Braunstein On Demand
I just found out that Major Wesely is coming to GenCon, but he doesn’t have any sessions scheduled this year. But I have it on good authority that if people are interested, he’s willing to get together for ad hoc sessions.
Do you want a chance to play Braunstein, the grandfather of all roleplaying games? Do you want to grill him about what it was like gaming with Dave Arneson, before Blackmoor and before D&D? Do you want to hear about antiaircraft artillery in WWII or soldier’s wives in the Revolutionary War?
Speak up and let him know. He’s probably reading this thread right now, so this is your chance.
Yeah, I’d love to have a go at Braunstein. It sounds like a blast! Let me know where and when.
I’m not going to GenCon, but if Major Wesely is reading this thread and has some time on his hands then I’d be flattered and pleased if he checked out my trilogy of posts on Braunstein and its influences: Dungeon Master Zero; R & D; Fantasy Vietnam.
Cheers!
Absolutely, I would love to experience playing an original and fascinating game. Everything I’ve read about Braunstein sounds like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
I played Braunstein with him last year and it was amazing…a once in a lifetime opportunity. Anyone with an interest in the history and future of roleplaying games should play “the first RPG” at least once.
I’m definitely interested, and I’ll be there. Is there some way to make sure I’m in the loop if it works out? I’ll be at Gen Con for the full con, and I’m flexible with scheduling.
Glad to hear from you guys.
I will be taking the train to Gencon this year, arriving very late (nearly midnight)
on Wenesday night and leaving very early (about 4 am) on SUnday. A shorter
con than usual, but then, I have to provide my own room and badge and so on,
as the War College speaker’s program has been cancelled. And I cannot take as much time off work this year, so no driving down and back for a day and a half at each end.
I will probably be staying with Ross Maker, or maybe with Lou Zocchi (housing is a little vague right now)
I will also probably be hanging around the Gamescience (Lou Zocchi’s dice company) booth in the dealer’s room.
Depending on what people tell me they want to do, i can bring down the notes for the original “Braunstein 1″, source of the quote –
“That’s LIEUTENANT Student A to you, Mister!”
or the better organized “Braunstein 4″ (which might be harder to set up)
or my notes on Women as Warriors or Railroads at War or AAA in the Battle of Britain…
Both BS games play better with more people – eight would be good – though that will make it harder to find a place to stage them. If that doesn’t work out, we can
fall back on talking about them…
If we can get some agreement on what to do and when, we may be able to run BS out of a room, or in an open gaming area or I can just give an informal seminar on early RPG-ing in a hotel lobby, like I did three years ago (ask Ping).
You can just post answers back here.
P.S. Rob MacD: I read your Dungeon Master Zero and liked it a lot.
Unfortunately, my rather long comment to it vanished when I tried to submit it.
Oh no! Well, thanks for reading. And if you feel inspired to recreate your comment, I’m all ears. Or eyes.
Have a great GenCon.
No Gen Con for me this year, otherwise I’d totally be down for it.
Count me in!
Bob, nooooo! We’ll miss you buddy.
Maybe next year. This year, I’m swamped at work, and trying to buy a house.
(I may have lost my mind. Let me know if you find it lying around Indy somewhere.)
I would totally be down for Braunstein! Last year I listened to your talk about the original games with great pleasure, but had to leave right when play began
I’d be glad to do either #1 or #4 – if #1 is faster for you to set up that’s a good reason to do it right there.
OK-
So far only for or five takers for Braunstein at Origins,
Tony Dowler
Chgowiz
Tim Jensen?
Rich Forest
Tavis Allison
which will make for a pretty weak Braunstein game, (eight to twelve would work better)) but maybe we can drum up support and recruit more after we get down there. I will be staying with Lou Zocchi at the Marriot. I will be arriving really late Wednesday/early Thursday
(after midnight if the train runs late) on Amtrak. (anyone meeting the train to carry my luggage to the hotel will get first choice of character in Braunstein).
I will have to register on Thursday morning (oh the lines! the lines!) but here is my cell phone number: give me a call on Thursday and we can meet somewhere to plan where to game.
612 dash 508 dash 7251
[I obfuscated the number a tiny bit to throw off bots -Ben]
Friday night at 7 pm is a seminar called Gamer Oral History:
“Written histories never tell the whole story. That is why it is important to preserve the oral tradition. Come hear the truth, rumors and myths about the history of gaming, unfiltered, as they have been passed down to us.”
I know nothing about who’s running it, but that sounds like something you should really drop in on Major Wesely. I think you could shed a lot of light on the subject.
It’s SEM0900532, listed as being in Marriott Indiana Ballroom F.
I’d recommend just picking a time and a place to meet. I suspect if you leave it to a cell phone coordination everyone will get distracted by the action of the con. There may also be people reading this who would drop by if they knew where it was even if they aren’t speaking up.
The open gaming area of Embassy Suites is an excellent spot, because in evenings there are lots of people gaming there. A public spot makes it easier to draw curious people in, even if they have no idea what Braunstein is.
Game is on for 1 pm Saturday. Contact Major Wesely at number above for details.
I heard a rumor that about 10 people played in this session. That’s a great turnout. Who’s got the full report?