Colours 2022 - A Show Report

With the arrival of the 1st September and the beginning of Autumn (the meteorological one that is) it's like a switch flicks on in my brain and my mind really does turn back to wargaming. This change is more than aided by the Colours wargames show that I last attended in 2019, which frankly seems a lifetime ago and a different World, yet it is only 3 years past. The show always gives me plenty of ideas and inspiration for the forthcoming campaign season as the nights begin to draw in and the weather takes a turn for the worse.

However attendance was doubtful until the last minute as our car had a little prang and I only got a replacement courtesy car on Wednesday. Then there was the very sad news the following day that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had died. With a period of mourning declared it wasn't clear whether the show would go ahead or even if it felt right. Clarification was received the day before the show that it was indeed on and the the venue hadn't cancelled either.

So Saturday dawned and early morning I was in the car and on the way to the show. I arrived just before 10.00am when the doors were due to open and there was already a long queue stretching right back into the car park itself, which I've never seen before. A combination of free entry this year and 3 years away was most likely the reason. The doors opened and very quickly I was inside. My first port of call was the Pendraken stand where I had a chat with Leon and Adele, bought a few items (more of which later) and then did my customary quick tour of the show, before returning to make a more considered trip around the traders and demo games. 

Enough waffle and preamble from me and onto the photos, which I imagine most of you really want to see. I took these at the end of my visit, so all a bit rushed but hopefully they will give you an idea of the games on show.

A Napoleonic 1813 game put on by Steve Deeprose and his son, using General d'Armee rules.

It was Austrian versus Poles and some French and all the figures were wonderfully painted.

IIRC the Austrians were taking a bit of a beating at this point.

The Society of Ancients game, to aid those with constipation 😉.

Elephants and pike phalanxes always prove a popular draw.

The figures were beautfully painted and the mat was made from carpet tiles that had some paint applied and looked very effective indeed. A neat idea for sure.

A very poor shot of the Battle of Roundway Down using For King & Parliament rules.

A nice selection of 6mm and 10mm figures, all beautifully painted, to show that there are options other than 28mm.

The Battle of Pakzod, Hungarian Revolution 1848 with the excellent Bloody Big Battles rules.

Simple terrain but a cost effective way to reproduce the details in from the maps.

Loughton Strike Force and Mordheim. 

The table was superb to look at, as were the figures.

Lots of detail everywhere. This was a game that I used to play an awful lot back in the late '90's and early 2000's. 

Wargames Assosciation of Reading and the Battle of Adrianople 378AD (I think).

A nice wagon laager with lots of detail.

Masses of cavalry, something that I would not enjoy painting!

Bruce Weigle and his superb Invasion of Malta 1942 game. 

A joy to behold, with printed Google Earth details on fabric to make up the boards.

I just loved the effort and detail that Bruce, as always, puts into his games.

Bruce on the top right. The game was busy right from opening, probably aided by the recent Little Wars TV video of the game.

The figures were 3mm and each stand was half a Battalion IIRC.

Newbury & Reading Wargamers and Graeco-Indian vs Indians Ancients.

The figures looked good but I couldn't get close enough to take some nice photos. Sorry about that.

Maidenhead Reapers and a Venice Canal skirmish game circa 1795.

Nigel Emson and an ACW game, using Muskets & Springfield rules (I presume).

Again, very nice figures.

The terrain was basic but shows that you don't need museum quality terrain to put on a game.

In contrast a highly detailed 28mm game set in the Oosterbeek perimeter.

British Paras.

Lots of detail all over the board, but again hard to see due to its popularity.

Strength & Honours rules being demoed. Beer mat gaming as my friend Keith called them and I can see why. Not my thing at all but again seemed popular all day, so what do I know?

Peter Pig demo game.

An unusual period for a set of rules, but why not?

My 'haul' from Pendraken. Last of the big spenders me😉! These were bought to aid making some dismounted horse holders for various periods, as well as table decoration and for scenarios.

I can't leave the show without buying some books and I picked these up from Anita's Books as I was leaving. 

