Elves and Ordnance: A Blog On Gaming and Miniatures: #1

Three weeks ago, this wasn't a thing on my mind. I just got back into gaming again back in February (after a 30+ year hiatus from the hobby. Gen Con was not on my radar screen. Of course I have wanted to go for many, many years, but like gaming, ideas like that have been shelved due to a sense of focused responsibility and a lack of proper life balance... but that is a story for three or four posts down the road.

So, like I said, I jumped back into gaming and miniatures with an older (48 years old to be exact) game called Ogre by Steve Jackson Games. I used to play it all the time. We are talking the late 1970's here... Stopped messing with pretty much all gaming in the early 1990's after becoming a paramedic in 1987. It seems the real world had become thrilling enough for me.

So this last February, I learned that Ogre had moved along without me. I learned that there were now plastic miniatures, extremely large designer editions, and a fairly large group that followed this older game. I learned it had been named one of the top 100 hobby games of all time. The last few offerings had been crowdfunded, but the following was still there. Nope, it is not a fantasy game about ogres, orcs, or elves.

It's about 25 meter long, unmanned, cybernetic, nuke spewing, tanks in the year 2086. Two major factions, and some smaller ones, fight for control of what is left of the world with small, tactical nukes. Hovercraft, heavy tanks, and missiles are all throughout the game. It can be played on a hex grid with counters, or by miniature rules.

So I jumped in feet first a few months ago. Found some miniatures and got to it. Now it is how I spend my down time... de-stressing. I have accumulated about 85% of everything that was produced while I was in absentia from the gaming world. Even though I am in full tilt, I am still looking for others to actually play the game or learn to play it. So five months later, I am hip deep in minis, in multiple Facebook groups, on discord, doing painting equipment reviews, and back in my niche.

My dear wife has been cautiously supportive as she know I go all in with almost everything I do. I can be frustrating at times.

So what does this have to do with Gen Con?

My oldest son has played DDO (Dungeons and Dragons Online) since he was like in seventh grade. He is 26 now. He learned that there was a player meet-and-greet style event tomorrow night offsite from Gen Con in Indianapolis. There will be people there he has known for many years but never actually met.

It started something like this... "We are going to Gen Con in a few weeks."

My immediate reaction was "not going to happen." In reality, it was not hard to convince me. I have been under the gun to have work-life balance, and I actually would love to meet a few people from Steve Jackson Games. So here we are, a few weeks later, with two one-day passes purchased and a reserved parking spot.

So tomorrow, along with my son, I will re-immerse myself in the chaotic and friend filled world
of gaming. We will endure "Will Call" to get our badges, follow our pre-marked maps of the vendor hall, make desired purchases while viewing new finds... alongside 71,000 others in the sold out gaming convention. We will participate in a very large block part. I may even drink a beer. I am going to buy quite a few cans of spray primer/base paint, and stuff a backpack that now sets empty waiting for its excursion to a huge vendor hall.

Most of all, I look forward to the people. Gaming people are honest, genuine, and support each other. I want to reconnect to that group. Tomorrow, I plan to find another piece of me that I lost.

Follow along and I will do my best to relay the experience after... and more in the future as I explore other games and the intricacies of the primary game I like the most.

The blog name: Elves and Ordnance, is the name of the small Evansville gaming store I used to own in the 1980's. I decided to give it new life in this blog. I will tell that story soon.

Also, for a little fun, each post will have another filtered, AI rendering of me in the same Ogre silhouette shirt... what will it be next. All sorts of pictures to always follow at the end.

In the meantime, if you would like to see a few really short overviews on some miniature painting tools (non-sponsored), the links are below:

Krydrufi Painting Supply Station: Krydrufi (I apologize for the background noise on this first one... I'm learning)

A low-cost Gethpen Dry Brush Set: Gethpen Dry Brush Set

An INTLLAB Vortex Paint Mixer: INTLLAB Vortex Mixer