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The Jackson Gamers return: Coastcon XXVI March 21/22 2003 |
The Jackson Gamers have always had a good time at Coastcon in Biloxi, Mississippi. We started going to this convention when it was much smaller, about 25 years ago. We somehow 'dropped out' about 15 years ago. We decided to go back this year.
The guardian of the gates. This lady with the bright red hair ruled the doorway to the inner sanctum. No badge (which signified that you had paid your admission) no entry. A cheerful guardian, but effective.
This lady, seen during the one-on-one medieval fighting, gives an idea of some of the costumes found on people at Coastcon who were not gamers. The making of and wearing of all manner of fantasy outfits is one of the many interesting non-gaming aspects of Coastcon.
The Jackson gamers were costumed, mainly, as overweight white men, playing with toy soldiers.
Old West Shootout Game - Friday - 7:00pm
The sleepy old western town of Pathos, soon to be the scene of carnage on the boardwalk, as the Snodgrass gang and crazed Mexican gunslingers invaded the place!
We ran two games, with "real money" in the Bank, the saloon, and in the pot of the poker game in the back of the feed store. In the first game, the bank was robbed and the Snodgrass boys made off with the $1.50 they found in the safe. They actually made it off the board with thier ill-gotten gains, the first time anyone had seen this happen!
Simpson Whitfield exaults as she guns down another miscreant in game 2. She had the three rifle-toting ladies of the Womens' Christian Temperance Union. They fired at anyone seen disturbing the peace of the small town. They had four bodies laid out in the street by their shots, by games end. This included that of the deputy sheriff, whom they saw shoot the young negro lady on the street. This was after that unfortunate incident involving her attempt to stab him from the rear!
The second game also saw the Snodgrass boys' attempt to steal the pot of the poker game. With guns blazing, Kid Snodgrass dispatched the clerk in the front of the store and then fired two revolver's worth of bullets into the poker players. Although two were wounded, three of the gentlemen gamblers proved to be armed, and dispatched 'Kid' with 18 shots between them.
The Galley Battle - Saturday - 2:00pm
The Great Galley battle featuring Jay Stribling's galley fleet of Jackson Mississippi against the evil galley fleet of William Johnson from Lafayette LA. The tables on which we gamed were really stage risers. They were monstrously strong. Many gamers, such as this young man, moved out onto the 8-foot-wide table to move their vessels.
Note the overturned and sinking Jackson Galley in center. Jay Stribling commanded the yellow galley trimmed in red, second from the left. William Johnson, builder and commander of the evil fleet (in white galley on left) has just rammed me. Later I was killed in single combat with one of the enemy captains.
Jean Whitfield grins in the background. She commanded one of the evil fleet. Her galley was attacked by two of our brave Jackson Galleys, commanded strangely enough by her husband, Robert, and daughter, Simpson. Jean was overwhelmed and the Mississippi Galleys took their only prize of the day.
Ramming speed! Straight towards the camera.
Brother vs. Brother - Saturday - 9:00am
These images are from Eric Betts' 15mm Brother vs. Brother game. Jay Stribling (your humble web-master) and Larry Cole were the Confederates, charged with defending jungle hill. Ed Sansing, Robert Whitfield, and another gamer were the Yankees. Due to perfidy, treachery, and really bad dice, the Confederates not only lost the hill, we were nearly exterminated!
The Yankees are on the right on bases that did not look nearly that blue in actuallity.
Larry Cole (on right, seated) looks on in horror as the dice go against the south - AGAIN! Eric Betts, the game-master is standing in a red shirt, explaining the result to Larry. Ed Sansing and another Yankee player try not to gloat, at left.
Early in the game, the southerners and the yankees duel in the woods on the rebel left. Naturally we got pushed out of the woods.
Southern casualties after we lost the woods.
Union forces close up in the center.
Musketry duel on the hill. My brave men are dying under the hail of northern lead! The gun on the crest was out of ammunition. The Yankees were interdicting the supply route which led to the artillery ammuniton. We southerners wus robbed!
WWII Skirmish - 54mm - Saturday - 7:00pm
Scenes captured during our 54mm WWII skirmish game fought on Saturday Evening. This picture is on the American Left. Ed Sansing's first Squad moves across the open area towards buildings defended by Simpson Whitfield. The Americans were trying to recover a briefcase containing lost orders that had been left behind in one of the buildings before the Germans reoccupied this town.
The Germans did not know what the American objective was. Their mission was to hold the town. The German "jeep" in the open area is just cover.
Private Kilgore checks out a building. It was empty.
Simpson Whitfield snatches a few moments of rest as she and her father, Robert, fend off the Americans in the 7pm skirmish game. We finished about 10pm and her day had been a long one.
A "worms-eye" view of Ed Sansing's men as they advance on the left. Right after this photo was taken, Simpson Whitfield shot at these men, wounding them, but not before they used hand grenades to clear the building on thier front left.
The Sherman tank, entering the game on the right was part of the American Reinforcement. it got only 6" farther than this before a panzerfaust killed the driver and co-driver. The commander and gunner abandoned, the vehicle, but the loader stayed and single handedly loaded and fired the main gun, destroying a German machine gun, that had been blocking the American Infantry's advance.
The Americans had two squads and the tank. The Germans had one squad - and surprise! The Germans won, shooting up most of the Americans, who failed their Major Morale test after the card deck was run through three times.
The female scenery at Coastcon is often quite nice. Coastcon 2003 was no exception. The fashion trends seemed to be "short - tight - low-cut". There was one young elf-maiden with long sleeves, quite a modest neckline, and then there was her tunic, which came almost half-way down over her rear end. It was held in place by a thong strap between her rear cheeks, exposing, perhaps, an ALMOST full moon....
When she walked in, all conversation stopped and all heads turned. The women viewers broke into vigorous denunciations after her passage. The men were unable to speak!
Ed Sansing and I entered the convention center just behind her and followed her till I walked into a wall, failing to negotiate the doorway into the game room. I had been a bit distracted...
A more modest costume on a young lady who showed up in the gaming area. She is wearing fairey wings with camouflage bodice and skirt! Again, wings were a big fashion accessory this year.
In the outer lobby, just beyond the guardian of the gates, fully armored medieval knights went at it. Apparently this was a multiple elimination tourney. Sir Red Knight here, with two swords was bested by a more conventionally armed opponenet off camera to the right. A shield is a more effective block to repeated hammer-blows with wooden swords than another sword.
Other opponents lounge chivalrously along the back wall, waiting for their turn to attempt to batter down the champion. Knights bested in the tourney caught their breath again, waiting in the line for another attempt.
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