Little Wars 2026; A Review....

 (WARNING: This post is very, VERY, picture intensive. Please be patient as it loads, and click on the photo to get a larger image for your viewing pleasure.)

This review is once again submitted by me without any agreements with/for/to HMGS-MW, Sheraton, The vendors, game masters, players, restaurants, and other places we frequented. All opinions, ideas, and observations posted here are entirely the authors (unless otherwise noted), and are not any official standings, or endorsements of any other persons, organizations, or establishment.

(Note: All photos on this site are copyrighted 2026 by Michael T. Murphy and taken by myself, except where the ones I use are credited to the original source.)

And now with that being said....
Little Wars 2025 was held during the weekend of April 23rd - 26th 2026, by HMGS Midwest (HMGS-MW), at the Sheraton in Lisle/Naperville, Illinois.
In following with the 250th anniversary of The American War of Independence, the theme for the show was "Independence."
And it was also the 41st HMGS-Midwest's "Little Wars" Convention.
But before we go on with this....

A heartfelt apology to all readers, (actually two once again)....

Apology #1: I apologize for those of you reading that wanted to see the rest of the updates. I was so busy in prep for Little Wars, that I hadn't finished doing the catch up of the last few months to this blog. Have no fear though. I shall endeavor to finish this soon.

Apology #2: I apologize for the less number of pictures that I took this year. Due to running the schedule of a 20 year old on a 62 year old body, I took A LOT of naps. Plus I ran four games, attended the HMGS BoD meeting, did a quick run around the vendor area, attended the "After Dark" event, had two marvelous dinners with my group, and ran a large table on Thursday nights flea market, so my picture taking was severely limited.

And before we even got into the convention, I had decided to play around with ChatGPT and create a really bad "B" movie adventure comedy poster of myself and my fellow gaming crew compatriots. It's one of those "dollar movie specials".

(An Oscar winning picture this shall never be....)

Starting off:

Unlike last year, my friend Noah and I decided to head up a day early, (Wednesday), and honestly the extra day made all of the difference. We were in no rush or hurry, and no real crowd was at the hotel.

I packed up Josette a day earlier (Tuesday) with all of the stuff except luggage. 

I was a little wary of what else would fit in it, as even for a Chrysler Pacifica she was pretty packed up.

A couple of days before I packed up, I did some finishing touches on the fort and finished up the last of my terrain boards.

I was actually surprised at how well the terrain boards turned out.

The big squares are 24" X 24" and 1" thick.

The halves are 24" X 12" and also 1" thick.

I had more than enough for a 10 X 5 table.

And I worked late, and when it was really late Juju (aka "Puss in Boots" according to some TMP'ers), would make sure that it was time for "Daddy to put down the brush, turn off the light and come upstairs to bed."

But I did finish up a bunch of stuff in the few days before, and adding it to the rest of the stuff.

Here are some of the items that ended up on the table at the convention.

(CLICK ON PIC FOR LARGER VERSION)...

And two of the three Pirate Flagbearers, (including the colors of the notorious Cap'n Kringle...)

 

So with the van packed mostly I turned towards the luggage packing.

And they were NOT happy that "Daddy" was going somewhere.

 

Gemma decided that "If Daddy is going, then so am I.....

After some careful and gentle pleading and wheedling I was able to extract Gemma from the suitcase....

And so all was packed and now I waited until Wednesday.

Wednesday came and I started the day with putting the luggage up.  My wife fixed breakfast and while eating Noah and his wife showed up. As we put this up, I completely forgot my one last check, and ended up forgetting my pirate hat!!!!

Curses!

But with my head cover, we prevailed.

The van was now "Full"...

After kissing our loved ones goodbye, and humming the music to "The Beverly Hillbillies".

(At this time I shall refrain from detailing our two necessary bathroom stops), and continue on.

We made Merrillville, Indiana and stopped for our traditional BBQ meal.

And a little bit of history on the wall in the men's room. RIP Raquel...

As we entered good old I-94, and into Illinois, the gas prices decided to go "Illinois High". Luckily we didn't have to fuel up. The van is good on highway gas mileage.

On the way into Chicago, we noticed an 18 wheeler on 94 that had been carrying a garbage truck on a flatbed trailer wedged under a railroad bridge. Behind it was the half dozen cars that had done the rear end chain reaction thing because in Chicago driving, you drive six inched from the car in front of you. 

