Wooden Wars: Pacificon Game Expo convention battle report

Captain Shannon earns her spurs as she cuts down enemy elite cavalry!

Oh the Wood-maninty!

Pacificon is one of the local conventions here in the Bay Area that I've been attending since I was old enough to have friends old enough to have cars to get to the Con'.  The miniatures games part of the convention  in particular is very well organized and coordinated mostly by a Mr. Dave Partak- who really works hard to make things run smoothly. Many of the big spectacle and just-plain-fun-and-shiny games are sponsored or run by members of my local club, the South Bay Gaming Club (SBGC).  Kudos indeed!

Grenadiers take a heavy pounding.

Baron Bomburt's troops. My pal Peter fashioned them off of the
soldiers in Chitty Chitty Bang bang.

Squares are safe from cavalry, but make sweet targets for firing.

Baron Bomburst's troops take La Haye Block- then sallied out to defend it.

Firing from a defended position. No matter what age, the look of
concentration is awesome.

Leger Battalion column march across the field and capture enemy flag!

Four Grand BATTLES:

I ran four Wooden Wars battles during the convention. Each was well attended, and drew a crowd of spectators who would cheer, laugh and in general encourage the players.  Three of the battles centered around Lay Haye Block and had a capture the flag objective with a secondary objective  to capture the building in the middle. The fourth was a revisiting of that famous Block-odino redoubt battle of 1812.  

Captain Shannon, sporting her medal takes command of the Hussars in another battle.

The enemy has learned about Captain Shannon and order the grenadiers to
defend their flag.

Tactics discussed as the blue army storm La Haye Block.

line troops march move behind their grenadiers and into the enemy

melee ensues! Wooden Wars melee is brutal and effective.

Overview of melee. Blue line troops lose almost half their unit
but secure the flank of their comrades.

Each game had capacity, an average of 6 per side, with more on the sidelines wanting to join in.   Some folks also brought their own troops to add to the fray.  The star player of the convention was a Captain Shannon,  at 10 years old, commanding a unit of elite hussars.  In one battle she charged and knocked over 3 units, and came close to breaking a square which was protecting the enemy flag.  Although she ultimately fell to the square, her heroic actions and slaughter (oh, the woodmanity) allowed her side's infantry to gain ground and capture the flag.  A well deserved medal went to Captain Shannon, plus bonus points as her sweater matched the Pelisse's of her Hussars! 

Block-odino- fight for the redoubts:

The blue army defend the great redoubt and two smaller ones.

young Lieutenant Partak defends the great redoubt. His officer is a
model he built on site, and colored with felt pens. Cool!

Red army. They had an extra battery of guns and three extra infantry units
but no reinforcement coins. The defenders had 10 coins to buy back troops.

A grand advance as cannonade fills the game hall.

I'll tell you what;Vauban knew what he was doing when it came to rubber balls.

Red army takes casualties as they advance.

Storming the redoubt!

Defenders win!  The redoubt was attacked 3 times before a unit got over.

Red army grenadiers not only made it over the redoubt but captured the
blue armies General!  here you see them taking hits from the cannon just before they
charge it and capture the flag.. with two guys left!  A well deserved medal.

I am always amazed and happy how quickly everyone grasps the rules, and then starts using tactics and maneuvers, not just firing, to play the game. When 8 year olds are yelling for their comrades to "form square!", you know you have done something right.

My favorite picture from the con. Me, my son, and my godchildren
having a great time.

I want to thank everyone who played, stopped by, and spectated, especially those of you who saw the game and came back later to tell me you had backed my Kickstarter!  As my son's favorite comic hero Calvin says, "Medals all around!"