Downtown at Origins, the Streets were Mean!

    The Santanas face off against their rivals, the martial arts gang the Daos, at Origins Game Fair

Many years ago, miniatures were a major part of Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH. Then came a period when the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) focused instead on the big box companies, and the individual GMs running cool miniatures events were shunted to the side. If you didn't want to buy space, they didn't have a use for you -- or at least that's how it felt to us. Time changes all things, though. We began to hear rumors that the new management at GAMA was much more friendly to the humble miniatures game master. That Origins wanted us back, and were seeking us out. 

    The Eastmoor Kings arrive in the turf of hostile gangs, hoping to fight their way through to home

As a member of the Great Lakes chapter of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS-GL), this was intriguing. Origins used to be one of our most fertile recruiting grounds. The people who attended this multi-genre convention were already gamers, and may of them miniatures gamers. We would run dozens and dozens of events, and people from all over the country would see and play in our games, and sign up to be members. The Great Lakes board discussed going back, and agreed it could be worth the effort. Last year, we "dipped our toe" in the water and a handful of us ran games. We learned the system, how things had changed since we were there before, and felt it was worth the effort to try again.

    I filled up 32 of the 36 slots in my six games over the course of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!

This year, we signed up as a "club" to have our own space at Origins. We would recruit game masters, schedule our events, and act as a liaison between the convention organizers and our members running games. That's how GAMA likes to do it, these days, and it worked well. It worked for us because GL member Jenny Torbett stepped forward and volunteered to be the organizer and made our effort possible!We had 47 events scheduled prior for the convention. I decided to go "all in" and run Mean Streets in the morning and evening on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. After last year, I felt it was my best fit for the Origins crowd of the rules sets I have written. The vibe at the convention is more fantasy and Sci-Fi and less historical than most of the shows I attend. Of course, we were taking our first steps to change that, and quite a few historical miniatures events were run both in our area and in other club areas.

    Quiet before the storm -- downtown Columbus set up & tense, waiting for gang warfare to break out

I decided to go with my most recent scenario which casts my Eastmoor Kings gang into the role of the Warriors from the movie of that name (and my inspiration for the rules). I was gratified that nearly every person who came up to my table and spent some moments eyeing it was familiar with the 1979 cult movie classic, The Warriors. I had definitely picked right when trying to fit a game and scenario to what would be popular with the attendees. The scenario has six player slots and I filled 32 of the 36 positions over the course of my six games. I was ecstatic with the player turnout. I honestly couldn't have expected much better than that.

    Five members of the Eastmoor Kings seeking a way through the Mean Streets of Columbus

In the scenario, the Eastmoor Kings have been lured to a gang parley. When no one else shows up, they know they've been duped. Now, they have to try to make it back home to the East side of Columbus through the turf of hostile gangs. Two players take on the role of the Kings, each with a Gang Boss, Warchief, and three Punks under my Mean Streets rules. The other four players each control a different gang of the same composition, with its own secret objectives and hatreds of other gangs. None of them want the Kings passing through their turf, but they dislike their neighbors just as much.

    Before they get home, the Kings have to pass through the turf of the Daos - black, martial arts gang

I ran this scenario earlier this year at both Cincycon and Drums at the Rapids. It went over very well at both shows, and I was hoping it'd be a hit here, too. As it turned out, the players were some of the most enthusiastic I've had yet with my game. I saw so many different possible scenario outcomes over the course of the six games. In the two games where I had only four players, I actually removed the invading Kings from the game and instead hosted a free-for-all among the other four "local" gangs. I think the enthusiasm of my players made me enjoy it as much as them. Even on my last game, Saturday night, it was a riot watching the Santanas carjack vehicles and use them to try to run over opposing players. It may not have been a wildly successful tactic, but it was hilarious for both those at the wheel and those they were attempting to run down.

    'Halt, police!' The police show up in the middle of the board near the end of Saturday night's game

There were games when none of the Kings made it to the bridge and its bus stop on the opposite board edge (their destination was to catch the bus home to their turf). And there was also a game where eight of the 10 Kings made it to the bridge -- the most ever in all my times running this game. There were games when the police arrived early and others when they didn't show up at all. I had police officers (controlled by the player whose gang has nearly been eliminated) shoot opposing gang members and other times when the cops were knocked out by the gang members. Years ago, I had come up with the game mechanic that, when a player is down to one or two gang members left, I give them control of a police car which can arrive on any street board edge. It gives them a chance to get some revenge or even affect the outcome of the game. What's more, it takes a player who may be disappointed with what is going on and turns them into someone eagerly looking forward to mess with his opponents! Win-win for the player and me as GM!!

   'Student Body Right' - all 10 of the Kings quickly move towards the right side of the board to escape

One of the most cinematic moments was on Friday night when the two Kings players decided to run a "Student Body Right" maneuver. Both gangs crossed to one side of the board, attempting to overwhelm and blow by the Franklinton Flippos. After initially holing up in an alley in their turf, the Flippos player grew bold and formed a line at the playground behind their two apartment buildings and the board edge. It was the narrowest point and the 10 Eastmoor Kings could get at the five of them only three wide. Marvin, the Flippos Gang Boss (and would-be Leonidas at Thermopylae), stood up the Kings and began knocking them down. In line beside him were his Warchief and his punk who had the "Scrapper" ability. Great and brave tactics!