We arrived at the Sheraton, and yes I wore the obligatory, traditional Confederate Richmond Gray Forage Cap that has become my game convention trademark I think....

At the hotel I had originally requested the suite upgrade to try to get room 702 once again, but I was unable to.

HMGS-MW had filled up the hotel, with over 90% occupancy, and had sold out the room block, so they had opened up a second room block at a nearby hotel. This is an impressive feat for HMGS-MW. I have been going to Little Wars since 2012, and I continue to see this show improve in quality, and grow in size. 

We were unable to get 702 and instead got 842.

The room was a standard double queen size. While the room was nice and the beds were comfy and such, there was no fridge or microwave in the room. We later discovered that certain rooms had fridges and some didn't. This was odd.

The drive up on Wednesday DID make all the difference. It gave us time to get there and not in a rush. It gave us time to relax and get the lay of the land. And it gave us time to prepare.

SUGGESTIONS FOR HMGS-MW:

1: Check with the hotel about rooms having fridge/microwave.

2: Check to see if attendees can upgrade their rooms to suites, (or have the suites included in the contract). 

Dinner that night was at Tanaka. It's a little Japanese/Korean bistro cafe style place. Tiny, but very cool.

I got the Bento box and an extra sushi roll. 

After dinner we came back and I got some pics of the area, soon the filled with gaming goodness.

This is the atrium area, where the vendors will be.

This is the entrance to the gaming room.

The registration desk will soon be on on the left.

Looking at the registration, paint and take, and exhibition area from the doorways of the ballroom.

Everything is clean, well lit, and set up for good traffic flow, and an entrance/exit to the parking lot nearby.

Inside the main ballroom. This is where most of the games took place, although there were numerous games in side rooms going on.  These tables were packed. KUDSO to HMGS-MW for all that they do to promote the hobby.

Afterwards, I crawled off to bed, and slept the sleep of the dead.

THURSDAY

I woke up and got dressed. Breakfast was calling me.

Now, while I like eating, I have to say that one of the downsides to this hotel is that the "all you can eat breakfast buffet" is 16 bucks, and a cup of coffee is 4 bucks.

I guess I am used to the free breakfast you get at other hotels but then again I say that "This is "Chicago"...where even the fees have fees and the taxes have taxes on them."

The rest of Thursday was unloading and setting up the initial scenery of the game table, (minus the figures), and preparing for the Flea Market.

The rest of the crew (minus one who couldn't make it at the last minute), arrived, and as they got settled in, we made a lunch run to Kura Revolving Sushi.

Kura Revolving Sushi is fantastic and fun, and I am glad we don't have one near me. I'd be so big, I'd need my own zip code!

(Yours truly at the entrance. I am ready to lay waste to this place...)

 

Some of the wonderful dishes that I destroyed....

(Our usual yearly mug shot together)....

After 55 plates of sushi were devoured, they looked at me, as I was looking for more, and said "Dude...come on...let's go."

"But I'm still hungry." I whined.

"They're about to start pro-rating pieces!" Noah said.

I sniffed in utter defeat and left.

The final sushi piece count for me was: 27 pieces, (including trying eel for the first time)....

I got back and started setting up my stuff, until it was flea market time.

THURSDAY NIGHT FLEA MARKET:

I'll be honest. 

If Thursday nights flea market was any indicator of the economic shape of this country, I would say that we are in pretty good shape.

I set up at my two tables, and immediately had a crowd.

Selling off game sets, whole miniature bundles, etc, I made close to 600 bucks, and met old friends, and made new ones.

Of course in every group there has to be "that guy" and sadly enough he popped up to my table, and I ended up telling him in a kind, (but stern) voice; "Thank you, I won't be doing business with you today."

But Thursday night FM was indeed buzzing with sellers and buyers; not just the lookee-loos and hagglers but folks who truly wanted to buy.

(Yes, sorry no pics of the wife...)

(My table.)

(Yours truly, with obligatory Confederate Gray Forage Cap...)

(Will somebody PLEASE "Buy my Hitler???")

While I worked the flea market table, Noah was kind enough to buy me dinner. The burger and fries were greatly appreciated.

After the flea market was done, and I put the remaining stuff away, I went and finished up the remaining few items on my table until the next morning

Then retreated back to my room. Had brought along a bottle of Asbach Uralt German Brandy, and a bottle of Bowman Bros. small batch Virginia bourbon.

Both were a big hit, (especially the Asbach with coke).

