John Hill: Remembered at Nashcon 2015

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Reviews of Nashcon 2015

Nashcon 2015 was a huge success. I have pulled together some reviews that were written by those who hosted some of the games which took place at this popular war gaming event in Franklin, Tennessee this past weekend. Nashcon 2015 ran according to the schedule.

My father, John Hill, was missed my many who were in attendance.  Gatherings and  parties at the hotel bar as well as a special memorial table and booth were set up to remember their fallen comrade, John Hill.

Review Written by Norris Darrall

I had a great time and need to express appreciation to the staff of NASHCON for their tremendous support. Special thanks to Cory Ring from Cigar Box Battles for acting as our on-site person. Thank you. I counted 16 Johnny Con folks there. Three of the Louisiana Guards came up from New Orleans, Kermit brought  Brett a new 14 year old player with him, Dean West and Patrick Lebeau, Mike Wedding, Phil Wells, Cory Ring had 4 players (2 came up from Florida, and Dennis McKinney and I from Indy. Doug Kline set up his booth as BTC and was happy with the results.

Micahel Wedding - Wargamer

Michael Wedding in front of his Johnny Reb III Antietam Cornfield game

The play kicked off with Mike Wedding running on an unscheduled Antietam game. Mike is a regular moderator for games at Johnny Con and this game was his best one yet. One player indicated it was like a yo-yo with good news shifting from Yank to Rebel several times. Would recommend this one for future play. Union won. 

Cory Ring hosted a JRII game on Chickamauga on one of his Battle Mats. Mats look excellent since I do not believe you can buy the in/our door carpeting any more. Very impressive set up. Artillery man Kermit ran out of ammo, just a sidelight. Confederates won.

Patrick Lebeau ran his ADF Battle of Eutaw Springs from the AWI. Proves that ADF is also good for smaller battles. Terrain was tremendous. If they gave a reward for this category, Patrick would have won. Just as a sidelight, my side won and America remains with the King. So far.

Patrick explaining his AWI version of ADF. The battle of Eutaw Springs

Patrick explaining his AWI version of ADF. The battle of Eutaw Springs

Saturday kickoff was Dean’s Battle of Champion’s Hill for ADF. This was a 2 session game and took every bit of the time. Am appreciating ADF more with each playing.  Terrain, as usual with a Dean West game, was superb. I am pleased to report that my Division under the command of Peter Osterhaus secured one of the victory locations without suffering a single loss. However, the battle fell to the Confederates because there was no way in the time remaining to get that doggone bridge in the Rebel rear. Had a lot of fun. And our young man Brett won two of the ADF books compliments of Osprey. There were two nominees, one from the North and one from the South. Since the books were not the basic rule books but one basic and one scenario book, it was decided to make it a winner take all dice-down between the nominees. Brett won with this great wargamer solution. 

Dean West

The Game Master himself – Dean West at Johnny Con 5.5 / Nashcon 2015

Saturday evening Patrick ran his AWI game again and I regret that me and my old body and aching back retired to the comfort of my bed.

Nothing on Sunday this time but spent about two hours thanking folks on site for their excellent support. This is a great convention and well worth attending.  More information to follow for next year.


Friday night about 8:30 to 10:00, 14 of us gathered in a portion of the bar to share memories of our great friend, John Hill. Dean had John’s light blue vest and we assigned it to the head of the table. I had set up in the gaming area a display of John’s board games that I had and had my laptop set up with John’s picture from last year’s NASHCON (thanks to Steph Hill for OKing the use from her Dad’s Tribute site) and used that at our session to represent him right in front of his vest. Comments flowed from us about our friendship with John and how he will be missed. And he will be missed.

I am sure that Mike will be posting pictures and more can be found at the Cigar Box Battle site.

Good time was had by all.

Review Written By Dean West

Good Morning Guys,

I agree with Norris that NASHCON was a blast, and I believe that this year’s consolidation of NASHCON/JOHNNY CON had a positive affect on both cons. I believe that this newly created bond should be continued indefinitely. JOHNNY CON has always been a small event, specifically dedicated to the Johnny Reb suite of games, by which I mean JR, JRII, JRIII, Across a Deadly Field, Yankee Doodle and The Final Argument of Kings. NASHCON in its turn, has always included a strong ACW presence which includes numerous JR games. Cory Ring, an important member of the NASHCON organizing team, is a long time Johnny Reb enthusiast, and also became a valued member of the Across a Deadly Field design team.  Moreover, Cory’s popular blog spot, Cigar Box Battle, consistently supports Johnny Reb gaming, and has been instrumental in spreading the word about John Hill’s final, and possibly his best, ACW game design (ADF).  For our part, Patrick, Kermit, Norris, myself, and now Michael Wedding  have done our very best to reciprocate by promoting NASHCON, and by presenting high quality games there over the past two years. Also, this year long time friend Doug Kline, owner of the rights to Johnny Reb III, supported NASHCON by bringing his Battlefield Terrain Concepts products to sell at the convention. BTC is a popular east coast vendor of terrain products and model buildings.  It seems to me that this synergistic relationship should be strengthened further forming an even closer bond between NASHCON by making Johnny Con a permanent part of NASHCON.

