I attended Pickett’s Lard in Gettysburg the first weekend of May. This event was organized by the members of Lard USA a club dedicated to all things Lardy, i.e. the games put out by Too Fat Lardies.
While I’m not the mega fan of the Lard games that the club members are I’m always up for a day of gaming, eating and drinking so when I was invited I quickly checked my schedule, cleared the weekend with my wife and made plans to attend. In honor of the Lardies I stopped for coffee, a bacon scone and a cinnamon roll on the way up. When I got to the venue I saw there were about twelve people in attendance and there was the choice of three different games for the morning session: Sharpe Practice with Lego, a Chain of Command game set in the early war period of WWII and What a Tanker! game set in the desert.
I have long wanted to put together a game using Lego mini figures for a children’s game at the HMGS conventions so Sharpe’s Practice was a no brainer. The scenario was a hostage rescue and after some poor luck early on my partner and I were able to pull off a win as the cards all suddenly came up blue three turns in a row. I always appreciate a good card mechanism in a game, it cuts down on poor dice rolls!
The afternoon game options were What a Tanker! again, Chain of Command in the early war involving a Germans attacking a combined BEF, French and Belgian force who were holding a canal, and an early war east front game, Germans versus Soviets. I opted to play the Germans vs the BEF game. The British were able to blow the bridge preventing us Germans from capturing it, resulting in a BEF victory. The BEF were able to get a few bonus rounds by rolling a LOT of 6’s and the Germans were unable to get the necessary command dice to move their troops forward. The game ended so fast that we played again with some of us switching sides. The second game also ended in a BEF victory, but it was okay, I was on the winning side this go around! Actually after much discussion we decided that the scenario could use some modification if it were to be used again.
We were supposed to do a tour of Gettysburg Sunday morning but driving rain prevented that from happening. I seem to have bad luck with touring Gettysburg. I’ve tried three times and I’ve been rained out twice and had to call one time super early because of a sick kid. Oh well, maybe next time!
I had a great time at Pickett’s Lard and look forward to the next time it is run. I was particularly happy to see a father and his 17-year-old son there. I have started bringing my seven year olds to conventions and I’m always glad to see the hobby being grown.
Additionally, I’d like to thank Richard Clarke, one of the Lardies, for his generous support of Pickett’s Lard. Richard provided pizza, snacks, and beer from across the pond and it was much appreciated! For the Historian, a military book retailer in Gettysburg, donated four books as door prizes. While I didn’t win any it was another example of sterling generosity! All in all, I give Pickett’s Lard two Lards up. I may not be the mega fan the rest of the group is but I am wondering how I can get my hands on one of those sharp looking Two Fat Lardies polo shirts. . ..
- The Wachtmeister
P.S. I couldn’t help but representing one of my clubs at Pickett’s Lard. Wednesday Night Painting Group: come for the painting, stay for the abuse.