Advance! 2025

The FOURTH annual Advance! miniature wargaming convention hosted by the San Diego Historical Miniature Wargamers will take place on April 05, 2025 at the La Mesa Community Center. This is a new venue with expanded room to support bigger and better gaming!

Focused on miniature gaming, there will also be several tournaments/group events and a Flea market.

Bookmark this page to be on the lookout for details to follow, and for any questions, feel free to send an e-mail to the Advance! 2025 General Staff at: advance.SDHMWG@gmail.com.

QR code to Advance! 2025

Feel free to share this QR code with anyone you think may be interested to help Advance! continue to be the Premier 1-day Miniature Convention in California!

  • La Mesa Community Center

    4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa, CA 91942

    There is parking on site at the Community Center. An overflow parking lot exists across Memorial Drive at Kuhlken Field. There may be street parking in the neighborhood with either meters or restrictions.

    Click the link below for access to a parking map and more information on the town of La Mesa (food options, things-to-do, etc.).

    Additional Information

  • See the schedule below for a comprehensive list of available games, tournaments, and events.

  • Have stuff you want to see re-homed? Interested in finding that obscure mini you’ve always wanted? Tables will be available to set-up for sellers at $10/table. Get your table reservation using the Advance! 2025 Store (button below or navigation link above)!

For convention ticket and flea market tables, click on the button below or the “Advance! 2025 Tickets” link above in the navigation!

Advance! 2025 Painting Competition!!!!

Welcome to the Advance! SECOND Annual Painting Competition! After an amazing inaugural event in 2024, we are excited to see more of the incredible talent and craftsmanship of miniature painters from across the realm. See below for categories, descriptions, and full rules for the competition.

  • This category celebrates the best painted historical military units. From ancient warriors to modern soldiers, showcase your skill in bringing historical battles to life on the tabletop. Must contain at least FIVE miniatures to qualify as a “unit”.

  • Delve into the intricate details of historical personalities, heroes and figures with this category. Whether it’s a knight in shining armor or a renowned general, let your brushstokes capture the essence of history.

  • Show off your mastery in painting historical vehicles, war machines, or weapons in this category. Be it a tank from World War II or a medieval siege weapon, bring these iconic pieces of history to vivid life.

  • Unleash your creativity with this category, where sci-fi and fantasy worlds collide. From alien creatures to mythical beings, let your imagination run wild and paint a ingle figure that embodies the essence of these genres.

Categories

Testimonials from previous Advance! Conventions

  • I had such a blast playing in this game, commanding the right flank for the rebels. I lost an entire line of foot in one shot to devastating cannon fire, and barely managed to hold on as my fellow commanders seized the day on the left and center flanks. Thanks so much to Bill, Wade, John, Owen, Jon, and Chuck for a great battle and warm welcome to the hobby.

    Garrett Kelly

  • A big "Thank You" to the guys (and gals) who did the hard work to make Advance! the success it was. It was so great to see so many gaming friends all in one place.

    John Kevin Smith

  • Great game (10mm ACW Commands & Colors), had a great time playing it. Thanks to the gamemaster and the other players who made the game so enjoyable.

    John E. Barsanti

  • Great day at ADVANCE 2023! I got there halfway through but there was lots of action, great looking tables, and of course, a lot of happy people.

    Tom Seeling

  • Just got back home from Advance '23. The premier historical gaming convention of SoCal. Had a great time and already looking forward to next year's. I can see it becoming the Historical Rendezvous of Wargamers of SoCal .

    Luis Medrano

  • Thank you for the warm welcome. DMH (Dead Man's Hand) had 2 other players joining the table. Great play with Mike and Anders. It was my 4th time running a game of DMH for a group. I enjoyed it very much.

    Elliot Aleman-Gomez

  • Great con!

    Michael Sterling

Friends and Sponsors

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

— Cicero

Thanks to all the entities below who helped to make Advance! 2024 a success!!!!

Keep checking back to see our sponsors for 2025 - the list is growing!!!

