Author:  Jim Zabek

For the last four years the National World War II Museum has been the host of Heat of Battle, a wargaming convention.

There's nothing like being welcomed to a wargaming convention with a real 88.

Sponsors of the convention.  Without them it wouldn't happen.

There are two things that set Heat of Battle apart from a convention like Origins.  First, it is significantly smaller.  Attendance is a few hundred gamers, not ten thousand.  Second, and more importantly, is the setting.  The convention is held within the museum.  If you liked the movie Night at the Museum, you’ll love Heat of Battle, because this is the real thing. 

It's like Night at the Museum...only real!

What amazes me is that there aren’t tens of thousands of gamers packing the halls of the museum.  This is real wargaming sitting right next to and under real equipment used during World War II.  I personally cannot think of a better setting for a gaming convention, and even though Heat of Battle ended yesterday, I’m already thinking about next year.  If you’re into the history of the Second World War visiting the National World War II Museum is a must.  And if you’re a wargamer (and you probably are if you’re reading this) then planning a visit where you can mix touring the museum with wargaming is a must.  Visiting New Orleans is fun in and of itself, but mixing in the Museum and a gaming convention?  That’s crazy talk.  But it’s real.

Gotta love random lagniappe.

Driving into New Orleans on Friday afternoon I got some lagniappe.  Heat of Battle was so named at least partially because it’s summertime in New Orleans.  That has some real benefits: hotels have discounted rates, which makes it nice and cheap to game at the museum.  The flip side to that is it’s summertime in New Orleans, and, well, it’s hot.  Except Friday wasn’t.  Glancing up at the thermometer in the car, I see it’s a chilly 85 degrees.  Last Thursday saw the remnants of what wasn’t much of a tropical depression pass over.  It must have brought some cooler weather with it, because when I step out of the car, it feels good.  Living in the Deep South I’d point out that in summer sometimes you want to bring a light jacket or coat to keep warm.  No, 85 isn’t frigid for us. We compensate for hotter temperatures by keeping the AC cranked.  My folks often complain my house is so cold that you could hang meat in it.  The reason behind that is simple:  when you get out of the heat, you want to cool off.  Fast.  Friday I didn’t have that problem.  85 was pleasant.  Saturday, however, saw temps another ten degrees warmer.  So much for the weather report.  So what about the games?

Gaming for Heat of Battle started at 9 AM and it kicked off with a bang.  A classic Avalon Hill tournament kicked off with classic titles like Afrika Korps, Bismarck, Midway, and Panzer Blitz, just to name a few.  The tournament would go on all weekend, and evening games were allowed back at the hotel.  Other games included a tutorial for Down in Flames, GMT’s The Battle for Normandy: “Bloody Omaha”, and Command Decision – Test of Battle “The Battle for Lindern” names about half of the games going on Friday morning.  When one considers that there are typically at least four of five guys at every table, that’s a good start to an early morning.  Saturday would see the bulk of gaming.  More games being played: Memior ’44, Knight’s Cross, Axis & Allies, Axis & Allies War at Sea, Flames of War…it’s a long list of games that were going on.  This year unfortunately found Heat of Battle without any electronic gaming on hand.  However, the boardgaming and miniatures gaming was excellent.

Knights Cross is a great game of aerial combat that's fun and easy. 

Photo on the lower right is an exhibit from the real thing.

One of the trends in minis gaming is a move toward Micro Armour.  Micro Armour is 1:285 scale.  That means tanks, vehicles, and stands of men are the size of a small coin.  In chatting with gamers it’s clear why the move to this Lilliputian scale is popular.  It’s cheap.  With the bad economy, guys are turning to inexpensive ways to satisfy their gaming urges.  1:285 minis are by almost any measure cheap.  Not inexpensive…it’s cheap.  About $40 can buy you a company of Tiger tanks.  They’re also fast and easy to paint.  At 1:285 there isn’t much detail to fuss about.  The Army Painter’s Flames of War line of spray cans lays down a coat of both primer and base coat with one shot.  A second color for camo or shading, a dip in some shadowing, and it’s done.  In the time it takes me to assemble paint and detail, say, a Warhammer 40,000 Land Raider, I could probably crank out an armored division of World War II Micro Armour. 

Microarmor in Command Decision.

The downside to minis this small is its size.  In helping a friend put away his micro minis after a fun game of Command Decision, we discovered we were missing a Bren carrier.  Considering the size is a piece of lichen he was using on the map, I was afraid he’d find it ten years from now at the bottom of his lichen box after he used the last of it to create some bocage for a Normandy game.  Fortunately it turned up the next day in another box.  Buying, assembling, painting, and storing larger minis has its drawbacks, but it’s tough to lose a 1:48 scale Sherman under a sprinkle of lichen.  I guess no system is perfect.

The scenario and a welcoming committee.

The map.

Another perk buying admission to the convention yields is a ticket to the new theater at the museum, which shows the 4D movie experience, Beyond All Boundaries.  There’s not much to add that will do the show justice.  It tells our American story of World War II.  All I can say is, “Wow.”  Running about 45 minutes this is a must-see. 

