Adepticon 2022 Retrospective

By Mike Rafferty

This past March, Adepticon returned after a two-year hiatus (caused by “nothing in particular).

The convention once again returned to Schaumburg, IL. This was a different convention from years past, and not just because of the wait between conventions.

While Keyforge was held offsite in 2019, this year historical games were at the Hyatt giving Adepticon its first true offsite venue.

I volunteered to run this offsite venue and historicals to ensure that historical players, of which I am one, received a great convention experience. My long-term goal is that we can use this space to grow historicals at Adepticon and establish our own identity to stand along with the Games Workshop and Star Wars players at Adepticon.

Setup began on Wednesday, and with us having a narrow focus and plenty of space, we were able to cater to the individual needs of game masters and tournament organizers.

Normally at Adepticon, we are pressed for every table, with every inch of the halls mapped out to maximize tables to fit all of our events.

This year, we were able to be more flexible and accommodate games with creative layouts and larger sizes. We had several tournaments planned for the weekend along with scores of event games. I was running four-event games myself along with overseeing the convention.

Wednesday saw the opening of registration at the Marriott, with a gigantic line running the length of the hotel. We managed to get everyone through the line within a few hours, giving people their badges and swag. The standard and VIG swag bags were overstuffed as always, with VIG swag bags including full board games, starter boxes, and an Age of Sigmar Dominion Box.

 

Thursday saw the first tournaments, with Team Yankee Nationals and Saga Age of Magic starting off in the morning. Bolt Action Combat Patrol ran in the afternoon. Eightysix players competed in these events.

 

 

Beyond the tournaments, we had ten event games running throughout the day. I ran a Flames of War Battle of the Bulge scenario, that I changed the week before the con to accommodate several players on the waitlist. I only had to paint two Sherman companies the week before the con, it was no big deal. The game ran smoothly and it seemed like everyone had a good time, despite the US force bogging down in the outskirts of the city.

 

 

Friday saw the start of the two-day FOW Mid-War Nationals. Saga and Bolt Action had their doubles tournaments.

Bridges was the theme of the events games my group ran on Friday. My friend Max ran his first convention event game ever, a Bolt Action scenario with custom preparation rules, where American paratroopers were defending a bridge from Germans in Normandy. It seemed that the game was a hit and I’m going to steal his preparation rules for games in 2023.

I ran a Nijmegen game, with SS defending Nijmegen from the British Guards and the 82^nd Airborne. The centerpiece of this game was the full battalion of 82^nd Airborne that my friend Don painted just for this game. Expect to see them showing up all over the place in games we run in the future.

 

 

In the evening I got to try some gaming, with the Lead Pursuit guys teaching my group how to play Blood Red Skies. I’m not sure if it was them, the game, or the margaritas, but it was a great time and I’m now all-in on the game.

 

 

Saturday is the busiest day at Adepticon, and it was no different at the Hyatt.

Mid-War nationals for FOW continued. The Saga and Bolt Action tournaments were on Saturday as well. Steve Fretts ran his War of the Ring game, with multiple tables covered with maps of Middle Earth.

My group ran the largest Team Yankee game ran to this point, with a Cold War version of Operation Market Garden. We had a full Soviet tank regiment of T-64 supported but an Independent Tank Battalion of T-80s. East Germans had a mixed battalion of T-55AMS and T-72, supported by a BMP-2 Company. NATO had every country represented, except for Australia who really have no reason to be in Europe.

I realize I might have a small Team Yankee problem as I provided about 70% of the models used. At least I’ve learned how to paint quickly.

 

Sunday is a shorter day, as people have planes to catch and need to get back to reality. By this point, the major tournaments were mostly over, with Saga and Bolt Action: Korea finishing off the historical tournament slate. I ran a Victory at Sea scenario set during a hypothetical early war between the Japanese and Americans, so the US Navy could execute War Plan Orange. Despite having the ships done for months, we finished the basing Saturday evening. We really need to plan our painting better for next year.

 

 

Adepticon 2022 had a fair amount of rust to shake off, but we’re thrilled with the convention we put on. The first year having a serious second venue was a success and additional feedback will only let us put on a better show next year.

I encourage everyone to email historicals@adepticon.org with comments, concerns, or suggestions. This is my personal Adepticon email and I’ll read every suggestion. They might not all be practical or doable, but ideas help and we can make historicals something we can all look forward to attending.