A Special Thanks to the following individuals:

  • John Kevin Smith

    Hallowed Grognard, Donor

  • Megan Loughran

    Convention Admin

  • Ben Cornelius

    Painting Judge

Just some of what you might see at Advance!

List of Games

Advance! 2025 Schedule of Events

  • Check back again to see games as they're scheduled!

  • Club Game

    Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM, later if needed Gamemaster: H.G. Wells Ruleset: LIttle Wars Scale: 28mm Max Players: 12

    Placeholder

  • Battle of Asculum

    Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM Gamemaster: Anthony Nicklo Ruleset: Age of Hannibal Scale: 6mm Max Players: 6

    The Battle of Asculum was a poorly documented battle that took place near Asculum (modern Ascoli Satriano) in 279 BC, and was thought to have lasted either one or two days, between the Roman Republic under the command of the consuls Publius Decius Mus (who by some accounts died before the battle) and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, and the forces of King Pyrrhus of Epirus. The battle took place during the Pyrrhic War, after the Battle of Heraclea of 280 BC, which was the first battle of the war. There currently exists accounts of this battle only by three ancient historians: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, although these historians in turn reference other historians whose work is now lost. Asculum was in Lucanian territory, in southern Italy. The Battle of Asculum was the original "Pyrrhic victory". The result of the battle is not definitively known, with Plutarch stating that it was a pyrrhic Greek victory, Cassius Dio recording it as a Roman victory. The constituents of both armies are also poorly known, with each historian offering largely divergent estimates for the strength of the armies or the length of the battle.

  • Assault on the Reichstag

    Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM Gamemaster: Andrew Sadera Ruleset: Bolt Action v3 Scale: 28mm Max Players: 8

    Relive the Soviet assault of the Reichstag on April 30, 1945!

  • Dropfleet Commander

    Time: All Day Gamemaster: Joseph Fusco Ruleset: Dropfleet Commander 2.0 Scale: 10mm Max Players: 12

    Casual Atmosphere and gameplay (Newbies Welcome)
    One 1250 Point List
    3 Rounds, plus possible playoffs depending on time/interest
    Scenario Pack will be provided
    Bring your models, components, and an actual or printed rulebook (free online)
    Fully painted not required but preferred (Try to at least to not be grey)
    Clear and reasonable proxies allowed
    E-mail me for any other questions! (bonusjoe35@gmail.com)

  • War in the Pacific

    Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM Gamemaster: Michael Schundler Ruleset: Bolt Action Scale: 28mm Max Players: 4

    British Indian ground forces have been dispatched to destroy a Japanese airfield being used to resupply Japanese forces in the area.

  • COSPLAYERS HAVE RUINED THE CONVENTION AGAIN!

    Time: 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM Gamemaster: Chris Kohler Ruleset: Wild in the Streets Scale: 32mm Max Players: 6

    It's time for comic con and you and your crew are headed down to buy some exclusives, get some autographs and sit through some panels. But what is that over there? Cosplayers! They're going to get in line in front of you to buy the last exclusive, annoy your favorite artist and make your convention experience terrible. Time to get their cat ear wearing heads into headlocks and drag them away from the convention center. I also heard that one of the other gangs invited them. We should probably teach them a lesson as well.

    Wild In The Streets is a fast and furious game of gangs of youth subcultures battling it out. This scenario is played on a 3x3 table. All terrain, minis, tokens, etc will be supplied by the GM. Bring your favorite d10s if you are particular about dice.

Convention Schedule

A Full Day!

Morning, Afternoon, and Evening gaming. Click on the button to see a single page graphically listing the current overall slate of games and times!

Prospective GMs

We are ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW GAMES!!! Interested in hosting a game? See the contact information to the right, please provide the Advance! 2025 General Staff your contact information and details regarding your game (table size needed, preferred times, number of participants, etc.)

NOTE

Non-Club member GMs will receive a free ticket to Advance! (one free ticket per game)