The Muster is one week gone. I had a great time. So now I have had time to reflect on my experience and thought I would share.
First, the Muster is an annual show put on by the Old Dominion Military Society. They are based in the Hampton Roads VA area. It is a regional show that attracts hundreds of folks. It is a labor of love and always well organized. It is all about playing games. "Let's bring a bunch of people together to play some games" really should be the theme. There are plenty of historical games from all periods and Warhammer is present. I saw a table that was "ghost busters" themed and a Grand Prix racing game as well. I suspect something for everyone. I should mention that there are several vendors there as well and I have never left a show empty handed.
The main historical room at 2026 Muster
I had agreed to run two games of my new rules, Boom and Zoom.
Now the first lesson I learned from last year is if you want to attract passerbys you must have eye candy at your table.
You can have great rules but as people are wandering around looking at all these great tables like the alamo or ghost busters and deciding what they are going to spend the next two hours playing you have to have something cool at the table. [ People don't sign up ahead of time to play a game at the Muster. First come first serve.]
So, even though heavy bombers are a bit complicated in Boom and Zoom and are in the advanced rules, I had to have a fleet of 1/285 B-17s on the table. I only had 8 to start with so I ordered some from Table Top Flights to round out the numbers. If you saw my Christmas post these didn't come in so I was worried. Mike from TTF was sick over the holidays but they did eventually arrive and when they did I was surprised at how good they looked! I was not a fan of 3-D printing but now that has changed. Take a look...
I believe this is Raiden but it might be Scotia. Don't get me wrong; it is a nice model.
Here is one from Table Top Flights. The detail is better and the price is the same. It is lighter and probably not as sturdy.
Lesson 2. 3-D printing has come a long way and at least resin printing can easily compete with metal now.
I spray painted up the new bombers and opened my decals from Flight Deck decals and to my horror they had sent me post war american stars and bars! I had 2 weeks before the show. I quickly contacted them about the error and Dan was Johnny on the Spot and got me the correct decals fast!
Lesson 3 Plan ahead for the show. Something will go wrong!
The night before the show I printed my QRS, plane cards and uploaded the rules to wargame vault. The next morning I loaded my
I got there early enough to look at some of the games and all of the vendors. I was looking at a small stone bridge because all of my bridges are large when I saw something that I had always wanted but never purchased because it was too expensive: Miniatures Building Authority Russian Church in 15mm. I bought their Russian village during there "going out of 15mm 50% off sale" but didn't pick up the church. I have regretted it ever since. [ In my defense I also picked up the Vietnam village and Rathouse and didn't have any more money. I have never taken my kids to shows so didn't have one available to sell.]
Needless to say...
Lesson 4 Despite whatever I say, I will always, always, always buy stuff at shows!
Fits in great with the village doesn't it?
So after double locking my prize in the car I set up for my games. The eye candy worked and I had traffic from 1pm till 10pm. Lots of people stopped by and asked about the game. I ran two sessions...
with some great folks. I met Mike, from Table Top flights as he hand delivered some more aircraft that I ordered from him. [ I must say, the Gladiators look fantastic! Expect to see them over Greece in a future post.] Another thing that I encountered was the variability in how much detail the players wanted in their game. A couple of people wanted even more detailed outcomes in the maneuver tests between aircraft whereas other folks, seeing this novel mechanism for the first time, were fine just the way it is. We had some great discussions on the mechanics and what the game is trying to simulate. I attempted to modify the game to meet the needs of the players at the table. Fortunately, Boom and Zoom has a layered approach to these issues with a basic game that plays great and then advanced rules that can be added a la carte.
Lesson 5 The purpose of any recreational game is enjoyment. As a game master [ or rules writer] if the players are not enjoying themselves you are failing.
I think I succeeded this year at the Muster. I met some great people. ODMS has asked me to demo the game for them at a thursday night play session so I will get to know some more folks. I had a great time and everyone seemed to enjoy the rules and have fun. I think that is what the Muster is all about!
Cheers
Joe
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