Barely time to breathe after MK Campaign last weekend and we're off to Newark for Partizan. The team for the day was me, Chris, Steve and Jason. Chris A stopped by as well and minded the stand periodically.
Very busy show. Even more display / participation games than usual. The tendency towards groups out doing each other with bigger and bigger 28mm diorama battles is squeezing the space available. Trade stands were down (e.g. no Helion stand) and the space between tables at our end is getting tight. We didn't have room for all of our banners behind our society pitch, either, even with one "out on the floor".
We don't compete with the high profile displays. We can't really. When Phil was fit before his stroke we had a go with the 28mm Edgcote game, with really nicely figures and a go at sculpted terrain (although that never really worked - the restrictions we have on storage and transport mean we can't do the heavy block boards) but it was obvious we weren't competing. Nowadays what we do is derived from existing collections and is based on what'll fit in the boot of an estate car along with our show stand materials. We try to stand out by spending time with people who want to talk about the game and the history. WW1 (and WW2 to some extent) attract a fair number of "my grandfather..." conversations and we do get questions we can't answer. Including one about some convoluted Great War career involving the Northamptonshire Yeomanry.
First game was played by "Jason's dad". Jason is a student at UoN from Lincolnshire, so he had the double motive for being there of effectively hitching a ride half way home as well as getting free show entry, all for the price of helping to run a wargame.
The game has proved to be surprisingly engaging. There was a bit of a WW1 theme in our area (see below) and we got good reactions to how we were handling the barrage part of the game. The depth of barrage is something not normally simulated in wargames. In this game the initial barrage is 750 metres deep (!) and probably should be deeper (!!)
"Jason's Dad" got a win without too much unpleasantness. He took a lot of hits from a flanking MG post, but bravely went for a VC, and captured the position.
We were watched intently by Dave, who asked to play when we'd done. We took a fifteen minute break to reset the game, then Chris and Jason ran it for him. Here you can see him discussing the game with Chris (also a nice picture of Chris' game cartoon). He was a very meticulous player, which is probably right for a late period Great War game.
The third (and final) game was played by two friends, whose names I never got. They did run into some trouble with some very poor British artillery dropping short on them, coupled with some unlucky dice in combat.
They did get a win, however, with a few turns to spare.
As I said, there were other WW1 games going on.
This is a great looking 6mm game of Neuve Chapelle in 1915, so the other end of the war to us, also a much larger battle. It was taking 3 -4 hours to play (we get done in about 60 minutes) and looked to me to be doing the subject justice.
There was also this 28mm take on the period. I'm guessing it was late war, with the number of tanks on show (there's a Schneider and A7V off table in addition to the Renaults and Mark IV or V on the board). I think it's a skirmish game. You've got French, and British and some Indian cavalry, and what looks like a 15cm howitzer in the left hand top corner. I can't work out the scale. I'm sure it made sense to the organisers but I don't know what it tells you about the Great War. Nice painting and modelling, however, which is what counts at Partizan. [I've since read a review by Goonhammer and that's convinced me that the rules used - "Zero Hour" - really aren't my thing. It looks like a sort of "bath tubbing" which in this case seems it isn't really about anything.]
On the shopping front I didn't have much chance to browse. I did want some dice in specific sizes and colours, but no one was stocking them at a price I'm prepared to pay. I'm not paying £3.50 for three d8s. I also wanted some paint and brushes, which I got. I'd have parted with cash for some books if Helion had been there, most likely, so that saved me some pounds.
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