The gaming was taking place right next to the exhibits.

Beyond all Boundaries is just one of several expansions going on at the Museum.  There are now three, yes three, gift shops at the museum.  Several days ago a thread was posted in our forums about a grandma who had used her husband’s souvenir  (a live hand grenade) as a paperweight.  Naturally enough, when it was discovered there was a bit of excitement about getting it out of the house.  So as I was going through one of the gift shops I stumbled across an entire crate of hand grenade paperweights.  Given the recent timing of the forum post, I couldn’t resist.  (You can get your own here) The expanded gift shop has a ton of stuff worth checking out.  Everything from collar pins of division badges to clothes with the Museum’s logo on them, to books.  And do they have books.  It’s quite impressive how many titles I’ve never heard of, and I buy books like nobody’s business.  From now until September 30^th, the museum’s store is offering a 10% discount on online orders to celebrate the gaming convention.  Use the discount code HEAT2010 on your order.

Finding a crate of grenades?  Priceless.

However, no convention would be complete without a vendor room, and every year Mike Bobe has made the trek from Pensacola, Florida to New Orleans to bring a small sample of his game shop, www.bobeshobbyhouse.com, for attendees to enjoy.  I always make it a point to stop by and pick up something.  His biggest selection is models and miniatures, but he’s got books, games, paint, glue…a bit of everything.  Most of it is about World War II, but there was the odd game like Settlers of Cataan in there and a model from War of the Worlds to break up the nearly endless stream of Panzers and Shermans and T-34’s.  Mike and I discussed a trade since I have an overabundance of books and thought I could benefit from lightening the load with those that I was unlikely to ever actually read.  He made me what I thought was a very fair offer, and I walked away with some really cool stuff that would have taken me considerably longer (and more money) to accumulate.  I joked it was a win-win-lose situation: a win for him, a win for me, but a loss for my wife, who was gleeful when she saw a box of books walk out the door, but less joyous when a larger box of models and stuff walked back in.  But love knows no boundaries, so she indulges me.  What she’s blissfully unaware of is that I’d like to eventually build up a small army of 1:48 scale tanks with which to play some Command Decision minis.  I’ve gamed for the last four years at the museum using those miniatures rules, and it is an elegant yet hard core rule set.  Very grognardly, but hits the mark.  I play with a great group of guys who know the system pretty much cold.  The result is a gaming experience that is not to be missed.  It’s fun, challenging, realistic, and the minis are attractive.  The game I played saw me taking command of a battalion of Canadians and attempting to drive the Germans from the hills outside of Agira, Italy.  The German commander managed to roll some stellar results as I stormed up the hill and I saw entire companies of infantry blown away, my efforts crashing to nothing before their fortifications.  Even losing is a win, because it’s fun to game with a good group of guys, a good set of rules, and all under the roof of the coolest Museum I have ever been to.

I played several other games through the weekend, but the other item of note that I’d like to share is Sunday’s Guest Speaker, Captain Rick Jacobs, USNR (ret).  Captain Jacobs gave a thorough and interesting lecture on The Battle of France: Dunkirk.  It was immensely enjoyable to have Captain Jacobs’ insight into how the French line collapsed at Sedan, and the German Blitzkrieg nearly consumed the British Expeditionary Force.  A sad campaign for the Allies, but a great learning experience.  Every year there are a few lectures offered during Heat of Battle, and they are always entertaining and educational.  Another “can’t miss” opportunity. 

Daily afternoons from 3 - 6 the Museum’s The American Sector Restaurant offers half-priced drinks and $0.75 sliders.  If I had been staying in New Orleans it would have been a good bet I’d be there.  Unfortunately, a mid-sized drive precluded any alcohol since I was commuting to the con.  Still, it’s a great deal if you’re staying in a hotel.  The museum is in the Warehouse District just a few blocks from the New Orleans Convention Center, so hotels are plentiful and nearby.  The Superdome is just a few blocks away, as is the French Quarter, so if anyone is looking for something to do other than gaming at the hotel there’s plenty to do.

An upsized game of Memoir '44.

And that is pretty much that.  As conventions go, Heat of Battle feels like a regional one, but with the added bonus of gaming under the watchful eye of a C-47.  I love the fact that after the museum closes gamers still have the luxury of touring the museum.  It’s fun, there’s no other way to describe it.  My advice is if this sounds at all intriguing then readers should start making some vacation plans for next year.  No official date has been announced yet for it, but it’s a good bet that the second week of August is when next year’s convention will be.  Looking at a calendar it’s probably going to be either the 12^th or the 19^th of August if past dates are any indication.  Game masters are always welcome, so if you have a favorite game you like to play then signing up to host a game (or three) would be an easy way to get in on the fun.  Then again, there are always plenty of games available, and there’s usually an empty table or two on which to plunk down a spontaneous game if something else is filled up.   If you haven’t been to the National World War II Museum yet, there is no better time to visit than when it’s filled with favorite wargames on the topic.