Falmurth Article 2

Falmurth GameDays Overview

By Jeff Martin  06/13/2024

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The heart of Falmurth were and are the players who have collected, painted and fielded their figures, engaged in friendly competition and brought their energy and humor to the event. Each and (almost) every year they have gathered to share a fun day of gaming and a bit of one-upmanship.

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Though the Falmurth World setting and the mechanics of the Falmurth Campaign have provided the background to facilitate rivalries and some fantastic paint jobs the core activity has always been the annual GameDay. A Falmurth GameDay with typically 2-4 tabletop battles has been held each year since 1974 except 1988 (when my family was moving that autumn) and 2020 (due to Covid). Though the details are below I generally divide the years into some eras that share similar traits (and with a nod to the comic book world for hopefully a smile or two).

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The Dawn Age – Falmurth 1 to 3 which were held as individual events and the tables were linked by Gates. There was no ongoing campaign or permanent player characters. But most of the games were set in the Falmurth World and many of the famous units and fantasy characters made their debuts.

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The Golden Age of Falmurth – From Falmurth 4 (1977) through ~Falmurth 15 (1989) These years featured the rivalry between Columbus (playing the Alliance/Good side led by Larry Connor) and Cincinnat (Coalition / Evil side led by Chuck Crain). The relatively few Indy players were aligned on both sides. As noted below a system was used to determine an overall GameDay victor, a traveling trophy was used for many years and the focus was on winning the day (with campaign results being secondary though growing over time). A key attribute of these years was the major role played by Larry and Chuck in organizing their groups and hosting the gamedays when in their city. This era ended when the Cincinnati contingent did not attend for many years.

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The Rise of Kestrif – From Falmurth 16 (1990) to Falmurth 27 (2002) the Falmurth world based event had fewer players mostly from Columbus with some from Indy. Some GameDays were non-campaign treasure or fun only events. Eventually other players took over the Evil side role and the Falmurth campaign restarted in earnest. At the same time the Kestrif (2nd Continent) companion campaign was organized and active as its own campaign from about 1992 to 1996. This Indy only campaign had its own seasons and tabletop battles were fought locally throughout the year. Several of the Indy players had dual-citizenship with nations in both Falmurth and Kestrif. Kestrif games continued after 1997 but were mostly played as part of the annual Falmurth Gameday and essentially Kestrif became a part of the Falmurth Campaign.

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The Silver Age of Falmurth – Falmurth 28 (2003) to Falmurth 39 (2013) With return of the first Cincinnati players in 2003, who were cast now as neutrals (an important flexibility mechanism also over the years), the Falmurth GameDays were again focused on campaign generated tabletop battles between the Alliances and Coalitions (both Falmurth and Kestrif with interaction as well). Leveraging email and other attributes of the digital age more detailed prep work and communication could be done. Some years had a fair amount of strategic maneuvering prior to the games themselves. In addition to campaign related engagements some actions focused on raids or treasure hunting were included. Attempts were also made to do more unusual scenarios to keep the action fresh (Balloons!, River raid!, Stealth Portals!). The loss of both Chuck Crain and Larry Connor during these years was a major loss to Falmurth as well.

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The Latter Years of Falmurth – Falmurth 39.5  (2014) to Falmurth 49 (2023) Some years were special events (a casual game by John Bock in 2014, a Fantasy combat tournament for Falmurth 40 in 2015, no games due to Covid in 2020) but overall the gamedays continued. I focused on streamlining the preparations some through deploying a Standard Army concept which simplified the yearly prep and instructions. The tabletop battles were a mix of campaign scenarios, raids and treasure hunts that allowed mixing up the players. Several of our longtime players have been lost including Paul Pike, Bob Wicks and Ron Woodrum. But the gamedays were restarted after Covid with a double weekend event in Indy in 2021 and travel events to Columbus in 2022 and Cincinnati in 2023.

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Some special Acknowledgements are in order to the Hosts and Coordinators for the Falmurth GameDays over the years. I realize I cannot thank every host or co-host due to the mists of time and my limited records from earlier years. So Thanks! to all who have hosted in the past. Some folks hosted multiple events and I want to recognize them specifically. Many of the early games were organized by Chuck and Larry and held at the Ral Partha factory or at facilities used by the gaming groups in Cincy and Columbus. During the last 25 years or so many of the games in Columbus were hosted or co-hosted by John Bock and Ken Prince so many thanks for their help on many Falmurths. Thanks to Jim Rush who hosted the last game in Columbus (after John and Ken headed south for their retirements). During the same period a key organizer and host in Cincinnati has been Jim Fox who has played a key role in many of the Falmurths held there. My thanks to Jim as well. Jacob Fathbruckner (who lives near Columbus but works closely with Iron Wind Metals) has been a big help also. He arranged for Falmurth to be held at the Iron Wind Factory. Here in Indy Todd Pickard has hosted and arranged multiple Falmurths and deserves big thanks also. Where known the hosts are listed in each GameDay description.

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To be continued in Falmurth Article 3