COW2010 (the annual Conference of Wargamers that is run by Wargame Developments) is just four weeks away, and the list of sessions is beginning to come together. At present the list includes the following sessions.
Paddy Griffith et al
THE PLENARY GAME
An adaptation of Joan Littlewood's "Oh What A Lovely War" (first presented as a stage show in 1963, then made into a film in 1969).
WD Display Team North
THE END
A game from that aims to re-create the final year of WW2 in Europe … in about 15 minutes!
Matthew Hartley
HASTINGS – A VIEW FROM THE SHIELDWALL
Each player's aim is to survive the day as part of the Anglo-Danish shieldwall on Senlac Hill, 15th October 1066.
Mike Elliott
LES PETITES BATAILLES
A play-test session of a simple set of rules for Napoleonic wargames using 6mm figures.
Mike Elliott
BATTLE OF NORTHAMPTON
An illustrated talk on the Battle of Northampton (July 1460) that took place during the Wars of the Roses.
Bob Cordery
JOSEPH MORSCHAUSER: A FORGOTTEN PIONEER?
This session will begin with a presentation about Joseph Morschauser and his rules, and will end with attendees having the opportunity to fight some battles using Morschauser's 'Frontier' rules and the most current version of my Morschauser-inspired Interbellum rules.
Tim Gow
SPOCK'S SHAMEFUL SECRET
A lawn game that will recreate a crucial moment in military history.
Jonathan Crowe
WAR WHEEL
A team game involving 5 historical battles fought using ‘one-brain-cell’ rules, with two teams of five playing one turn in each battle, moving round against their opponents.
Phil Barker
SHARP END – BACK TO BUGGERUPISTAN
Yet another visit to the battlefield that is Buggerupistan, this time featuring the town of Bhangbhangduq, poppy fields, some very expensive American maize and a lot of lovely new 28mm figures.
John Bassett
COLD FEET
A role-play/planning game based on a real-life operation in the Arctic at the height of the Cold War.
John Bassett
SPARTACUS
An epic role-play/map game on the great slave uprising against Rome, featuring heroic rebels, dodgy pirates and corrupt governors, all done in finest WD taste.
David Bradbury
FIRE SO CLOSE YOU ARE SPLASHED BY HIS BLOOD
16th century galley warfare in the Mediterranean.
Ian Drury
THE LAST CRUSADE (The Battle of Nicopolis)
Jean Sans Peur and the The Last Crusade, featuring new rules for horse archers and a chance to see the Edirne slave market from the inside.
Richard Brooks
OP 14
An operational level Great War game set in 1914 that uses Red Square mechanisms adapted to reflect narrative level typical of Great War, i.e. large multi-corps battles.
Richard Brooks
DER GROSSER SCHWEIGER – THE LIFE AND CAREER OF HELMUT V MOLTKE THE ELDER
Illustrated talk on one of history's most influential wargamers, who fought more unintended battles than any other great commander, and could be silent in seven languages.
Martin Wallace
BULL RUN
A two-player, entry-level board game based on the first battle of Bull Run.
Martin Wallace
A FEW ACRES OF SNOW
Another two-player game, this one about the long struggle between Britain and France for dominance in North America.
John Curry
EXERCISE SNOWBALL
Anti-terrorist training exercise in a hypothetical city, with the players take on roles within the city government and manage the changing situation.
John Curry
THE ANTI-U-BOAT WARGAMES OF THE WESTERN APPROACHES TACTICAL SCHOOL (1943)
A reconstruction of this key wartime training game.
John Curry
EARLY WARGAMES
After Dinner practical session about early wargames, including Triang's ‘Combat’, Waddington's ‘Battle of the Little Bighorn’, ‘Battle of Balaclava’ by Strand Magazine (1890), and General Horrock's ‘Combat’.
John Curry
A TOWN TOO FAR
Plan a WWII airborne operation, and then carry it out using Megablitz-type rules.
Martin Goddard & Rob Roriston
WASHINGTON'S ARMY (AWI)
A chance to play one of the latest sets of rules developed by the Peter Pig team.
Martin Goddard & Rob Roriston
SQUARE BASHING (WW1)
A revisit of an older game in order to make it better and include new ideas.
Martin Rapier
DRUMFIRE: CORPS LEVEL TRENCH WARFARE IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
A fairly high level game looking at the planning and execution of a Corps level attack on the Western Front.
