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Tag Archives: TotalCon

Wargaming Recon #91: Aaron Bostian and How Wargamers Can Give Back

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Aaron Bostian blogging at the Fancy Wars.

Aaron shares the many ways that he gives back in his community. Jonathan discusses the 3 mile walk he is doing on May 18, 2013 to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis. You can DONATE HERE.

We also discuss:

Wargaming Recon #88: Save the Higgins Armory

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Save the Higgins Armory Museum.

Imagine a place where you get first hand experience with military history. A place more incredible than anything you could imagine. That place is the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts and it is closing for good on December 31, 2013..

We share the news about the closing and why the museum needs to be saved. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has an interesting article on the closing. The article covers the reasons behind the closure.

A Save the Higgins Facebook page is raising awareness of the closure in the hope of keeping the incredible museum open.

Adam of the Fencing Frog Blog wrote us a wonderful message, which we read in the episode, as to why the Higgins should stay open. Visit the Higgins Armory Museum website to plan your visit before the museum permanently closes.

We also discuss:

Wargaming Recon #87: TotalCon 27

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TotalCon 27.

Fix yourself a snack, sit in a comfy chair, and ready yourself to listen to a mammoth Wargaming Recon episode.

Total Confusion 27 is discussed at length. Jonathan recorded audio live at the con from his hotel room. That audio forms the first hour of this episode. The second hour covers Friday night through Sunday mid-morning of the con. The second half of the show was recorded after the con in the Wargaming Recon studio.

So much happened at the con that it is difficult to recount it all in the show notes. Instead, we hope you will enjoy the episode and read the below thanks.

We’d like to thank:

  • Angelia Parenteau, TotalCon’s Promotional Director, along with Steven Parenteau and the rest of the TotalCon staff for making this year’s event a HUGE success.
  • Industry guest Ben Gerber, and his wife, for a game-filled fun Friday evening with Wayne Moulton, Jr. of the Sages of the RPG. We played some great games, like Tugboat, and talked shop. Ben is the host of Indie Talks and co-host of Growing Geeks with Tristan Tarwater. Both shows can be found on the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network.
  • Industry guest Peter “Blix” Bryant, from Studio187 and the Tri Tac Games Podcast, for running an incredible Cube of Death (listen to Geeks Explicitly #13 Cube of Death for a review). This was Jonathan’s first time playing and it was a blast. Many thanks to Blix’s sponsors who provided the $5 Game Crafter gift certificated and Puerto Rico computer game that was given to Cube of Death players.
  • Industry guest Jay Libby who is the co-owner of Dilly Green Bean Games. He is sending us a review copy of his superhero RPG titled G-Core. Jay is a fun guy who hosts an awesome cocktail hour. Next year Jonathan aims to snag an invite to the epic fun.
  • Vendors Brenden Hill and Jeremy Brown of Crossroad Games in Standish, Maine. They were a joy to hang out with Friday evening. Lots of great conversation and a love of Downton Abbey. Buy lots of games from them when you’re near Portland, Maine.
  • Listener Patrick for making TotalCon 27 my best con memory. Had so much fun playing Zombie Dice, chilling at the GM Social, and chatting until the wee hours of the morning. It was truly a blast!
  • Chad Ellis, owner of Your Move Games in Somerville Mass, for taking the time to explain his game Battleground. He showed us how it works, discussed the benefits of the game, and gave us some great review product. Afterwards he gave listeners Adrian and Cort a demo. We know Battleground will become a new regular game for us to play. Ask your local stores to stock it!
  • Vendor Foam Brain Games for stocking Gloom, We Didn’t Playtest This at All, and Win Lose or Banana. They gave a very enjoyable demo of Win, Lose or Banana. A silly and fun game only costing $1. You can’t beat that!
  • New listener Chris V. aka Boston Greek Geek for being a huge fan of the game Ninja by Ben Gerber. It was a lot of fun talking to Chris about the game and discovering that he lives not far from us and knows a few of our friends.
  • Vendor The Dragon’s Lair for their dedication to protecting the security of their customers. It is rare to find a business, let alone con vendor, to be so concerned for their customer’s welfare. It was greatly appreciated.
  • Listeners Adrian and Cort. You carried a heavy burden for Battle of Freeman’s Farm. You both created beautifully painted models and terrain that shone on the table. The event would not have been a success without you.
  • Blix’s friends Mike and Brian who, along with Blix, welcomed me to their breakfast table on the Sunday at the con. We discussed podcasting and they shared many useful tips. Not to mention they are funny guys! You need to listen to their podcast the Con Men Podcast, which discusses conventions across America.
  • Jonathan’s incredible wife who encouraged him to attend the con, stay over, and is always supportive and understanding of his many hobbies. None of this would be possible without her love and support. Why not check out her cake decorating blog at The Cake Is Not A Lie.

Wargaming Recon #86: Angelia – TotalCon’s Promotional Director

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Angelia Parenteau – TotalCon’s Promotional Director.

Long term listeners may recall Episode 69: Angelia Heroux & TotalCon when I first chatted with Angelia, newly married, about Total Confusion LLC (TotalCon). TotalCon is New England’s largest tabletop gaming convention.

