It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
You’ve heard me talk about Unioncon before, when the Uniongang puts together the most magical, fun-filled, and raucous gaming event the village of Brookeville, MD has ever seen (probably).
Probably around 100 gamers, including the Uniongang (including our California and Missouri regiments), along with some of the Scrumcon gangers, LWTV friendos, and the allied contingent of the District of the Damned (although we have special rules covering animosity if we are deployed too closely together – on a ‘6’ we flee in terror from each other!) descended on Brookeville for a great gaming time! You can read last year’s recap here: UnionCon 2025!
The Venue and Vibe
As with last year, we returned to the historic Brookeville Academy, where James Madison hid after General Ross burnt down the White House in the War of 1812. It was great to be back- it is an old venue with some quirks (the acoustics leave something to be desired) but it is a classic venue and fits the local crew well. It’s a special (and affordable!) community space, and I hope we can keep making this work.
This the third Unioncon, and I think we are hitting our stride. A huge shoutout to our fearless leader Broheim for his organization expertise (seriously he did like 90% of the work), and Carnbef and Mister Inebrias who ran the sandwich stand! But everyone pitched in- every GM and host, and all the gamers, were critical for this!
The core of the con is the GM-hosted events- any local, passionate GM can get a table to bring their vision to life. There were 4 slots over two days (Saturday AM and PM, Sunday AM and PM) plus free gaming in the evening. The DotD organized an all-day Necropolis event, we had Mordheim and pickup game tables. There was a flea market and a couple cool vendors.
But this was about 1) playing cool games and 2) chilling with a cool crew. When you’ve got a great community set things up, get out of the way, and let them cook.
The Games
So the core of the event was the GM hosted games- these are are local heroes, friends, and friends of friends who volunteered to run and host an amazing experience for the community. A huge kudos to them – we toast to their health and prosperity, may the hairs on their toes never fall out!
Now I am going to try a new thing and give a brief description of every game for posterity- but this is very unfair as I was hosting in 3 of the slots and playing in the 4th, so I got little time to capture everything folks were doing. So I will use the published descriptions and some pictures- if it seems a little sparse it was because I was busy and bad at documenting 6 simultaneous things, _not_ because they were not amazing and awesome!
Saturday
The Siege of Bogenhafen: Envelopment
This one was me- I will write this up in another post!
Raid on Stonehenge
Hosted by Fiat: After Erusea seizes the Stonehenge Turret Network, a combined ISAF-IUN strike package attempts a daring raid on the facility. Fighters from the FCUAF, OADF, and North Point Royal Navy FAA face off against Erusean defenders in a desperate attempt to regain air superiority over the continent and avert a larger war.
-This was a sick ultramodern air game with some cool uniforms going on!
Arena Rex
Hosted by Roadkill and Soviet: Join us in the arena of champions! Two teams of gladiators (up to four players) uphold their duty to change -* the Munus Mutandis* – by letting fate take hold of them in the ring. Spilling blood and navigating unpredictable hazards, the heroes of Arena Rex pursue entertainment until death. Only one side can emerge victorious, and the arena itself may hold fatal secrets. Sit among the cheering rabble of Arena Rex, a dynamic, characterful skirmish wargame where positional tactics and skilled resource management make the difference between glory and defeat.
-Amazing gladiator combat- this group was having so much fun as I played across the room!
Omentide
Hosted by Bitsmashing: The darkest depths of the cruel sea have disgorged unnameable and unknowable remnants onto the shore. The locals are driven by hunger, desire, rage, or despair to possess the thing, but must first face each other to claim the eldritch prize. Try Ømen Tide, a card-based, 3-model-per side skirmish game on the shores of a salt blighted coast. Use a pre-made sect or kitbash your own with artifacts that washed up from Spruedude.com. Tokens will be available to help you remember the nightmare was real.
-This was sooooo cool and had a kitbashing table built into the Event!
Raid on Cerreto Alto
Hosted by Will: In an effort supporting the Allied breakout at Anzio in the early morning on April 15, 1944, the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Special Service Force, supported by twelve tanks of the 1st Armored Regiment, launched a raid on the village of Cerreto Alto, southwest of Littoria; the defenders, which included elements of the 1st Hermann Goering Panzerpioneer regiment, were caught by surprise but quickly radioed in for armored reinforcement, which may arrive any minute.
-15mm World War 2 action is back! This board looked incredible
Netjammer
Host Angerworm: Netjammer is a miniature agnostic, cyberpunk skirmish game. On Saturday, you will command your squad on three 1v1 missions to complete objectives in an effort to earn the most income. Between each game you can invest what you earned into replacing or upgrading your squad members, buying new gear, or new assets for your faction. Your total earned will determine which squad takes the day. Feel free to bring your own miniatures (ideally cyberpunk or adjacent, like Infinity or Necromunda). I will have a collection on hand to use and supplement as needed.
-Not only did he run this all weekend, but invented the game! It’s a blast.
Tekumel
A Skirmish on Tekumel will use the upcoming Flamesong rules to simulate a small battle in the wilds of the Kurt Hills in western Tsolyanu.