Thoughts and Musings on the Show

I had a very enjoyable 4 hours at the show and last night I jotted down some points that came to mind whilst I was relaxing at home. Without further ado and in no particular order:

• With the current cost of living crisis that we are all experiencing in various degrees, there is of course the costs involved of getting to and from a show. For me these were about £25 in fuel, which is markedly up from 3years ago for obvious reasons. Is it worth it attending the show in this respect given that my my modest purchases cost me a Princely £17.50? Of course not but as I think we've all come to appreciate since Covid, theres is much more than the financial aspect to consider. 
• I've certainly appreciated the social side of the show so much more this year as last time I attended, I was still employed and lockdown hadn't hit. Since then being at home for the vast majority of the time and having little social interaction, just being able to get out of the house and mix with others gamers was a real pleasure. I bumped into my good friend Keith Flint early on and we then spent the best part of 3 hours wandering around, perusing, chatting and taking it all in at our leisure, which was nice. If I hadn't seen Keith I doubt I would have stayed for more than an hour. Attending a show solo felt like drinking in the pub on your own, which whilst OK, is not the same as doing it with friends.
• A few of the gamers I met knew about my role as a parent/carer and the challenges that I, and we as a family, face. So I was very touched when they actually asked how I was doing. So thankyou to those who took the time to check in on me as it were.
• Colours always feels like a wargames show that has traders with some games tacked on at the end, compared to Partizan which is the complete opposite. This year was no different and certainly until post lunchtime the top floor where the games were was quite quiet, as most attendees were shopping for goodies. This changed later on with more activity on the top floor.
• This year there were less games on show and it felt quite empty, rather more like a club night, which was not helped by some no-shows on the day. Naturally things happen at the last minute which means people have to cancel, but this year it was very noticeable. Hats off to those that did put on games as having done it in the past, I know how much time and effort is involved.
• I was pondering on not attending the show this year but when I saw that Bruce Weigle would be attending, as well as Chris Pringle and the Oxford Wargames Group with the Hungarian Revolution game, I definitely made my mind up to visit the show. As always Bruce Weigle was a pleasure to chat with and took some time to explain to Keith and I the research he had undertaken for his game, including finding the original Italian OOB and plans for the invasion. He was in constant demand with the game so it was nice that he took the time away from the game to chat with us. Ditto with Chris Pringle at his game and he also had a proof copy of the new BBB Hungarian Revolution 1848 scenario book that will most certainly be on my birthday list.
• The greying of the hobby is much discussed and certainly on show were plenty of middle aged and older grey haired white men, with just a smattering of younger generations to be seen. To me this was in quite marked contrast compared to when I took our son to the recent Pokemon World Championships in London, where there was a huge range of ages (well up to people in their 30's let's say) gender and ethnicity on show. Earlier in the year I watched a good programme on an auction house specialising in toys, where they are seeing a marked increase in complete train sets for sale, as people are no longer entering the hobby like they used to. I do wonder if we will see this in the future, where those lovely Minifigs or Spencer Smiths figures no longer as seen as worthy of having.
• If you are a 28mm gamer, you are in Seventh Heaven at this show as there is just sooo much out there for you. Fortunately the smaller 'scales' were represented by Pendraken and Baccus (I missed H&R if they were there), although interestingly this year Peter Pig didn't have any of the miniatures with them. Given the dominance of this 'scale' as shown by the WS&S survey and Jon Freitag's excellent analysis, this is not surprising.
• I do wonder if the traders, especially those selling books which I tend to frequent the most, actually check the prices they are charging. One book I saw was over three times the price on another stand. Then I know that many of the books for sale can be bought much more cheaply via ebay, Abebooks etc, if you have a bit of patience. Whilst it is nice to see the book itself and to see what you are getting for your money, some are wrapped so that you cannot even open them, which I find really frustrating. Hats off to Anita's Books that always have very competitive prices, are very friendly and for the most part have books that are not wrapped!

So I think time to end it there and well done if you have made it this far! Thanks to Keith for making the visit such an enjoyable one and to the other gamers and traders that I chatted with. I most certainly enjoyed myself.

Next up is a game at Chris Gregg's and a 1745 Jacobite Rebellion bash. Alongside this I'm busy painting figures for the Cotswold Wargames Day in two week time. Nearly done but I'm not taking my foor of the gas just yet. Pics to follow I promise!

Until next time stay safe, keep healthy and God Save the King!