Great
Lakes Area Great
Lakes Area
The Great Lakes Area DBA Gamers (G.L.A.D.B.A.G.) is an active association of players of the Ancient miniatures rules, De Bellis Antiquitatis, or DBA. The group takes its name from the area of the country where most of the members live -- Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia and Western Pennyslvania/New York. Most are also members of the Great Lakes chapter of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS). Acronyms aside, GLADBAGers are a sporting group of gamers who like to have fun, hold tournaments, run campaigns, and so on. Courtesy and friendliness is a hallmark of members of this group -- this is no antagonistic, "win at all costs" group. Our unofficial motto is:
That is Latin for "drink first, win later" -- in other words, our goal is to have fun, not necessarily to win.
John Loy -- lover off all things Big Battle -- added this tournament to the Great Lakes yearly smorgasboard of DBA, this year. Apparently there is an appetite for it as 20 players showed up, some from as far away as Virginia! In response to suggestions, he reorganized the tournament format, breaking it into eight player or less brackets, so that each could come up away with a clear cut winner. Andy Swingle won the Early Bracket, John himself took the Middle, and Mike Stelzer triumphed in the Later Bracket. If anyone has photos they can send me, I'll add them to the pages, as I was out of town for this event...
Warband 2008 DBA
& HOTT TournamentsEric Luczaj ran his unique "Wars of Aggression" DBA tournament, this year with a Warband theme. Players received extra points for each warband element in their army, in addition to the normal points weighing heavily towards mass carnage (the more elements dead on the tabletop, the more both players receive!). Eleven players vied for this year's master of carnage title. DBA was followed by Dave Zecchini's "Thingband 08" Hordes of the Things tournament. A dozen players in the rolling thunder format (no set rounds -- you are matched up immediately with another opponent when you finish your game) fought it out, only to have Steve Cole repeat as Thingband winner this year. Click on the "Thingband" link to be taken to Zeke's home page with lots of photos and details of the action.
"An Afternoon
at the Crusades": Battle at the Crossroads '08Tom Graves and John Loy's ambitious "pyramid style" tournament was a resounding success. 15 players attended (with Tom and John subbing in as the 16th spot) from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Round 1 featured one-one-one matchups, with the opponents teaming up in Round 2 for a two-on-two big battle. The final round featured two separate four-on-four big battle DBA games, with Larry Chaban and Mike Demana's coalitions proving victorious.
HOTT
Wax 2008 36 AP Hordes of the Things TournamentLast year we had some ice and snow, this year we had flu bugs conspire to cause last minute cancellations. Nevertheless, we had a dozen players again this year join in Dave Zecchini's "big battle" 36 AP Hordes of the Things tournament. Tom Graves was the winner with his Black Hoof Clan and battlecry, "Don't herd me, bro'!" Tom was one of four players that went 3-1, as he knocked off second place finisher (and previously undefeated) Ron Holtz in the final round. Thanks a ton for Splintered Light Miniatures donating a painted army for the grand prize, and Alternative Armies for the prize support as well!
COGA DBA Teaching
Session & TourneyAndy Swingle taught a handful of regular members of the Central Ohio Gamers Association, assisted by some GLADBAG members, the rudiments of DBA and ran a 3-round tourney. Most of the folks seemed to enjoy the game, and Andy gave out a bagged Essex Macedonian army to the highest scoring newbie. Prize winner Dave Barr vowed to get it painted in time for this October, when Andy will run another Teaching Session & Tourney at COGA.
Spartacon
2008 DBA TournamentJohn Lawitzke ran another of his Bring & Battle events at Spartacon in January. This time, though, all the players who showed up were experienced, so he didn't need to run the usual DBA School beforehand. This demonstrates the success he is having in forming a community of DBA players to show up to the conventions in Michgian. Congrats to John, and also to his repeat winner, Dennis Schroder, who triumphed with his Polybian Romans.