Tekumel is a rich, detailed science fantasy setting that was first published in the TSR game, Empire of the Petal Throne in the mid 70’s. You will be leading your warband to ensure the entrance to the tube car station remains in the right hands. The only question is do your hands have five digits or only three?
-This was a truly old school gaming experience- you think 6th Edition WHFB is old? This was the real deal and the minis ruled.
BattleTech Alphastrike
Host Bufkhan: The Inner Sphere is an unforgiving place, particularly out in the periphery. Taurian Concordant security forces recently apprehended a senior member of an interstellar crime syndicate (obviously with ties to House Davion). The prisoner needs to be transferred to the space port where he will be taken deep into Concordant territory. The catch? Someone goofed, the guy got a camera in his face after his court hearing and he promised 100,000,000 C-Bills to anyone who busts him out! Now all sorts of gangsters, hitmen, mercs (and worse) are swarming the jailhouse, and a lot of them even have ‘mechs. The police have to escape this mess with their prisoner intact. They will have help from the local militia, but can they be trusted? Meanwhile the opportunists have agreed to a temporary alliance, though they’re starting to have second thoughts on splitting all that money. Will a fortune be made or will the lawmen stand tall? Regardless of the outcome, someone’s bound to make a killing. Beginners welcome, rules will be taught.
-Makes me want to try Battletech, which is saying something!
Contact Report
Come playtest this set of 15mm rules! Meant to be setting ambivalent, Contact Report will place two platoon sized forces against one another for control. This scenario will be placed in the Cold War Gone Hot, but just as easily would work for anything from WW2 to Near Future. All miniatures and materials provided!
Space Gits
Host Mork’s Miniatures: This will be an ultra-hardcore, 14-round, single elimination, win-at-all-costs tournament using the Worst Coast Pairing system. JUST KIDDING – That would be unimaginably terrible.This will be a super casual open play campaign. throughout the afternoon and evening. We will likely run two types of games: Intro Game – We are planning to start off with one big, silly intro game. No experience needed, it’s not complicated. Bring 3-5 ork models if you have them, or wads of putty or whatever. Players are welcome to graduate to standard games afterwards! Standard Games – Bring a 25-cap gang and get in as many games as we can squeeze you into. Standard between-game campaign rules will be in use. I’ll try to work up a kooky new scenario or two.
-Mork’s Minis ran an awesome game and his terrain (which he designed) and painting is incredible and a joy to see in person.
Fire and Bronze
Fire and Bronze is a fast paced skirmish game set in the Bronze Age. Your small scouting unit is well ahead of the army and and looking for supplies. So is your opponent. Who will control the small village, it’s grain stores and welll?
-Great to see some true ancients on the table!
Manowar
Host James: The dark forces of the old world have combined and invaded the Sea of Claws. A combined fleet of Khorne, Nurgle, Chaos Dwarfs, and Tzeentch have come out of the Sea of Chaos and started raiding and pillaging the port cities of the Empire, Bretonnians, Dwarfs, and High Elfs. The old rivalries have been put aside and a combined fleet has been sent to take on the dark forces who have taken one of the two sea forts that guard the mouth of the Sea of Claws. The two combined fleets will fight to gain control of both sea forts. Wizards, war ships, and sea monsters will face off on the high seas and invade the islands with the sea forts to gain control of the Sea of Claws. Fire the cannons and prepare to board the enemy ships! No experience needed to play, everything will be provided so no need to bring anything. It is a D6 system if you want to bring your own dice.
-Man O’War is actually a blast and James’ stuff is a delight to behold!
Siege of Bogenhafen: The Final Assault
This was me again- more to come! Maybe it was cool, find out!
Sunday
Necropolis Campaign
Host DotD: Exiled from the Endless City for your ambition, you and your fellow outcast dead wander the ossified wastes which stretch forever past the sunless horizon. You seek a myth which promises power enough to raise a new city, but this harsh abyss – and your rival outcasts – grind your frail form to dust. Did your decaying corpse not once make soil of your burial earth? What is the sand beneath your feet but fine shards of bone? Raise your gathering and carve your salvation from the emptiness of the dead world. This is a two part event set in the undead world of Necropolis. Saturday 7pm – 10pm roleplay the machinations which led to your exile with a bespoke RPG system. Sunday 10am-3pm summon your gathering for a narrative campaign of the diorama skirmish game Necropolis. Players should bring a 300 obol gathering (plus additional models to expand throughout the campaign). Some spare gatherings will be provided – please check the UnionCon discord for questions/details!
-This was an incredible experience to behold, starting with a Saturday RPG session and moving into a mini-campaign for 10 folks on Sunday!
IPMO Space Combat
Host sixthreetwofour: interstellar Planetary Mass Object (iPMO) is a game of space combat in a world of real physics and hard vacuum. Combat on the periphery of civilization is decided by hull integrity and maneuver at a hundred thousand kilometers. Inhabit the computer mind of AKHENATEN, god king of the Solar System: missile laden needleships unbothered by radiation or speed limits. Wear the skin of a FLAYED LORD, inheritor of humanity: heavily armored laser cultists in biomechanical battleships. Take up arms in the name of SIXTH UNION, the eternal revolution: carrier operations and drone constellations off the backs of solar sailors. Join the ranks of the HAKKAN TRIBES, nuclear nomads: jury-rigged warships, girded with cyberweapons and atomic broadsides. No experience necessary; all materials provided!