Best Regards to all
Dean West

Review Written by Cory Ring

Guys,

I hope that everybody that attended Nashcon / Johnny Con 5.5 had a great time….I know I did! We JR gamers are a small, and spirited group, and we made at huge impact at Nashcon with some really great looking and well run games! Many, many compliments were passed on to me after the show!  I’d like to thank all of you that flew in or made the long drive! We had The LA Guard fly in (great meeting you!), guys driving down from Michigan (Patrick and Michael), Indiana (Norris and Kermit) and “The Old Guard” from Tallahassee, FL! There were many more of course!  Thanks for marching to the sound of the guns!  A special thanks goes out to Doug Kline at BTC for bringing his show on the road to us, and selling all kinds of goodies! Thank you, and I hope that you will return next year!  It’s always fun to game and talk with the JR guys! What a great bunch of guys to discuss the ACW with, roll dice with, and perhaps share a cold beverage or two. Pure gentlemen and quality gamers all around.

John Hill

John Hill, Well Renowned Game Designer

We had a memorial tribute and toast to John Hill on Friday night. I was only able to attend the first part, but it was great hearing Norris and Dean (two of John’s longest friends) discuss John’s legacy as a gamer, rule designer and all around great guy.

As far as the JR games: Michael ran his JR3 Antietam “Corn Field” game on Friday morning, and it was a great looking game that the guys just couldn’t stop playing! Dean ran his ADF “Champion Hill” game all day Saturday, and it was a masterpiece! Patrick ran his great looking 28mm AWI “Battle of Eutaw Springs” a few times during the con. I ran a 28mm JR2 game on Friday afternoon, and I think that everybody had a good time. There are a few pictures of the games on the Cigar Box Battle Facebook page. We are always looking for more JR games, so if you’d like to run a game next year, let me know!  We are looking at bringing “Johnny Con” back to Nashcon next year! Stay tuned for more info!

Take care,

Cory Ring

 




12 Comments

  1. Chris evans

    A fitting tribute in the form of this article. I used to love games like this when I was younger – I’m now trying to get my 9 year old son into them ( and off the xbox for once! )
    Chris

    Reply
    1. Stephanie (Post author)

      Hi Chris:

      Thank you for reading the page on my father being remembered at Naschon 2015 and for your kind comment. Many of us enjoyed those kinds of games when we were growing up. I too have a son and I can relate to them getting involved with things today that we do not necessarily approve of, such as the Xbox. I think these sort of games provide more mental stimulation and strategic thinking than most of the stuff we see today. Thank you again for stopping by. Come back again.

      Stephanie

      Reply
  2. Michael Wedding

    It was indeed a special gathering with dear friends reminiscing about John and our gaming times together. I shared one of the special things for me was how one of each of my four sons greatest memories is our convention weekends where we would stay in a Motel Six on Friday night either playing games or watching silly shows, go out to eat and then go to the convention the next day. If it wasn’t for John Hill’s JR games that I began playing and putting on, we wouldn’t have those memories. Truly a great time EVERY TIME I play with other gamers or put on a game.

    Reply
    1. Stephanie (Post author)

      Hi Michael:

      I am super glad to hear from you. Thank you for leaving a comment. The gathering on Friday reminiscing John Hill sounds special. Thank you for sharing your story about your memories of staying at the Motel 6 with your four sons playing Johnny Reb and then heading out to the Naschon convention the next day. Johnny Reb was one of his most popular games. I am glad you were able to be there to take part. Although we personally have never met, I feel like I know you, because my father always mentioned your high level of enthusiasm and how that enthusiasm influenced others around you. Please stay in touch. Hope to meet you in person someday.

      Steph

      Reply
  3. Adrian

    It is nice to see such great reviews about the Nashcon event and specifically how it was for your father’s tribute.

    I also like the fact that they had you to thank for the picture that they used from your website. That was amazing to see!!

    I’m sure your father would be proud knowing that you are keeping his memory and legacy alive!

    Reply
    1. Stephanie (Post author)

      Hi Adrian:

      Thank you for carefully reading through the post and taking extra time to leave your ever-so thoughtful comment. Your kind sentiments mean so much. Everyone seemed to have a splendid time at Naschon 2015. I was not able to attend, had to stay home and take care of matters here at home. I would have enjoyed being there though. However, the reports I got back from folks has been encouraging. I too am happy so many people had a blast at this particular annual wargamer’s conference. There is another one coming up in July called Historicon. I will write a blog and post pictures of that one as well. Thank you again Adrian for visiting. Have a wonderful day!

      Steph

      Reply
  4. Dominic

    The Naschon 2015 looks like a great success indeed. I can see that this is a really popular war gaming event and this really shows from the review of the participants here. Look forward to the next event from your post.

    Reply
    1. Stephanie (Post author)

      Hi Dominic:

      Naschon 2015 was a well-attended annual event. Many people drove long distances or fly in to be there. It was a successful event with many folks bringing their families and children for some fun times. It happens every year on Memorial Day weekend. It is a tradition for many wargamers to spend their Memorial Day weekend at Naschon 2015. Thank you for visiting this website and for taking the time to leave a comment. Come back again soon.

      Steph

      Reply
  5. Anele Siwawa

    The games sounds so cool,I’m going straight to check them out

    Reply
    1. Stephanie (Post author)

      Hi Anele:

      Have fun and report back if you need any suggestions. Also I look forward to knowing how you liked them and which ones you chose. Thank you for stopping by.

      Steph

      Reply
  6. Chris Hennessy

    Looks like a good time and a fulfilling hobby. I didnt know there were that many games around.

    Reply
    1. Stephanie (Post author)

      Chris:

      Yes, there are a huge variety of games out there. They can provide hours of family fun and entertainment. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment.

      Stephanie

      Reply

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