By Jeff Martin  02/26/2024

Nearly 50 years ago in November, 1974 the first Falmurth Invitational was held in Plainfield, IN (a suburb of Indianapolis). A group of approximately 16 miniature wargamers from Cincinnati (OH), Columbus (OH) and Indianapolis attended along with several onlookers. The event focused on mass action Fantasy miniature games (using house rules) which were quite new in the wargaming space at the time. The Falmurth gameday event would be held annually from then until now with only a couple skips. Falmurth evolved over the years to include an ongoing campaign set in the Falmurth world setting with persistent national/army ownership by the players as well as elements of role-playing.

Over the years more than 200 tabletop battles have been fought out by over 100 different players. Many players have been part of the campaign and events for many years including some from the first few games. The intent of the event has always been to provide fun, engaging tabletop battles where the action contains a balance of both troops and Fantasy figures (the dragons, giants and such). The first few gamedays featured battles set in a variety of settings and linked by portals. By Falmurth IV in 1977 the action was focused on the Falmurth setting and players had persistent roles, troopsheets and (in general) 1 side / coalition. Though variety was added over the years and players have sometimes switched roles, the persistent features have allowed many of the players to showcase their miniature collections and add to the fun.

The Falmurth World/setting started as a rough map and lots of license by the gamemaster to create scenarios. Since it was a creation of the 1970s it not surprisingly had/has a major Tolkienesque flavor. However, other fantasy literature and indeed the creations of various miniature figure companies have factored into its composition as well. The campaign organized on top of this world setting was deliberately high level and intended to generate tabletop action. Though tabletop outcomes impacted the strategic situation (to the level of whole countries being conquered on occasion) the structure was created to continue to provide action opportunities (not a campaign ending strategic victory). The key detailed item linking the campaign to each player and the tabletop was the specific troopsheet for each nation (or force) which allowed the player to ‘buy’ their troops and fantasy for each battle while maintaining a flavor for each nation. Over time the campaign setting and troopsheets evolved with players able to influence both while staying true to the original intent of the construct. Eventually a 2nd continent was added to Falmurth to host a separate Indianapolis focused campaign with the continent and campaign both being called Kestrif.

The author game-mastered some Falmurth style miniature games at conventions in Cincinnati and Columbus before the first Falmurth in 1974. This led to the invitees from those cities as well as the Indianapolis area. The three city arrangement persisted over the years with the gameday rotating many times between the cities. During the 1980s the competition was primarily between Columbus (playing the ‘Good’ guys designated the Alliance) and Cincinnati (the Evil side with the Black Prince Coalition). Several of the Cincinnati players were among the founders of Ral Partha and some of the Columbus players had side ventures into fantasy miniatures as well. Though some players moved and continued to attend from relatively far flung locations the membership continued to include significant representation from all 3 original locations.

This short article was to introduce the Falmurth story. For 50 years a group of friends from 3 cities have gotten together annually to share some fun (and memories) of fantasy gaming. The Falmurth gameday, setting, campaign, rules/organizers and role-playing have all focused on supporting that friendly gaming experience. I hope to provide some future short articles to provide some additional information (and pictures), to include some of the highlights of the games, quirky moments and some of the miniatures featured by their proud owners.