A Partisan View - Part 2

Having posted all of the eye candy photos earlier, it's time to take look at what I thought of the show and my general experience of it. So in no particular order:

The Journey

I know this might not sound too linked to the show, but having spent the majority of my working life cycling to work and small local journeys, anything over an hour away seems a long distance to me! Fortunately Google maps showed me a variety of routes, all of which were just over 3 hours away, so not much different to when I take the rare trip to London. The A46 option was the shortest and setting off when I did, was a very quiet and leisurely journey, until the last few roundabouts which took some concentration! So now I know it is an easy show to get to and from, this has certainly become one I will attend on a regular basis, all being well.

The Venue

You can't fault the setting for the show, which has ample car park spaces and plenty of areas to take a break from the show. It reminds me somewhat of Colours in that regards, but nicer to be honest. The only downside I would say is that it got very hot and stuffy inside and they could have opened the doors at either end to let in some fresh air!

The Vibe

Well this has to be the friendliest show I've ever been to! The staff on the door were very cheerful, as were the Partizan staff in and around the hall. The whole atmosphere was very positive and everyone seemed to be having such a great time. Normally I come away from shows a bit tired, but not this one. Well done to all those involved for making it such a great experience.

The Senses

If there is a downer it is that the show is in some regards a victim of its own success, as there were so many people there (record numbers?), it did get very noisy very quickly, as well as rather hot and stuffy as mentioned before. I had planned on meeting up with Norm Smith (Battlefield & Warriors Blog) but due to said noise, neither of us could hear our phones ring, vibrate etc. First world problems and all that I know! Visually as well there is just so much to take in, so much so that it took me about 3 circuits of the show to make sure I hadn't missed any games, but even then I did miss a few that were tucked away in a corner, hidden by the visitors. I think if it had been a bit cooler, I would have stayed longer so that I could really appreciate all that was on offer. Maybe The Other Partizan in October might be better in that regards?

The Games

The show was always known for being a 28mm one, but nowadays they have a wider range of scales on offer, from the classic Kreigspiel board, through 6mm alll the way up to 54mm, so something for most tastes, which is what one wants from a show. The games ranged from one that you could easily put on at home and importantly if you're starting out, right through to the massive and spectacular ones, such as those by the Boondock Sayntes et al. 

The Inspiration

All of the games had something that piqued my interest, som emore so than others. So in this regards it works perfectly to give us gamers a often much needed shot of motivation and inspiration. I'm sure if time had permitted, I would have found more to inpsire me, but there was more than enough as it was.

The Demo vs Participation Offerings

A really good mix this year, but sadly for me I didn't have the time to try any out, which was a shame. All of the tables had someone willing to have a chat and nearly all had excellent signage as to what was being put on, so full marks for that!

variety of games and their standard, from entry level to the spectacular

The Societies

Again a good mix this year and with all of them ready and willing to have a chat. I enjoyed talking with the Northampton Battlefield Society about their exhibits of medieval weapons, expecially their arrows and hand weapons, all of which you were able to handle. Just holding a well balanced sword is quite enlightening and having used tools all of my life, you know how much impact this would have if it hit you, even if it didn't make a cut! The 21eme Regiment de Ligne were great chaps to talk to and a real laugh too, so this made it an engaging conversation, although I did feell for them wearing woolen uniform tops!

The Chats

As it was so busy I only managed to have a chat with Phil Olley about his game, which I'd been following the progress of on his Blog. Nice to have that chance and to talk about showing games that are accessible for newbies, but ones that can still look great and all on a 6' x 4' table.

The Traders

Well fingers crossed they had a good show, as with what appeared to be record numbers of visitors and the fact they seemed busy all day, it needs this to keep them attending shows. We all know some of the 'big players' have cut back or stopped attending, which is a shame but understandable, ditto some of the smaller players too. Pendraken have had to wait for years to get a spot and thankfully now they are a regular at this show, but they are the only 'small scale' trader that I could see. Now Baccus or H&R, which is a shame, as it would be nice to have a 6mm offering for us gamers to have a peruse of.

 

The Haul

I had no plans on anything I wanted to buy, so just went to see what was on offer and came up with the following purchase:

The ruined buildings are 6mm Battlescale ones that Pendraken also retail and I've been interested in for a while, so treated myself. Ditto the landing craft that are not always in stock on the Pendraken website, but seeing them in the flesh allowed my to choose the ones I liked. I'm not sure if my 10mm tanks will fit inside, but I have some 1:200 ones that should, just to give that look as they approach the beach. The Rapid Fire! scenario book ticked all the boxes for my France 1940 campaign, even though it doesn't come with a full OOB for each scenario, it is easy enough to convert it to BKCII or just use them as generic scenarios. Plenty of eye candy inside too.

The Best Show ?

Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, but I think it safe to say that this is the best show on the circuit, or certainly one that is within relatively easy reach and accessible to me. Looking at the attendance I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this view! I know it will become a regular show for me and possibly The Other Partizan too. It does make you realise how lucky we are on our small island to have so many good shows to go to and some that are simply outstanding like this one!

TTFN.