Tim Price
A PLACE IN THE SUN
A presentation about life in the Green Zone in Baghdad that features NATO Missions, Bob on the FOB, General Majiid, Body Armour, DFACs, IDFs, the IZ, Sexy Interpreter Girl, photography, T-Walls, and the daily Car Bombs.
Tim Price
WE SHALL BE KINGS
An After Dinner Game about a small band of determined men hunting for Saddam's hidden treasure ... Palaces! Marble Floors! 50 degree heat! Flies! Special Forces! The smell of toilets!
Tony Hawkins & John Bassett
SHOT AT DAWN
A lawn game; more details to follow in due course.
Dick Scholefield
THE BIRDS ARE SINGING AND IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY
A single player role-playing adventure though the French countryside in 1944.
As usual it is a mixture of old, new, and developing projects, and the historical periods covered – as well as they style and genre of games – is diverse. My problem is that there is just too much choice, and I am going to have a problem deciding which sessions I will go to.
Paddy Griffith et al
THE PLENARY GAME
An adaptation of Joan Littlewood's "Oh What A Lovely War" (first presented as a stage show in 1963, then made into a film in 1969).
WD Display Team North
THE END
A game from that aims to re-create the final year of WW2 in Europe … in about 15 minutes!
Matthew Hartley
HASTINGS – A VIEW FROM THE SHIELDWALL
Each player's aim is to survive the day as part of the Anglo-Danish shieldwall on Senlac Hill, 15th October 1066.
Mike Elliott
LES PETITES BATAILLES
A play-test session of a simple set of rules for Napoleonic wargames using 6mm figures.
Mike Elliott
BATTLE OF NORTHAMPTON
An illustrated talk on the Battle of Northampton (July 1460) that took place during the Wars of the Roses.
Bob Cordery
JOSEPH MORSCHAUSER: A FORGOTTEN PIONEER?
This session will begin with a presentation about Joseph Morschauser and his rules, and will end with attendees having the opportunity to fight some battles using Morschauser's 'Frontier' rules and the most current version of my Morschauser-inspired Interbellum rules.
Tim Gow
SPOCK'S SHAMEFUL SECRET
A lawn game that will recreate a crucial moment in military history.
Jonathan Crowe
WAR WHEEL
A team game involving 5 historical battles fought using ‘one-brain-cell’ rules, with two teams of five playing one turn in each battle, moving round against their opponents.
Phil Barker
SHARP END – BACK TO BUGGERUPISTAN
Yet another visit to the battlefield that is Buggerupistan, this time featuring the town of Bhangbhangduq, poppy fields, some very expensive American maize and a lot of lovely new 28mm figures.
John Bassett
COLD FEET
A role-play/planning game based on a real-life operation in the Arctic at the height of the Cold War.
John Bassett
SPARTACUS
An epic role-play/map game on the great slave uprising against Rome, featuring heroic rebels, dodgy pirates and corrupt governors, all done in finest WD taste.
David Bradbury
FIRE SO CLOSE YOU ARE SPLASHED BY HIS BLOOD
16th century galley warfare in the Mediterranean.
Ian Drury
THE LAST CRUSADE (The Battle of Nicopolis)
Jean Sans Peur and the The Last Crusade, featuring new rules for horse archers and a chance to see the Edirne slave market from the inside.
Richard Brooks
OP 14
An operational level Great War game set in 1914 that uses Red Square mechanisms adapted to reflect narrative level typical of Great War, i.e. large multi-corps battles.
Richard Brooks
DER GROSSER SCHWEIGER – THE LIFE AND CAREER OF HELMUT V MOLTKE THE ELDER
Illustrated talk on one of history's most influential wargamers, who fought more unintended battles than any other great commander, and could be silent in seven languages.
Martin Wallace
BULL RUN
A two-player, entry-level board game based on the first battle of Bull Run.
Martin Wallace
A FEW ACRES OF SNOW
Another two-player game, this one about the long struggle between Britain and France for dominance in North America.
John Curry
EXERCISE SNOWBALL
Anti-terrorist training exercise in a hypothetical city, with the players take on roles within the city government and manage the changing situation.
John Curry
THE ANTI-U-BOAT WARGAMES OF THE WESTERN APPROACHES TACTICAL SCHOOL (1943)
A reconstruction of this key wartime training game.
