Bolt Action which was kind of a disappointment, but I liked using d10’s over d6’s as it just gives more variation.

An old gaming friend ran Space Hulk- Space Marine Terminators fighting Tyranids in a desolate hulk. He had some cool spaceship tiles to represent the ship. I played classic Space Hulk way back when it first came out in the time of Rogue Trader. I will always have a soft spot in my gaming heart for it. Fun mission to find and kill the Broodlord and his minions. Great tactical game and you get to light up rooms with a wall of fire from your heavy flamer!

I watched a game of Sunrot and talked to the creator for a while. It was a very Grimdark card driven fantasy rpg/ skirmish game. Very intriguing and well done. A little pricey, but we’ll see….

I played Blitz Bowl for the first time using my son’s amazingly well painted Khorne team vs. a team of Halflings. Despite being a learning game I did pretty well and had a lot of fun. So much so I will be getting a team and making a scratch built pitch to play on.

I also got a chance to demo Spectre Miniatures new game Cosmic Horror- Agents/ investigators vs. Lovecraftian cults/ horrors. I’ve been looking for a good Lovecaftian skirmish game for a while. So much so I told my wife I planned on writing one someday. It uses the Spectre mechanics that mostly translate well to 1920’s combat with some changes. However there are some tweaks that need to be made yet imho, especially to melee with creatures. I got to play with the designer, super nice guy as was everyone at their booth. We talked at length and got to suggest things that would be cool to see plus I got to steer him toward the movie Dagon, one of my favorite Lovecraft inspired movies. While the game isn’t 100% done yet, I look forward to seeing the finished product and expansions.

Of course I visited the vendor hall, not buying as much as I anticipated, but still getting some cool things for a variety of games. Had some great food at nearby locations and enjoyed a few adult beverages in the company of new friends and old as well as hanging out with my son who mostly had his own thing going on with friends and tournaments in the 40k area with his incredible models. (sorry about breaking a piece off one buddy! lol) He has such great talent. It was a refreshing time away with so many great conversations and laughs as well as seeing so many inspirational creations for miniatures and terrain. The place was brimming with talent and creativity. It was a great time that ended way too quick. Looking forward to next year!

(Special shout out to my orginal Four Horsemen gaming crew and the later addtions to our number, my boys at Iron Dice Gaming for all their generosity and passion, the Lead Pursuit Podcast guys and the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society – Midwest crew that made for a very fun Saturday night. Looking forward to next year or sooner!)