(The secret to Asbach and Coke is "after you pour it into the glass with ice, and mix it; let it sit for about fix minutes to settle in. It's much better that way....)

(A darn good bourbon...)

While sitting up the game table and unloading, I discovered "Mr. Parrot", (part of my outfit), and thus moved him to the hotel room. The desk clerk saw it from a distance and thought he was a real bird. 

Don't worry ma'am, my cat Juju thinks the same thing!

(No "dead parrot" jokes here please. He's very sensitive....)

The initial table setup was done:

(CLICK ON THE PICS FOR A LARGER VERSION TO SEE THE DETAILS)

(Arrrr....matey!!!)

(Adventure awaits in Port Dominion!)

I'll be the first to admit it. Once the table was set up, it was gorgeous. All the work over the year finally added up to something special. 

(The Governor's House...)

(The Village Church...where all good Protestants go, and those who pretend to be either "good" or "Protestant"...)

(A country lane leading to the farms and fields...)

(Passing by fences, trees, fields, and crops...)

(Fort Hemmerly)

Friday Morning:

And here we go....

Friday morning I got up and did the breakfast thing. 

I then wandered out to the opening ceremony (live fire) for the event.

HMGS-MW does an amazing open ceremony job in which for the second year, Stanfords Battery

(Last years pic. Photo credit: HMGS-MW)

This year the battery brought their original 12lb mountain howitzer from the original time period for a 2 shot fire. 

Once again it was excellent!

And the convention was on.

Here are some pics of  Thursday Evenings, and Fridays convention games:

(ALL OF THESE PHOTOS ARE CREDITED TO HMGS-MW)

(CLICK ON THE PHOTOS FOR LARGER VERSIONS)

So many of these tables and figures were truly magnificent. These pictures truly do not do so many of the justice. 

And I ran my first pirate game.

Last year my wife and I made "loot bags" for each player. In them were some fake jewels and pirate coins and a pearl necklace as treasure. (My wife decided that the ones that came with it were too chintzy, so she sat down and crafted out 24 pearl bead necklaces).

Besides each of these, each participating player (with the exception of one last minute walk on), also got a Certificate of Recognition after swearin' in the oath of "The Brethren of The Coast"....

And all of them went over very well.

The ladies loved the pearl necklaces!

(One of my awesome players displaying her treasures!)

And your's truly; (Minus my trusty tricorne pirate hat because I forgot it and left it at home!)

And the first game out of four I would run was afoot!

(No relation to Jean LaFoote, mind you....)

("Pirates! Pirates are attacking the town!)

(Pirates! And they ain't from Pittsburgh....)

(The pirates enter the town as British Army splits to confront them. Meanwhile the League of Snobby Gentlemen escort the Governor and his pretty daughter to safety, all the while leaving the governors wife and her beloved yappy dog to whatever fate awaited them....)

(The Governor and his daughter skeedaddle across the cobblestones!)

(Meanwhile the Governor's wife and her beloved yappy dog, (Muffin), are left alone to face "Whatever shall happen to them..." Oh dear...)

(British artillery attempts to get into action!)

(An exchange of fire and wound markers, ("OUCH!), are put down to show hits.  As the British artillery gets ready to fire, they are charged by the pirates! Meanwhile the French Fop, (in bright yellow) lets out a foppish whine as he is approached by pirates!)

(A close up of some of the hand to hand action as the French Fop scurries for safety....)

(Meanwhile a split element of the British Army is coming down the wharf side, passing the fishwife and the hungry kitty cats...) 

(British troops head to the piers... There's one cat watching them with curious interest as another cat lies dead on the wharf...)

(Sacre Bleu! Monsieur LeCroissant has been captured by ze notoreeous pirates! Oh the shame of it all!)

With the time limit reached, the British guns have been captured by the pirates and the army ranks broken, this was an easy pirate victory. 

Afterwards a photo of my first crew of scurvy dogs!

Sadly we were minus two people because of a time discrepancy on their smartphones put them over an hour before they showed up.

(Much fun was had by all....)

The first game of my rough homebrew rules went a lot smoother than I thought it would. This was the first real major playtest of the rules, and while there were a few things that came up, overall they ran pretty easy.

Now I took a break and got lunch and reset the table and waited for round two.

And then it was time for the second game.

Once again the pirates hit the beach and rush into town.

However this time, they are met by "THE BRITISH MARINES!!!!"

(That line of marines would prove a little harder to crack...)

