The Schnepf Bros had a blast at HMGS Historicon 2026. Even though we hosted four of our own events, we made sure to save time to play plenty of games. We played many different periods and learned a lot about eras of history that we didn’t know much about before. We thoroughly enjoyed all the games we participated in and give many thanks to all the game masters who worked hard to host them.
The theme of this year's Historicon was the 250th anniversary of the American War of Independence. There were dozens of stunning revolution-era games. Every time we walked past this game, we couldn't help admiring it for a moment or two.
The figures looked very impressive and animated behind their fortifications.
The terrain was exquisite.
One of the first games Owen and I played was a Kriegsspiel game. Kriegsspiel — German for wargame — was first developed in 1812 by Prussian officer Georg von Reisswitz. What makes Kriegsspiel realistic is that it is played double blind, meaning your army can only see what the game master lets you see. To achieve this, the game is played on three tables: one for each side and another for the umpire. This emphasizes realistic fog of war strategy and the importance of scouting. Following Prussia's military successes in the 19th century, Kriegsspiel spread internationally and further developed into many of the wargames we have today.
Owen and I played as the British in this fictional scenario set during the American Revolution. Our staff consisted of seven players. Owen was the commander-in-chief, I handled the reserve, and the other five players acted as brigadier generals.
The plan was simple. We would divide our force in two. The primary force, consisting of an infantry brigade, the reserve force, artillery, and the cavalry, moved straight down the road to the primary town objective. The secondary force, made up of the other infantry brigade, moved on a flanking maneuver, fording a river to strike the Americans where they were not expecting.
It turns out that the Americans were dug in much more than we expected. We could not successfully charge over the river, and our flanking force ran into a ridge of artillery and infantry in line. The Americans held their ground and took the victory.
On Friday night, Owen jumped into the Battle of Blenheim, a decisive action during the War of Spanish Succession.
This action captured the northern end of the battlefield, where Prince Eugene faced off against the Elector of Bavaria.
The battle seemed very engaging. The figures were beautiful, terrain realistic, rules simple, and scenario balanced. Even though the action at Owen’s end of the table was confined to musket volleys, the other flank was quite climactic with thousands of charging cavalrymen. By the end of the game, both sides fought each other to a standstill. The game master announced it as a draw. Huge shoutout to Richard Jaekel and Tom for a great-looking game.
One of the last games Owen and I played was the Battle of Antonine Wall. The Antonine Wall was constructed by the Romans, signifying the border of the Roman Empire in Scotland. The game objective for the Picts was to scale the wall and storm off the other edge of the table. I chose to play the Pict center, and Owen played the opposing Roman center.
Joe Swartz displayed a whiteboard with the outcomes of the previous playthroughs of this battle. Almost all the results were Roman victories. I knew that to win as the Picts, we would have to do something drastically different and do it decisively.
I convened with my teammates, and we decided that the Pict center and right wing would concentrate their efforts on one small area, while the Pict left wing would put pressure and tie down the other Roman forces. We were relying on the sheer weight of the Pict force to punch through a small segment of the Roman defense. From there, we could exploit the gap and rush our forces over the wall.
As the Pict forces approached the wall, the Roman scorpions rained down missiles, killing many Picts. Once Pict forces reached the wall, a brutal melee ensued. The Picts were repelled from the wall again and again.
Though we were losing many Picts in our assault, so were the Romans. At the two-hour mark of the game, we finally broke through the Roman defenses. From there, we rushed as many Picts as we could over the wall to overwhelm the enemy. As the battle came to a close, it was a clear Pict victory, or as I like to call it, a “Pictory”.
A big thanks to Joe Swartz for hosting this amazing game. We are so excited to see the next battle you're hosting!
We would also like to thank the staff and volunteers who make Historicon happen. Your efforts do not go unnoticed. We hope to see many epic games at Fall In 2026!
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