    The Franklinton Flippos take a page from the Spartans and hold off the Kings at the narrowest point

Soon, the rival Indianola Mohawks from across the street were inspired and launched themselves into the back of the Kings, diverting their attention and weakening their push. Although the Kings outfought the Mohawks and began knocking one punk rocker after another out, this ended up having an effect they didn't expect. When Kings punk Cy -- the only player in the game armed with a pistol -- fired off some shots early, the police arrived soon after. Since the Mohawks had lost the most gang members at that point, they were given control of the cops. The police car contains two officers, one with a billy club the other a pistol. Both are "Warchiefs", which makes them difficult opponents. Now, the Kings had to face not only the determined and resolute clown-faced Flippos and the punk rock Mohawks, they had the police on their backs, too (cue The Clash song...).

    Racing to the aid of their bitter rivals, the punk rocker Indianola Mohawks crash into the Kings rear

Fortunately for the father and adult son playing the Kings, the other two local gangs, the Santanas and Daos, did some serious dawdling on their way to join the fight. Ostensibly, all four gangs claimed they'd show solidarity and fight off the outsiders. In practice, the effect of these two gangs was to cut off any straggling Kings who tried to escape from ever reaching the bridge. It was fun seeing those two gangs role play their gangs, though. I think we all knew they were simply waiting for the other four players to wear themselves out and then they'd come in and sweep the streets! They talked tough, but were short on action. It was hilarious to watch them justifying their foot dragging.

    Even the police got in on the act in trying to squash the Kings and their attempt to reach home!

The Kings lost that scenario, but the next morning the opposite happened. The Flippos, who had stood like a stone wall in the face of invasion the previous night, absconded immediately. They dashed into Santana territory and concentrated on their secret mission -- stealing snacks for tonight's party. While they stuffed twinkies into their clown pockets, the poor Hilltop Highlanders (who I had swapped out for the Mohawks that game) were beaten down almost to a man. They stood no chance against the combined force of the Kings. It was still a very interesting game, but in the end, the Eastmoor Kings won with 19.5. It was very close, though. The twinkie-eating clowns came in third with 15, edged out of second by the Santanas at 16, who showed no shyness to rumble.

    A 3-gang rumble in the middle of the streets between the Daos, Kings, and Mohawks

The final game on Saturday night was the closest of them all. A father and middle school aged daughter played the Kings. They got a respectable four Kings on the bridge by the end of the game. However, the car-jacking, vehicular homicide attempting Santanas edged them out by a HALF POINT. That was, without a doubt, the closest of the finishes I've had in this scenario. There was every chance I could have been tired and burnt out by my sixth time running the game, but the players were simply too fun to let that happen. We laughed throughout the game and everyone had a good sense of humor. 

    The Daos try to fight off an invasion by the Hilltop Highlanders, who seem intent on stealing beer

All in all, Mean Streets at Origins was a success. I ended up selling all six copies of the rules that I had brought, which is the most I have ever sold at any convention (not counting wholesale to exhibitors). There was a constant stream of people stopping by my table and praising how it looked, which is always gratifying. Running a game can be stressful, tiring, and hard work, at times. However, there is a dynamic that when players are obviously having blast, it seems to GIVES you energy. I fed off of my excellent players' energy for three days.

    I subbed in & moved the starting spot for the Hilltop Highlanders around to change up the scenario

Not only was my own personal experience a success at Origins, our chapter's venture there was a huge positive, as well. Dozens and dozens of folks came by and found out about our chapter. We gave away lots of flyers for our flagship convention, Advance the Colors, Oct. 11-12, Springfield, OH. We gave out a stack of handouts with information about our chapter and what historical miniature is to people who stopped by. The editor of our bimonthly magazine, The Herald, gave us a couple dozen previous issues as promotional materials. We handed all of them out. And guess what? New memberships to HMGS Great Lakes are already starting to roll in!

    The Flippos watch other gangs invading their turf from their apartment, contemplating their move

So, just like many years ago, I think our chapter can sit back and call our venture at Origins a success. I know my own games were a success, and I am already thinking of how I can one-up my scenario next year! If you are a historical miniatures gamer -- or any minis gamer at all -- I encourage you to make plans to attend next year's Origins Game Fair. It was a great time, and lots of people had lots of fun this year. I'm glad that we decided to go!

    Despite the threat from the Kings, rivals the Daos and Santanas rumbled in more than one game!

    The choices made by the Franklinton Flippos, on the edge where the Kings invaded, were crucial

    All across the 5'x3' battlefield, rumbles broke out and gangs traded punches, knife thrusts & more

    As a reward for her organizational work for our Great Lakes effort, Jenny played in my game twice!

    Julio, Gang Boss of the Santanas, hops atop a car and taunts the other gangs in an early game

    Saturday morning's game saw Liam and Brian, at the table end, score the most success for the Kings

    Gang members from the Flippos, Santanas, & Daos square off - oblivious to the police sirens!

    My players were wonderful and had a great attitude in all six of my games

    'Stop! All of you! I mean it...!' Columbus Police try unsuccessfully to corral a gang fight

    Twice I had just four players, in which case I would simply do a 4-on-4 gang free-for-all

    The spacious, airy gaming hall at Origins is the perfect place to host a miniatures event!