(A high shot pic of the governor, his wife, his daughter, and the yappy dog along with their doubloons awaiting word from the League of Snobby Gentlemen....)

(Meanwhile the dastardly pirates set fire to the gallows!  Later on they would set more buildings ablaze in the town!)

(Ye gods! One of the dastardly pirates has captured "Old Granny" and is dragging her across the market yard using her as a bullet shield to protect himself from the musketry of the Royal Marines!  In the next turn, he killed the old lady and tossed her body into the fountain....)

(The British Marines form up a line while the League of Snobby Gentlemen escort the governor and his lovely daughter to safety, once again leaving the wife and the yappy dog to whatever cruel fate awaited them...)

(And with a burning building, a burning gallows, and a dead grannie in the fountain, the pirates seem to have eked out a victory.)

One of the cool things that HMGS MW does is award "Legion of Honor" medals. These are awards that are given for the person with "The most spirit of the game", (not necessarily to the winner, but those in the spirit of the game. In this case it was two medals for two great players)....

 

And another group photo of the scurvy dogs of Game #2....

With my second game over with, I put away the figures and stuff and closed out my side, and headed up to get dressed to go eat.

But before that, I was able to givt HMGS-MW Presidente Kevin Cabai with a "Thank you for putting up with me" gift.

He was given his own custom Ben Shot glass.

(Thank you, for all you do and have done for the hobby...)

And then it was off to Fogo....

And delicious food, washed down with a nice glass of an Argentinian Malbec...

I actually skipped on dessert this time.

We got back to the con and I took a quick gander around the place and got some more pics.

One of the tables that really attracted my attention was the "Raid on Innsmouth" game. The table itself was beautifully done and the paint job on the buildings really stood out. The entire scene was of despair and desolation in the way only HP himself would have been pleased with.

And a little 1970's Ireland action going on....

And some Wild West action. 

I'm always a sucker for Western games and terrain and scenery. In this case I could see some old Whitewash City, some Sarissa and 4ground buildings and other makes also. This was a really nice table, and kudos to the person that did it.

Afterwards I headed upstairs and had a drink.

And after my evening libations, I crawled into bed....

SATURDAY

I woke up and did a lighter breakfast today.

("It's healthier!" they tell me....hmph....)

And then back into the pirate outfit and back to setting up the table for the next two games.

(All is peaceful and quiet at the Governor's House.... For now....)

(All is quiet by the wharves and piers and shoreline....for now....)

(The "Evil Snow White Water Fountain" is quietly pouring water, (now that Grannies body has been fished out of it from the last game...)

(And the players showed up, and as usual, chaos ensued...)

(British Marines take an aggressive forward stance as the League of Snobby Gentlemen escort the Governor, his pretty daughter, and this time, even the governors wife, and the yappy dog!)

(Pirates on the dock!)

(Doing what pirates do. Stealing barrels of rum!)

(Pirates approaching the Governors house....and oh dear, it seems that the Governors wife (and her yappy dog) have been left behind to wander alone awaiting whatever cruel fate awaits here at the hands of these dreadful pirates...)

(The marines hold steady and keep the pirates at bay, (See what I did there?) while the army moves up to support on the flank...)

(The British Army troops move closer towards the pirates and the tavern, while "Sinful Snow White" becomes them to "Come a little bit closer...."

(Pirates at the Governor's House while the League of Snobby Gentlemen attempt to form a line to defend the Governor and his family....and maybe even the wifes yappy dog!)

(The pirates run into the market square only to see the muskets of the marines and the army troops...)

(Meanwhile the League of Snobby Gentlemen has gotten the worse of it from the pirates at the Governors house. Wound Markers, and the "Chicken Marker" to show that they have broken and failed their morale roll...)

(The pirates continue to be held at bay...)

(Until they charge forward with a mighty cry! Desperate, angry, hand to hand melee ensues! The clash of steel! Bayonet versus Cutlass! Kill or be killed!)

(And suddenly the dice went fickle on the British. With the League of Snobby Gentlemen in full retreat, the marines suddenly fail their morale roll and are given a "Chicken Marker" to show that they too have had enough for the time being....)

(The gallant medal winners for game #3...)

(The third group of cutthroats and scoundrels!)

FWIW, never ever underestimate the power of young girl and her moth when they decide to "take up the code" and become pirates!

I reset the table once again for the fourth and final game.

Oddly enough for the first time in four games, the pirates played more "Tactical" than "Piratey". This shows the differences between groups of players.

