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The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, Inc. (HMGS, Inc.) promotes the study of military history through the hobby of historical tabletop miniature wargaming as a registered non-profit 501(c)3 charitable educational membership organization. The association was incorporated in the state of Maryland in July 1986.
HMGS, Inc. has over 2,000 members worldwide. HMGS, Inc. sponsors three major gaming conventions yearly, Historicon, Cold Wars, and Fall-In!, as well as special events and seminars by distinguished historians. Each convention is dedicated to providing the best miniature wargames featuring historical scenarios. There is also a large vendor hall where attendees may purchase hobby and gaming materials and supplies. Each convention features more than 500 events, a flea market called "Wally's Basement" after founder Walter Simon, a seminar series, painting contest, and Paint'N'Take. The conventions also offers classes dedicated to teaching hobby skills like painting and sculpting from beginner to advanced levels at their Hobby University. Cold Wars is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and happens in March every year. Historicon takes place in July, is the largest show and is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Fall-In! occurs in November in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Members of HMGS, Inc. get discounts to the conventions, an electronic newsletter and an online member community to share history studies. They have an active social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
There is a loose federation of other organizations using the name Historical Miniatures Gaming Society - some using the term "chapter" but in fact there is no chartering national organization and no legal/formal connection between the various groups. HMGS, Inc. is the original and largest group.
HMGS-Midwest. This group runs the convention "Little Wars" (Lombard, Illinois). Generally this is held during the last weekend in April. There are over 200 miniature events, a vendor area, flea market, paint-n-take, and a War College. They administer the historical miniature events at Garycon (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin) and Nexus (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) game conventions. They also host gaming events at What-Khan (Rockford, Illinois), Adepticon (Schaumberg, Illinois) and Gencon (Indianapolis, Indiana). Membership includes a number of discounts from a growing amount of regional gaming stores with their membership card. HMGS-Midwest publishes an electronic PDF newsletter quarterly and has a long-standing and active Facebook page
HMGS-Great Lakes runs the historical events at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio.
HMGS-South is located in Florida. The group supports two conventions each year: "Hurricon" in September in Orlando and “Recon” in April also in Orlando. In addition to miniature wargaming these conventions host gaming events in other genres including Role-playing, and recently German-style board games. HMGS-South was founded in March 1996. The group uses the Bonnie Blue Flag to symbolize their reverence to history and location.
HMGS Northwest is based in the Pacific Northwest with members primarily from Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Two major conventions are supported each year: Enfilade in Olympia over Memorial Day, and Tactical Solutions in Spokane usually over the Columbus Day weekend in October. Several smaller events are sponsored throughout the year. NHMGS publishes an electronic PDF magazine about quarterly called The Citadel and has a long-standing and active Yahoo! Group.