With Enfilade a Week Out . . .

It's that time of year again.  Social Studies classroom based assessments, the last issue of the paper in process, and of course Enfilade. 

Fort those who don't follow, Enfilade is our annual historical miniature gaming convention, held each Memorial Day weekend in Olympia, WA.  I'm the director this year.  I was director from 1999-2004. It's a busy job, and I don't feel like I've quite been able to do it justice.  I've actually announce that I am resigning from the Enfilade committee after this year.  I'm just too busy with school and currently stressed out by life in general to do it justice.  I've also been on the committee for a long time so I think it's time to take a break. 

I'm looking forward to having some time to prepare for games at the convention-hosting and playing-being one of the guys in the back of the room.  Next year I expect to do just that-avoid the registration desk, and everything except run and play games.  I can see offering to help in other ways in 2013-judging the painting competition, working the desk, other small things.  But I just need to enjoy myself a little more than I do. 

My games are nearly ready.  Because I have to run down after school this year, I'll be packing early, starting this weekend.  I want to see if I can fit all my AWI stuff for the Hobkirk's Hill game in one big box.  I still have a gun and crew to finish up for that game.  I'll also try to assemble the ships for Closing Wilmington.  I need to decide on the battery composition and work through the infantry rules again.  Finally, I need to make piles of trees for  Sluys.  I've made four little villages to represent the towns in the estuaries, just for show, but the terrain is heavily forested as well.  It will add to the geographic flavor.

In many respects I'm very excited about my game offerings.  Sluys can be more than a one-off game. But it's the satisfaction of having made everything that goes with it that pleases me. Hobkirk's Hill is the first in a series of games I'll offer on the Revolution.  Next Year I'd like to do Hobkirk's and Eutaw Springs, which has fairly challenging terrain, but not a lot of new units to paint.  Closing Wilmington is the game I'm most conerned about because Ironclads can be so fiddly for new gamers, but I confess it's the only game system I like for the period.