-Some HARD sci fi for people who like throwing rocks down gravity wells!
Pegasus Bridge
Host CaptainKremlin: The gliders come in low and fast through the darkness. There is no artillery barrage. No warning. No second chances. Six Horsa gliders carrying men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Royal Engineers crash-land beside the bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne. The glider troops have one mission: seize the bridges intact and hold them until the main invasion force arrives. German sentries are already moving. The sound of gunfire cuts through the night as British soldiers scramble from their shattered gliders and form up among the wreckage. The bridges must be taken. The explosives must be secured. The German garrison must be driven back. The objectives were simple: hold the city until the Allies arrive. But the Soviets sit idle across the Vistula and the RAF supply drops fall wide. The Germans are bringing in SS divisions, artillery, and demolition teams to flatten every block, building by building.
-This was a great small scale 28mm mission of a classic military action!
The Battle of Monocacy 1864
Me yet again, more on this. I will say that this was again the only ACW game at Unioncon- General Sherman would be sad.
1490 Doom
Host, the one and only afatblackcat: The world is dying, and the only way to survive is up. 1490 DOOM is a grimdark medieval miniatures skirmish game where you lead a small company of desperate warriors through a world consumed by the Creeping Death. Battle rival survivors and climb towering ruins as deadly fog rises beneath your feet. Every fight risks losing precious ground, and the safest perch is exactly where everyone else wants to be. Join us at the table and see whether your company can rise above the doom.
-Fresh off of his success running a mini-campaign for Beur Games, afatblackcat joined in to run a bunch of great pickup games of 1490 doom.
Northumbria 1068
Host James: After William took the English throne at Hastings he had to secure the north in a campaign in 1068. A small battle takes place in a village between Normans and Saxons. 4 Players using Pillage, all materials provided.
-James put on another great warband-level battle in the Dark ages on a great table!
Moby Git
Hosted by jerz, Captain of the California Division: Based on a custom and somewhat famous ‘Moby Dick’ The Great Whale Hunt scenario/ruleset from Historicon, this game plays out the legend of the Night Goblin squig brigade who slayed the Great Blue Dragon and its fierce elven rider. Each player controls their own squig cart, with each vying to steal ultimate glory of being Da One True Git that slays the dragon, amidst the goblin’s collective unconventional and highly uncoordinated approach to taking it down.
-I was and remain so delighted by this game. I just can’t say enough good things. It was born from the epic Moby Dick 28mm game at Historicon (which I was privileged enough to spectate) filtered through an epic battle of Warmaster where a squig herd battled an elven dragon! There were carts! Gobbos! And a foot of Gork (or possibly Mork)! It was such a delight and jerz brought this all in from CA just for this event. What a hero.
Rorke’s Drift
Host Captain Kremlin: January 22, 1879. The sun is setting over the Natal frontier, and the distant hills are alive with movement. News has arrived of a terrible disaster at Isandlwana. Now, with only a handful of British soldiers, colonial volunteers, and wounded men, the mission station at Rorke’s Drift stands directly in the path of thousands of advancing Zulu warriors. Drive the Invading British from your lands at the tip of your Iklwa or Fix bayonets and hold for King and Country.
-Captain Kremlin was back with a second iconic military encounter. I was delighted to join in as the movie Zulu has etched this encounter into my mind (perhaps the only similar things are the movie Gettysburg and 55 Days to Peking and the defense of the foreign missions in the Boxer Rebellion). Anywho, colonialism aside I was excited to join King Cetshwayo to lead my Impis against a few feet of sandbags.
It was a blast, and while I burnt down two buildings I was absolutely massacred, following a formula straight from the movie.
Star Wars Armada
Host shapoopi: We had a drop due to an unforeseen illness (feel better!) but Shapoopie stepped in to run a Star Wars Armada game as the players collectively tried to hunt down a super star destroyer with some piddly little frigates! It looked like a blast and great to see another ‘white whale’ scenario in the Sunday timeslot.
The Swapping
We had a great swap table again this year, with many of our oldhammer and indie heads bringing out their stuff! I even got together a good set of old books, minis, and even my nice Infinity Defiance set to see if anyone was up for tradesies!
Folks also brought their best game with stickers, magnets and shirts!
We were also joined by the fabulous Draugr and Mork’s Miniatures, who really classed up the joint with their professional displays and amazing art and sculpts! (I got something from each of them haha).
I hope we will do this for many more years, or at least as long as we feel like it! It’s a good bit of work but very rewarding. I think it has already had a good run, and I’m proud to be a part of this event! Someday we will have the last Unioncon I am sure – Nothing is Perfect, Nothing is Finished, Nothing Lasts Forever – but it is not this day!
-BS