(The table is set once again, and ready for all sorts of chaos....)

(A group of pirates rush into town!)

(While the bloodthirsty band of cutthroats under the notorious Cap'n Kris Kringle, move up from a pier onto the shore, heading towards the Governor's house!)

(As the pirates storm into the town, the League of Snobby Gentlemen, move forward to engage....leaving the Governor, his lovely daughter, the governors wife, and the yappy dog, back at the Governors house completely unprotected!!!!)

(Once again, a band of Pirate scum approach the French fop, Monsieur LeCroissant, and capture him and the doubloon he is carrying!  Honh! Honh! Honh!)

(The League of Snobby Gentlemen, engages the pirates!)

(A scene of chaos as the League of Snobby Gentlemen continue to try to defeat the pirates!  Meanwhile, prisoners have been taken and are being escorted back to the boat. These prisoners are The French fop, the pretty girl, the lovestruck young boy, the beer maid, and the grumpy old drinker. Meanwhile the British Army troops arrived to stem the tide of the pirates!) 

(The British troops, (with artllery behind them, engage. The reload markers are visible on some of the figures.)

(The prisoners are loaded onto a boat!  Unfortunately for the pirates, (and the prisoners), the British army decided to employ their cannons and shot the boat killing some of the pirates and a couple of the prisoners including the French fop!!  Egad!)

(Horror upon horrors! With the League of Snobby Gentlemen leaving the Governor, his pretty daughter, the governor's wife, and their yappy dog alone and unprotected, a sneaky band of pirates stormed the Governors house, capturing ALL of them, and all of the nice shiny doubloons!)

With the capture of the governor, and the time limit almost reached, this was an easy pirate victory as part of the defenders lost focus on their goal.

But it was all in good fun!

(The medal winner for the fourth and final game. Our fine fellow played fully and ran the League of  Snobby Gentleman.)

And the photo of the fourth and final group of cutthroats!

(Arrrr...mateys!)

A few more pics of the table and play and setup:

(Fruit trees from the collection of Uncle Duke...)

(Photo Credit: HMGS-MW)

And at the end I was honored by HMGS-MW and awarded a "Valor" medal.

This medal is given to GM's as a "Thank you" for running 12+ hours of games.

(An honor award to me...)

After the last game, I put away the figures. Table breakdown would be the next day.

I waited for the awards ceremonies and raffles.

And here is where I want to discuss something that I have noticed.

The Painting Contest:

This may be my biggest complaint for Little Wars (and if this is it, then it's still an excellent convention), but I feel that this seriously needs to be looked at.

Over the last few years, it seems that the painting contest keeps getting won repeatedly by many of the same guys.

Example:

1: "Joe Painter" paints his Knights Templar figure up the best he can and enters it. He's happy and hopes to have a good chance of winning. It's a very good figure for his skill level.

2: "Bob the Painter" comes in with this professionally painted up entire line of Polish Winged Hussar Cavalry. Bob is a professional commission based miniatures painter and has been doing so for 20+ years. His painting studio is the size of most people's living room. He has a FB page and a website for his painted figures. Bob puts them in the same case as Joe's.

3: Now, which one do you think is going to draw the most attention? And not just for size. 

HMGS-MW seemed to have this issue a few years back with the pro guys essentially taking the majority of the wins and prizes in the contest.

They noticed it, and seemed to adjust it a little. However it still seems that a couple of the pro guys walked away with quite a few of the wins simply because "the Joe Painters" didn't have a chance against the Pros.

I would humbly suggest that in the future HMGS-MW for their competition create a "Professional" and and "Amateur" set of categories.  The caveat being is that "If you have sold and made over $20.00 in selling painted figures within the year between conventions, (or if you do this as a business - main or side), then you are considered "A professional painter", and then relegated to the Professional Category and now end up wiping the floor with the amateur painters. 

Williamsburg Muster had this issue years ago and it ended up with the Pro's winning everything every year, and finally everyone else just quit and their miniature painting contest went down in flames for a while. 

Changing clothes, the crew and I headed to our familiar Deustche place for dinner and beer!

(Ahhhhhh.... A nice cold one!)

(Prost! And yes, I am wearing my Kaserne shirt, which I always do whenever we come here.)

(The "appetizer platter"; which is enough for a full meal in itself!)

(The Hungarian Goulash Soup. Probably the best I have ever had...)

(My dinner....IT'S A SAUSAGE FEST!!!!!)

