GZG ECC -- Ground Zero Games, East Coast Convention

What is GZG ECC?

The Ground Zero Games/East Coast Convention (GZG ECC) is a gathering of fans of Jon Tuffley's science fiction rules for miniatures. This is being done on a non-profit, volunteer basis, for fun and friendship, and the opportunity to watch Mark 'Indy' Kochte miss with pulse torps. *grin*

GZG ECC has five event periods with various games with prizes, a miniatures contest, a vendors area, door prizes, a trading/swap area and open gaming. Prizes in the past have been donated by GZG, Brigade Miniatures, Decals Express, Combat Wombat, Force XXI, King and Kerr, Starmats Plus, among others.

Currently the convention committee consists of Jon Davis, Jerry Han, and Mark Kochte.

What games do we play at GZG ECC?

	Full Thrust Full Thrust is a set of generic rules for simulating starship combat in ny background. The system includes rules for missiles, beam weapons, fighters, asteroids, FTL travel, sensors, and other aspects of starship combat. Extremely adaptable, it has been used in house rules around the world, as well generating three supplements, More Thrust and Fleet Book, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 It also forms the basis for the starship combat system in The Babylon Project. These rules are available online for free: Full Thrust (or Full Thrust Lite, for an introduction to the system.) More Thrust: This has been superseded by the two Fleet Books Fleet Book 1 Fleet Book 2 References to FT3 relate to the 3rd Edition of Full Thrust, currently under development. People at GZG ECC have run several playtests of these rules.
	Dirtside II Dirtside II is a comprehensive set of generic rules for simulating science fiction battles in virtually any background or "future history." The system covers combined arms actions from a few platoons up to a full battalion combat group level. Rules are included for infantry, AFVs of all types, artillery, aerospace support and landings, combat walkers, and much more! The game is designed for use with 1:300/1:285/6mm scale miniatures, but will function equally well with 1:200 or other scales. Download the rules here: Dirtside II
	Stargrunt II Stargrunt II is a comprehensive set of generic rules for simulating science-fiction infantry combat in virtually any background. The system covers actions for a few squads up to a full company level. Rules are included for infantry, power armoured troops, AFVs, artillery, and aerospace support and much more! The game is designed for use with 25mm scale miniatures, but will function equally well with 15mm or other scales. Download the rules here: Stargrunt II
	Babylon Project: Earthforce Source Book The Earthforce Sourcebook outlines the structure of Earthgov's military arm, delves into the military life, details Earthforce facilities and ships, and features The Babylon Project's ship-to-ship combat system. Originally published by Chameleon Eclectic Entertainment, Inc., this book is now out of print, but still has its supporters, and each GZG ECC usually features one or two events based on this rulesbook.
	Power Projection Power Projection features sci-fi miniatures space combat in the classic universe of Traveller, inspired by Full Thrust. The two books currently in the series are completely standalone, and contain rules for fighting smaller and larger ships. Power Projection: Fleet contains campaign and ship conversion rules in addition to the combat sequences. More information here!
	Full Metal Anorak FMA, or Full Metal Anorak is a set of skirmish sci-fi combat rules, played at both 15mm or 25mm, that Jon Tuffley released for playtesting several years ago. It's been running in playtest at GZG ECC ever since. It features the same type of mechanics of Stargrunt II, except focusing on man to man combat.

What other events do you guys have?

We usually have a miniatures contest, vendors, the infamous quote board, a swap table, food from House of Pizza, 'unofficial' games, among other things. Finally, we usually get to playtest new GZG products at the convention... come on out and see what we'll have this year.

Where does GZG ECC take place?

The conventions take place at the Owego Treadway Inn, located in Owego, NY. We'll be running organized events starting Friday evening, all through Saturday, and Sunday morning.

More Information on the Owego Treadway Inn

When does GZG ECC take place?

We aim for a timeslot in late February, early March, every year.

Our next convention is GZG ECC XIV, running February 25 - February 27, 2011.

What about Registration?

Registration information for the next convention is usually posted in two parts. The first part is the "Call for Events", and is usually posted in mid-September of the previous year. The pre-registration announcement usually goes up in late November, early Decmeber.

The next convention is GZG ECC XIV, running February 25 - February 27, 2011. The "Call for Events" will go up in September 2010, and Pre-Registration will be announced in November/December 2010.

How much does it cost?

You can either pre-register for GZG ECC, or pay at the door. For GZG ECC XIII (February, 2010), our rates were:

Friday Only - $10
Saturday Only - $15
Sunday Only - $10
Pre-register for the weekend - $30

More information is announced when registration starts. As this convention is non-profit, we try very hard to keep prices as low as possible. Our current prediction is that we'll be able to keep the February 2011 rates the same as those posted above.

What about Volunteers?

We always need volunteers to help us run this convention! If you can sit at the front desk, or run an event or two, that would be great. We'd like all official events to be GZG games, or variants thereof.

If you want to volunteer for the next convention, you can email Jon Davis. If you would like to run an event, please specify the title and description of the event, the number of players, what ruleset you'll be using, what difficulty level is the event, and a timeslot preference, if any. More detail is provided in the "Call For Events" that comes out about five or six months ahead of the convention.

Con Volunteers will get $5 off their registration fee at the end of the convention.

We also need people to help spread the word about us! You can download our poster, print it out, and pass it around (or hang it in your local hobby store), or display one of our banners on your web site! Link to us, tell people all about us.

Thanks!