EastCon 1983
This EastCon was held in Glassboro College. Even so, the convention was on a small scale. Nevertheless, the people running it kept things going and there was a lot to do. The program expresses some of the simplicity of the convention. There was none of the organization of Origins. It was still fun.

Of particular interest was the Star Blazers room which showed on more or less continuous basis Japanese anime. This provided my introduction to Mobile Suit Gundam, a remarkable cartoon with surprising depth. Certainly a presentation worth seeing.

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After a lapse of almost 10 years, I once again sought out a convention, this time Historicon. The convention is run by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society. The original location was a large hotel and convention center in Harrisburg, PA, but the space was too small to accommodate the large convention so it was later moved to a hotel in Lancaster and even later moved to Fredericksburg, VA.

The convention is devoted to miniatures wargaming and there is surprisingly little else on display which is of course pretty delightful. There is a flea market, a dealers’ area, and considerable room for gaming and presentations. A stroll through the gaming area is always interesting as some clubs and individuals will put on games with stunning figures and terrain. It can be a bit overwhelming but at the same time a helpful inspiration. If you want to see just how far gaming has gone, this is the place.

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GenCon East 1981
This was a smaller sized convention held in NJ in the overcrowded region of Cherry Hill at a small hotel. Not too much to see or do and I did drift off midway through though the convention crowd was lively and pleasant. Part of the pleasure of these kind of broader conventions is that the crowd is more diverse and less people who already know each other. The small size also lent an intimacy to the proceedings though I am not sure this is necessarily what people are looking for in a convention.

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I was lucky enough to go to three of these. The focus was heavily on SPI and Avalon Hill including a softball event between the two companies. The conventions were large and a lot of fun with a more diverse range of interests in evidence. Miniatures definitely take a back seat here but are still present. At the time, I was a thin tall guy in my twenties. I went to a talk on 16th and 17th century warfare and found myself in a roomful of thin tall guys in their twenties.

One memorable thing about these conventions was the opportunity to meet with game designers. These are fun conventions and as far as I can tell still being held somewhere in Ohio.

So what miniatures rules were popular in 1979?
Johnny Reb
Fighter by Lou Zocchi
Bushido
Chivalry and Sorcery
Dragonlord
Dungeon Adventure
Dungeons and Dragons
Empire Napoleonics
Fields of Terror
Gladiatorial Combat
Lord of the Rings ( Heritage Models )
Melee/Wizard
Seapower
Siege and Assault
Space Patrol
Starships and Spacemen
Star Trek
Stars n Bars
Strike Team Alpha
Superhero
Swords and Spells
Tunnels and Trolls
Universal Soldier
Whiff of Grapeshot
The Wizard’s Tower Strikes Again
Wizard’s War
WRG Armor
WRG Ancients

All of these had tournaments. D&D was clearly the winner. WRG was a consistent presence.

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