Brad Meloy recently ran some epic games at HMGS Cold Wars in Lancaster, PA and he’s shared a quick report of the action.
Cold Wars 2026
Cold Wars is a wargaming convention hosted by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society during February or March. It was hosted at the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center in Lancaster, PA, February 5-8 this year.
In spite of extremely cold weather and competition with the Super Bowl more than 800 gamers attended the convention this year. This is the second time since the pandemic for the Cold Wars convention.
You can enjoy a great tour of the game board in this video from Bill’s Wargame World:
Morgan’s 1671 Raid On Panama City
After running epic games of El Morro last year, Brad has put together a new scenario representing Morgan’s infamous attack on Panama City in 1671. Here is Brad’s summary report:
On January 28, 1671, the buccaneers finally arrived at the gates of Panama. The President of Panama, Don Juan Pérez de Guzmán, had wished to fight the invaders along the river, but his men refused, so he organized a last-ditch defense on a plain just outside the city. On paper, the forces looked equal. Pérez had some 1,600 men, including 400 cavalry, and Morgan had about 1,500 men. Morgan’s men had better weapons and much more experience. Still, Don Juan hoped that his cavalry – his only real advantage – might carry the day.
- Games run: 4
- Player totals 24 (all games full)
- Rules = Large army rules adjusted
- Slotted for 2hrs but most went 2.5hrs and made it to turn 5
Spanish Forces
Spanish Side (2 players)
- Player 1 – Don Perz Guzman 8” command 2 pts
- 1 Caballeria unit of 6 Trained
- 1 Milicianos Reformados unit of 10 Trained
- 1 Soldados Reformados unit of 8 Trained
- Player 2 – Father Miranda & an Officer attached to the Cavalry
- 2 Caballeria units of 6 Trained
- 2 Milicianos Reformados unit of 10 Trained
- 1 Soldados Reformados unit of 8 Trained
English Forces
English Side (4 players)
- Morgan’s Men
- Morgan player Henery Morgan 20” 3 pts
- 3 Freebooters units of 10 trained
- 1 Sea Dogs unit 10 Trained
- English Buccaneers
- Player 2-4
- Untested English Buccaneer Commander 4” 1 pt
- 3 Freebooters units of 10 Trained
- 1 Sea Dogs unit of 10 Trained
Board Set Up
The English started at the far end of the town with the goal of taking the church. The Spanish started around the large church building.
Wins & Losses
Over the course of the convention, the English did better and better.
- Game 1 – Spanish win
- Game 2-3 – Ties very close on win conditions
- Game 4 – Overwhelming Morgan victory
Convention Awards
The table won a P.E.L.A. ( Pour Encourager Les Autres) “To Encourage Others” & Best over all Terrain table of the con.
Photos of the game
More Coverage of Cold Wars
Little Wars TV does great video coverage of the HMGS conventions. In their video intro, just as the exclaim about the quality of games, they cut to Brad’s table!
You can see a clip of the El Morro assault on San Juan at 10:37,
And a spotlight on Morgan’s Panama Raid at 13:55 (fair warning, their video is kind of a downer on the condition of the convention overall)
This video report on Cold Wars opens up with pictures of El Morro and Panama:
Final Thoughts
There are some amazing games of Blood & Plunder happening at conventions right now! Make sure to get out there and jump in. HMGS events used to be a center of Blood & Plunder activity and Brad and Tyler have been working to rebuild that after the COVID unpleasantness. There was a promising looking tournament scheduled, but it had to be called off because of low registration. Get out there to these HMGS events! They are really great.
And if you want some tips on running an event at your local con, we hope to have Brad on the Podcast soon and I’m sure he’ll give us some good advice.
Make sure to check out Adepticon and Historicon as excellent wargaming conventions featuring Blood & Plunder.
Special thanks to Brad Meloy for the report, and Brad and Tyler Stone for the pictures.