Ohio Valley Hoplites
Regional DBA TournamentThe spacious and comfortable New Song Church was the venue for another GLADBAG DBA Tournament. Rich Hartley and John Loy ran this fun,. open tournament. Seventeen players (counting the GMs) participated, with prizes being awarded for overall winner, Bracket winners, and even a White Knight and Black Knight award! Special thanks to Ron Holz for coordinating with the church to give us a great place to play...and enjoy their hot dogs, chips and drinks!
* EVERY MONTH - Monthly DBA Day at Gamers Haven in Middleburg Heights, OH. Michael Porter and company are making their get together at the store a regular, monthly Sunday event. Join them from 1-5 pm, and do a little shopping at the nice historical miniatures selection at the store. Read about their escapades on Michael Porter's DBA Blog.
* MAY 17 - Drums Along the Rapids 9, Toledo, OH. Join John Lawitzke for another of his popular "Bring & Battle" events, which begin with a DBA School for beginners (or those that need a refresher course), then follow with a 3 rounds of DBA action. New location this year at Fort Meigs should be a great place to showcase our sector of the hobby to the public. Action begins at 9 am!
* JUNE 14 - NOWS Minicon, Berea, OH. This informal, fun event is held at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 50 E. Bagley Rd. If you'd like to run a game for it, contact Carl Scheu at nowsboard@yahoo.com. Carl has started the event list off with a "Destroy All Monsters" event that sounds like a blast. Entry is $6 and includes a communal flea market, or "Swag," table.
* JUNE 21 - WARPARTY, Cincinnati, OH. Eric Luczaj will be running another DBA tournament in the morning, followed by Dave Zecchini's HOTT tournament in the afternoon. Think of this as a warmup session to get your dice ready for the DBA extravaganza at Origins the following weekend! For more info, see the HMGS Great Lakes website Waparty page.
* JUNE 26-29 - Origins, Columbus, OH. One of our greatest DBA gatherings of the year! Here are this year's events:
- Thursday (26th): 10am - 15mm Double Size DBA Tournament. Bring an army x2 or one with a legal ally for this fast playing version of a BBDBA event. 4'x2' boards, no BUAs, but all other standard Big Battle rules. 3 rounds. GM: Mike Demana
- Thursday (26th): 6pm - 15mm Matched Pairs DBA Tournament. Bring two historical enemies (as per the DBA rules). You play with your pair of armies in two rounds, the opponent's the other two. GM: Marty Schmidt
- Friday (27th): 10am - The GLADBAG Invitational. Click on the link for more info on this "NICT-style" DBA Tournament of champions. Sponsored by Splintered Light Miniatures (so you know it will be worth your while to participate)! 4-5 Rounds. GM: Mike Demana.
- Friday (27th): 10am - 25mm Intro DBA Tournament. If you want to learn how to play DBA, or need a refresher course (or simply an experienced player who wants to play with his "big toys"), then this tournament is for you. 4 Rounds. GM: Rich Hartley
- Friday (27th): 6pm - 15mm DBA Open. Armies will be divided into brackets by historical year. 4 Rounds. GM: Mike Stelzer.
- Saturday (28th): Noon - Battles from History DBA Tournament. The grand-daddy of all Origins DBA Tournaments. Be sure to sign up for this one, as it is limited to 16 spots. All armies and terrain provided as players participate in refights of four of eight different historical battles presented. 4 Rounds. GM: Terry Hollern.
- Saturday (28th) 7pm - Origins 15mm Hordes of the Things Tournament. Quite possibly, the greatest gathering of 15mm HOTT players on the continent! Plenty of loaner armies available -- makes for a great chance to learn to play this fun game. GM: Steve Sattler.
* AUGUST 16 - 7th Annual HMGS Great Lakes Big Battle DBA Tournament. This will be held at the New Song Community Church in Reynoldsburg, OH. Same format as the Post-Tax BBDBA Tourney...John Loy will break out the brackets in sizes of 8 or less, by date/geography/etc. We do 3 rounds, so you get finished in a normal day's gaming. John, the BBDBA glutton, promises to hang around and encourage and assist any truly fanatical types if they want to play a 4th round -- but it is purely optional. The more sane of us go out and have dinner and rehash our triumphs and failures...join us!