Monday we fired off the first in a short series of After Action Reports on the Home of Wargamers Event. We already covered the first two days, so it is time for day number three! Part three of the After Action Report focuses on the third day of the Home of Wargamers event. A day of Battle Academy, a day of tourism, but unfortunately, also a day of departures.
Day 3 - The great awakening
After the late night of the previous day, the morning regiment was enforced as strictly as would otherwise have been the case. Journalists, players, developers and of course staff moved slowly towards the breakfast table. For some people, the scheduled flights dictated their departure directly after breakfast. A shuttle bus was waiting to pick them up outside of the castle. For the others, their time in the beautiful Italy had not come yet, they would prepare for a fierce competition.
Day 3 – Tournament Time
It was with fresh energy that we crossed the courtyard and entered the park house. Here we found a number of PCs set-up and ready to launch Battle Academy 2. For this occasion, a special mission was prepared based on the castle we were currently playing in. The contenders played as the Red Army and were given the task of securing the castle and surrounding villages. Because this was a single player mission, a score system was setup. Journalists, players, developers and even staff members jumped on the computers to give it a go and to put their tactics to the test. Yet, at the end of the day, there can only be one winner. It was Charles Illingworth of Grogheads who came out on top and gave us a little lesson in combined-arms warfare.
Day 3 – From Castle to Fort
We may have spend a couple of days at the castle at this point, but our need for fortifications was still there. Therefore, a bus trip was arranged to Fort Bard, a Napoleonic fort located at a mountain top, overlooking the route to France. Here, we met our guide who, told us about the fort in question as we moved up to the top of the mountain. As the picture will illustrate, it was very easy to see why someone would built a defensive work here.
After enjoying the sun, the view and the history of the place, the time had come to also say goodbye to this fortification and head home. The bus, packed with tired, but satisfied gaming fans, left Fort Bard and headed for the airport.
Day 3 – Goodbye
Then there was the time to say goodbye. Home of Wargamers 2014 had officially come to an end. We from the Slitherine Group consider the event to have been a great success and judging from the articles the press are publishing, they are looking forward to our games as much as we do. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who took to effort to visit us at the Castello, as well as all of you who followed us on our websites, forums, Facebook, Twitter and of course Twitch.