This time we discuss Total Confusion 27. Plenty of great events are happening with a multitude of fantastic industry guests.

Where else can you go elbow to elbow with Frank Mentzer and Tim Kask? This is your chance to buy Gygax Magazine, dive into Mentzer’s newest work, watch Project London, AND play in my Battle of Freeman’s Farm event (please register, it is Saturday 7-11pm M-033).

Also discussed:

  • Learn a bit of TotalCon’s history
  • Angelia discusses her title and name change
  • Industry guests, events, and vendors are highlighted
  • Wargaming Recon is a proud sponsor of TotalCon 27.
  • Book your hotel room
  • PRE-REGISTRATION ENDS FEB 17 (ONLINE)
  • Battle of Freeman’s Farm Saturday Feb 23 7-11pm M-033

Wargaming Recon #84: Wargaming on the Cheap

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Wargaming on the Cheap.

Not everyone can afford to buy the latest rulebook, the next expansion, or the newest miniatures. Not everyone wants to do that either. It is not only possible but exciting to wargame on the cheap. In this episode Jonathan shares some great ways that you can wargame on the cheap.

Also discussed:

  • Wargaming Recon is on break returning with a new episode on January 7, 2013.

Wargaming Recon #82: 6 Must Read Magazines for Historical Gamers

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6 Must Read Magazines for Historical Gamers.

These are magazines that any historical gamer, or wargamer, will find useful. They contain articles, photographs, reviews, and imagery that, together, provide the full picture on any historical era of interest.

Also discussed:

Wargaming Recon Episode 69: Angelia Heroux & TotalCon

Host Jonathan J. Reinhart introduces special guest: Angelia Heroux, Media Director for TotalCon.

Angelia reveals how she became involved with TotalCon, announces her pick between Han Solo and Malcolm Reynolds, and which industry guest she was starstruck to meet. She talks about the Total Confusion (TotalCon) gaming convention held annually in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

Show listeners had a chance to submit questions for this episode. Some of those questions make it onto the air. Angelia also shares her advice for con GMs, gives suggestions on running your own con, and directs potential con volunteers to the Volunteer page.

The curtain is lifted as we are transported behind the scenes of TotalCon!

As always we conclude with a message from our sponsor, 12-7-Games.com, our Creative Commons license and contact information (find us on Facebook and Twitter).

We hope you enjoy this episode of Wargaming Recon and are eager for your feedback (both positive remarks and constructive criticism). Send it all to cwfgamecast at wargamingforums dot com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, or Xbox Live with gamertag cwfgamecast.

Our intro song is “Downtown” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

TOTALCON 26 – Daybreak at Hangman’s Creek PICS

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I know you’ve been reading the TotalCon postings on here and hopefully you’ve been enjoying them. As a reward you will find pictures, below, from the Daybreak at Hangman’s Creek game that Adrian B., Cort N., and I ran. I am the fat kid in the blue Wargaming Recon shirt. Adrian took the pictures but you’ll have to excuse their quality. He was focused on being overall umpire while Cort and I served as guides for the Confederates and Union respectively.

Ask a TotalCon Director ANYTHING

That’s right! Tomorrow evening I am interviewing Angelia Heroux, PR Director for TotalCon, for the next episode of Wargaming Recon. We will be discussing gaming, geekiness, and TotalCon.

This is YOUR chance to ask Angelia a question. Please submit your question(s) to me no later than 3pm EST TOMORROW (March 1, 2012). Send them via e-mail to cwfgamecast@wargamingforums.com, post them as a comment to THIS blog post, Tweet them to me @cwfgamecast, or post them to the Facebook page.

I may pick your question(s) to ask Angelia. You’ll be attributed in the show and have your name heard by all Wargaming Recon listeners!

So act now. This is a limited time offer, etc etc.

P.S. Please keep questions pertinent to gaming, etc. Although it is ok to ask Angelia how she plans to survive the zombie apocalypse.

TotalCon 26 Recap

TotalCon. Where do I begin? Okay, I’m going to sum up the entire con in a single word. You might think that is difficult to do. But, here goes. AMAZING!

TotalCon 26 was the most fun I’ve had at TotalCon. If you’re unfamiliar with Total Confusion, then you’re missing out. Briefly, it is the longest-running, small, roleplaying game and board game focused con in southeastern Massachusetts. For the past 26 years it has brought gamers together to meet industry guests, have fun, and interact with one another.

At first glance it may not seem that a RPG-focused con has anything to do with wargaming. Normally, RPGs don’t cross into the realm of wargaming. The con includes more than RPGs and board game. There’s a growing miniatures area, trivia events, panels, and this year they featured live performances of Dr. Horrible’s Sing- A-long Blog, REPO! The Genetic Opera, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Buffy.

I attended the con on Friday and Saturday. Dan Eustace ran two War at Sea events. One, The Last Voyage of the Yamato, piqued my interest. It is near the end of the war in the Pacific. The Americans have taken Okinawa and are ready to pounce on the home isles. The Imperial Japanese Navy is tasked with a desperate attempt to reach Okinawa and beach the Yamato to serve as a shore battery. It is the last large ship the Japanese have. Success is uncertain and many consider the mission nothing short of suicide.