(What's a German restaurant without cuckoo clocks?)

I'm going to be honest here. 

I love Lisle/Naperville, Norridge and Glen Ellyn Illinois.

They are wonderful, beautifully kept up, and lots of things to see and do. 

I heard so many people that are locals there say "Yes. It's great, but unfortunately we are held hostage by Chicago...."

If it wasn't for "The Chicago Political Machine"...and the politics of Illinois, I would seriously think about moving there. 

And now, back to the convention....

I did a quick walk around the gaming area, and watched. Overall, people were enjoying themselves, the games were packed and running, and there was no issue of "crowding"., The tables were nicely spaced out.

HOWEVER: (Critique time)

This is NOT on HMGS-MW but on the attendees.

Along the walls are counter shelves. The hotel was gracious enough to keep large spigot pitchers of water and plastic cups on there for people's use.

The trash can was less than 10 feet away. You could physically see it standing there.

Some of the people play were too dang lazy to walk 10 feet and toss their trash into the trash can, and instead lazily just made a pile of empty to go food boxes, plastic cups, drink cans, soda bottles, etc. on the shelf.

I cleaned the shelf off near my table at least four times (mostly on Saturday).

The attendees need to do better, and I hope HMGS-MW mind put a friendly reminder out in the future to "Please deposit all trash in the appropriate trash receptacles."

We're better than that people. HMGS-MW should not have to do this. It's not their job to have to tell you, "Put your trash in the trash can dweeb."

I went upstairs and took a quick nap, before coming back down for Little Wars After Dark, (LWAD).

I had a badge to attend but I simply was not in any form or shape to do anything. I had been running a 20 year old's gaming schedule on a 62 year old body. So I went back up to sleep.

HMGS-MW LWAD, raised a great amount of money for a charity.

I slept like a dead man.

SUNDAY:

How odd, I wake up and dress normally.

I wandered down for a quick breakfast and attended the HMGS-MW meeting. They announced that numbers would be out soon for the convention, and they discussed some of the shortcomings going on. (Among them was the misunderstanding about the tableside food service).

One cool thing I like was that in the meeting, everything was up front and transparent, (especially in the terms of finances). Unlike other organizations I have been involved with and known, stuff having to do with money, and "where the money goes" is pretty much on the up and up at any time. Discussions are done on a good basis, and there is no "I'm on the BoD so you best kiss my ring" mindset. HMGS-MW doesn't do the "politics stuff" that a lot of groups have going. Their mindset is to "Have a good convention. Play with our toys with our friends. See our old friends and make new ones. Buy stuff, and most of all, have fun!"

In this mindset they essentially did a Babe Ruth and knocked it (once again) "outta da park".

I also had the pleasure of observing that "even on Sunday" there were numerous games going on full steam and packed. This was a great thing to see. As certain parts of the convention were breaking down, people were still playing.

Kudos to the Sunday gamers!

I did get my first and brief chance to make a jaunt through the dealer area.

There were a few dealers that were unable to make it, and some dealers had closed down for Sunday and a couple were starting to pack up when I got there. However I did get a chance to drop some coin and get some goodies from some of them. I seriously believe in supporting the vendors and their efforts to show up. 

I'll be posting pics of my swag in the next post.

Sundays flea market was moving quickly also. More dealers and tables on Sunday than last year. This is a good thing.

My crew homie JW had to leave early so we got a pic before he hit the road to the airport.

("Bros....")

I did a last quick wander around, (yes wearing my trademark gray Confederate forage cap), and took some pics of some of the tables still up.

Once again, another western game which caught my eye.

I'm such a sucker for these games.

And I was able to get more detailed photos of the buildings, weathering, details, and effects of the Innsmouth table.

Both of these tables were magnificent.

One only had to look at the detail to see why this table won the best of show. I was very impressed. The detail was absolutely amazing.

A few shots of the vendors area on Sunday: 

And then, as I was back in the gaming area, a guy walked up to me and said "You look like you could use a duck."

I gave him a sideways glance and said, "Is that a statement, a proposition, an offer, a threat, a job offer, an invitation, or do I need some form of legal representation before I answer this?"

And he reached into his game back and gave me....a duck.

3D printed.

(Quack!)

And then slowly the convention wound down.

The last games were played.

The dealers packed.

The last of the flea market vendors selling their last wares and packing.

HMGS-MW breaking down the stuff they had set up.