John Curry
EARLY WARGAMES
After Dinner practical session about early wargames, including Triang's ‘Combat’, Waddington's ‘Battle of the Little Bighorn’, ‘Battle of Balaclava’ by Strand Magazine (1890), and General Horrock's ‘Combat’.
John Curry
A TOWN TOO FAR
Plan a WWII airborne operation, and then carry it out using Megablitz-type rules.
Martin Goddard & Rob Roriston
WASHINGTON'S ARMY (AWI)
A chance to play one of the latest sets of rules developed by the Peter Pig team.
Martin Goddard & Rob Roriston
SQUARE BASHING (WW1)
A revisit of an older game in order to make it better and include new ideas.
Martin Rapier
DRUMFIRE: CORPS LEVEL TRENCH WARFARE IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
A fairly high level game looking at the planning and execution of a Corps level attack on the Western Front.
Tim Price
A PLACE IN THE SUN
A presentation about life in the Green Zone in Baghdad that features NATO Missions, Bob on the FOB, General Majiid, Body Armour, DFACs, IDFs, the IZ, Sexy Interpreter Girl, photography, T-Walls, and the daily Car Bombs.
Tim Price
WE SHALL BE KINGS
An After Dinner Game about a small band of determined men hunting for Saddam's hidden treasure ... Palaces! Marble Floors! 50 degree heat! Flies! Special Forces! The smell of toilets!
Tony Hawkins & John Bassett
SHOT AT DAWN
A lawn game; more details to follow in due course.
Dick Scholefield
THE BIRDS ARE SINGING AND IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY
A single player role-playing adventure though the French countryside in 1944.
As usual it is a mixture of old, new, and developing projects, and the historical periods covered – as well as they style and genre of games – is diverse. My problem is that there is just too much choice, and I am going to have a problem deciding which sessions I will go to.
Dang it! Why am I stuck here on the wrong side of the pond?
ReplyDeleteAre the games run sequentially, or must attendees choose among several games being put on at the same time? If the latter, some of the choices would be difficult to make indeed!
Have a great time.
Chris
Chris J,
ReplyDeleteOther than the Plenary Game (which is usually an 'ice breaker' that takes place after dinner on the first night), there are usually at least three or four sessions on at the same time, and attendees have to choose which to go to.
Incidentally the timetable is very flexible, and sometimes sessions are run twice and often impromptu sessions are added on the day. There is a big board in the main meeting room with the timetable on it, and it usually ends up covered with Post-It notes with changes, alterations, and additions all over it.
We have had people from 'over the pond' come to COW, but some find the way the timetable is prone to late minute changes not to their liking; they prefer things to be set in stone, and not to change as the conference goes on.
In one case an attendee left because a session he had signed up for had been moved. He felt that having paid, he was entitled to get what he paid for at the time laid down; the person putting on the session was unwilling to move it back to the time it had been timetabled for. He argued that he was doing it for fun and not for money, and so I ended up trying to sort out a total impasse, with both parties feeling aggrieved and unhappy.
Such is the lot of a conference organiser!
All the best,
Bob
Ah yes, the ever-pleasant "it-must-be-done-the-way-I-want-it done" type. One of the first conventions I ever worked had a guy come in late Saturday afternoon, announce he was there to play in Game XYZ (which he had forgotten to register for), and that if he didn't get in he would tell his bank not to honor the check he had just written for admission. Swell.
ReplyDeleteNext there was a guy who asked if we really meant what we said about "no uniforms" being allowed; this was intended to prevent guys from showing up as part of the SS. At any rate, we assured him we did mean it, at which point he wanted to know why we allowed transvestites to "run rampant" during the convention--weren't they wearing a type of uniform? What were his young children supposed to think?! Fortunately another fellow stepped in to handle this guy; I had asked him (a) how exactly did he know there were transvestites around--I mean, did he conduct on-the-spot inspections or what? (b) Had it occured to him that if anything his sons were probably thinking what a bigoted jerk he was being?
Most of the time most people are pretty easy to deal with, even when the inevitable snarl occurs, but the exceptions . . . wow.
Good luck!
Chris
Chris J,
ReplyDeleteI recognise both 'types', and could add a few more of my own! Besides running COW, I sometimes have to organise joint conferences and events for business people, educationalists, and senior government officers ... and I have found that the less important the person really is, the more problems they cause organisers.
All the best,
Bob