And the convention room got quiet again.

My homies and me went out to Crazy Tortas for lunch...

(mmmm.....)

And when we got back, the stuff was gone. 

No games. Just empty tables.

No people. Just a quiet ballroom.

I saw Kevin before he left and thanked him once again for all he and HMGS-MW had done.

I then crashed out, and woke up later for us to go to our last dinner together for the year.

We did a place called "Mingh Hin Chinese Cuisine".

And it was fantastic.

Good gosh almighty it was good.

And then a quiet trip back and a walk through the silent and empty areas of the vendor area and the gaming area.

Quiet and sad; where just hours earlier decisions were being made and dice being rolled.

Cheers and laughter; defeat and victory.

Little Wars #41 was history. 

It's a sad thing when a good convention ends. 

Back up to the room to pack for tomorrows trip back, and to have a few more drinks before turning in for the night...

And it was lights out.

MONDAY:

Monday came and we arose. Some coffee and then getting the last of the stuff packed.

We checked out, and saw our homie MB one last time before as pulling out. 

As usual in true tradition we were the last ones of the convention outta there. We essentially closed down the con attendence again.

Honestly, the day up before drive and the day after drive works well on our bodies. We can take our time and go see things, relax, eat, the whole thing and not worry about "rush, rush, rush".

(Bros...)

Noah and I did a meal in Kenosha, and I introduced him to "Cheese Castle", and yes we got cheese and Spotted Cow and I was happy.

I shall not bore you with pictures of Cheese Castle and the loot I got there, (If you want to see the cheese, let me know), BUT before closing this I will say this.

MB made BIG TIME POINTS with my wonderful wife, (Gawd bless her!), by handing me a present.

"This is for your wife." he said to me emphasizing it was HERS and NOT "mine"...

(Yak meat....)

Seems that there is a Yak Ranch in Wyoming and they make Yak Meat Sausage.

While it sounds weird, holy cow, is it GOOD!

My wife loves it and so do I.

"Tell him that he has a gold star next to his name in my book." My wife told me over the phone.

So with ourselves and bringing home game loot, loot from Cheese Castle, and Yak Meat for my wife, we made our way back down through Chicago and home.

We got home around 8:30.

Unloaded and said our goodbyes to one another.

I put the stuff in the living room and hugged my wife.

She said "Welcome home. Where's the stuff from Cheese Castle, and where is my yak meat?"

Sigh...she has her priorities it seems.

Final thoughts, observations, and conclusions....

This was the 41st Little Wars Convention.

A few days after the convention HMGS-MW put out the numbers:

All of the numbers looked solid.

Suggestions for the future:

1: Friendly reminder for those that are "waste basket challenged" to put their trash into the trash can and not on the shelves, tables, or floors.

2: Take a good look at the painting competition and see about redoing it with a professional and amateur category.

3: Coordinate with the hotel on food vendors.

4: Coordinate with the hotel for possible room/suite upgrade options, and see about fridge/microwaves in the rooms. 

That's pretty much it. The rest of the convention was pretty dang solid and good. These are just little minor speed bumps. No real gripes.

The good things were that I didn't hear any gaming complaints. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Vendors and flea markets both looked like they did a good deal. 

People had fun.

That's all that matters.

I would like to thank the BoD, and volunteers of HMGS-MW for their hard work in getting this convention going.

I would like to thank the hotel and staff for doing their best to put up with us and hosting this convention.

I would like to thank  the gamemasters who put in numerous hours of game prep, and running games for peoples enjoyment.

I would like to thank HMGS-GL for the attendance of some of their folks.

I would like to thank the vendors and flea market dealers for their participation.

I would like to thank the reenactors and Stanford's Battery for their attendance and opening shots.

I would like to thank all those that played my games for the enjoyment you gave me in watching you all do "piratey things!".

I would like to thank all of those attendees that help make this convention "The Best in the Midwest"!

Most importantly;

I would like to thank my wonderful wife, (Gawd bless her!) for all the support, encouragement, and patience that she gave me for the past year as I worked towards this. I can never thank her enough, so cheese and yak meat will have to do.

And finally, 

I would like to thank my crew, and you dear reader for gracing and honoring me with your presence, friendship, fellowship, and love of the hobby as well as reading this blog. I am so honored.

Thank you all so much.

The drums are silent right now, but come January, we see Little Wars #42 start coming 'round....

Let me know what you think.

Stay tuned to this blog, there's more to come!!!