Another year, another Partizan show! So yesterday I set off just before 5.30am for the relatively easy drive to the show, as there's so little traffic about then, it's almost pleasurable. The same cannot be said for the M1, M5 and M4 on the way back though! This year I took a slight detour to pick up David Morfitt, of Not By Appointment Blog fame, which made for very pleasurable company to and from the show. I think we put the World to rights in our own small way!
We arrived at the show in good time, which gave me a chance to unwind and relax. Unfortunately just as the doors were due to open, their contactless payment system went down. Not carrying cash (I don't know when I last paid for anything in cash!) meant I was somewhat stuck! The organisers were sending out conflicting messages in that you could still book online, which proved not to be the case, but luckily they then said there was a cash machine a few minutes drive away. So in the end instead of getting into the show when it was relatively quiet at 10.00am, I didn't get in until about 10.45am and by then it was heaving! I must admit this did not put me in the best of moods, but after a wander around I got into the swing of things and started to enjoy myself
Having done a wander around to see what was on offer, I took a break outside for some lunch and then popped back in when it was a bit quieter and easier to see the tables to take some photos. In the end I ran out of time to get to some of the games and tables on show, but I did get the ones I really liked. So without further ado:
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| These chaps always put on a superb display, and this year was no exception. |
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| The Bunker and their 'Wild Geese' game. |
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| Elephant hunting in a tank?! |
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| Another very nice and doable game. |
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| Shrewsbury Wargames Club and their wonderful Samurai game. |
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| This castle was superb. |
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| The Battle of Minden. |
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| So many lovely flags on show. |
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| The Assault on Kawajima Castle. |
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| Another beautiful Japanese castle to behold. |
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| Glasgow Tradestone Wargames Club and the Battle of White Hill, Thirty Years War. |
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| Like A Stonewall club and an 'Action off Finisterre, 22nd July 1805'. |
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| A very impressive game, even though naval wargaming is not my thing at all. |
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| A Barry Hilton game, beautifully presented as always. |
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| An AVBCW game, that sadly I could not get closer too for more photos. |
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| I really liked this game as it gave me plenty of ideas of how to make some future games for BKCII. |
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| A wonderful SYW game. |
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| Is this why they call it Linear Warfare;)! |
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| So many great buildings on this table, as there were on many others too. |
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| An ACW game... |
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| An AWI game...? |
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| Operation Bagration. |
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| This game ticked loads of boxes for me:). |
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| McPherson's Ridge. |
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| The Wargames Illustrated game and table that's recently featured in the magazine. |
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| Simon Millar and his WSS game. |
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| Midgard rules and the Battle of Lewes 1264. |
Post Show Thoughts
Where to begin? Well it was great to meet David Morfitt as mentioned above, but I also met Geoff (Ellie's Dad), a regular commentator on this Blog. Towards the end of my visit, Matt Crump (
Wargames in the Dungeon) spotted me, and then Iain (
caveadsum1471) joined us for a good chat. Luckily for me Matt also spotted David Bickley (
talesfromghq) whom I had hoped to meet at the show last year. It was lovely finally getting to meet him, have a chat, as well as his grandson and Phil Robinson (?) too. I did see some of the Rejects in the distance, and some Vloggers too, but sadly missed Norm Smith (
battlefields and warriors) and David in Suffolk (
russetcoatcpt).
So as is the norm with me, some reflections on the show in no specific order:
- I certainly noticed the increase in cost in attending the show this year, not only in the admission price on the door, but the cost in fuel too (thanks PotUS!).
- The show was even busy than last year, or so it felt. Normally being able to go in as the doors open, you tend to avoid the sheer mass of humanity that I encounted when I did finally enter. Whilst there was much less bumping from rucksacks etc, it was hard to see many of the demo games, with the participation games almost impossible to see or even get to.
- Note to self: take cash next time! But honestly, it felt strange as here in Bristol, some shops have a card only policy now, with others having signs that they still accept cash payments.
- I had no puchases in mind, so didn't really look at any of the traders. With Pendraken not there, there was little to tempt me anyway. I did fancy looking at some of the book sellers, but couldn't face navigating the near constant scrum!
- This year there seemed to be far fewer smaller figure games on show, but maybe because of my late entry, I didn't get to see what was on offer.
- As always the standard of games on show was exceptional. Certainly the availability and affordability of 3D printing has meant that terrain, especially buildings, has come on leaps and bounds. There might have been some MDF buildings on show, but honestly I didn't really notice any. Compare this to say 10 years ago when pre-painted MDf seemed to be everywhere.
- Alongside the superb 'diorama' type games on show, it was good to see ones that you could put on at home or the club, which is really important for those entering the hobby, or even trying carry on in these fiscally challenging times.
- The Russian Civil War 'Back of Beyond' and the WWII Pacific games I really did enjoy, as they gave me loads of ideas and inspiration for my own games. I'm sure the same is true for other gamers and other periods too.
- I had planned on spending about 4 hours at the show, so that I could amble about at leisure, but this was reduced to around 3 due to the problems getting in. There is just so much to see, that you need plenty of time if seeing the games is your thing, rather than shopping.
- Again I think the show is a victim of its own success. It is by far and away the best show in this country, bar none IMHO. But this comes at a cost. Not only was it hard to navigate your way around and see the games or the traders, but it was incredibly noisy, to the point that I had to take a break outside to let my ears recover! It was a bit better after lunch, but then the heat had increased, to the point you could feel it coming out of the hall from 10 yards away as you approached the doors! No easy solutions on this one, other than limiting numbers, which would be hard to do and not desirable from the organisers point of view I'm sure.
- As mentioned last year, I would love to see the traders in one section, the particpation games in another, then the demo games on their own. It's all too jumbled up and a tight squeeze in places at present.
- Seating. Enough said!
Well I think that's enough from me! I hope you enjoyed the photos and possibly my musings too.
TTFN.
Thanks for sharing your day out, Steve. Love the photos and your thoughts on the day. I wasn't there so can't comment myself. However, I do prefer to see a game that I have half a chance of putting on at home.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Richard:). Whilst it is nice seeing the diorama type games, it is rather off putting at the same time, with many of us talking about how much they must cost, where do they store the stuff etc? So having those easily achievable games is a nice counter point.
DeleteYou may have gotten off to a rough start, but I appreciate your perseverance to provide an enjoyable overview of the show. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it Jon and I was happy I stuck with it in the end. first world problems and all that;)!
DeleteTotally agree on the pre-afternoon scrum; it's simply not pleasant and I noticed quite a few wheelchairs and walkers that struggled to get through the choke points. There was wasted space. Warlord had a huge area that was too big for the limited number of customers; I noticed a couple of people sitting on the floor next to there as one of the few free spaces. Other traders were packed in, right next to games and led to blocked points.
ReplyDeleteThere is no convenient meeting point - lots congregate next to the food entrance which creates blockages. Add to which no chairs! Outside doesn't even have enough seating.
The catering is adequate, no more.
I dislike the Showground venue - it's a big shed! Noise levels, thermal comfort and hard floors are not ideal.
Hammerhead pre-Covid, rented the hall across the way in addition - it has carpet - luxury! A dedicated and pleasant catering facility and chairs / tables to sit at. Never since used. The marquee is only so much use.
I think the popularity has outgrown the venue long ago. I don't know what H&S or fire regs would make of it when it's heaving.
However, can't see them moving, unless forced to.
Neil
You make many, many good points there Neil, all of which I agree with! Funnily enough as I was writing up this post, I did wonder how they managed the H&S and Fire Regs bit, as having done some H&S at work as part of my job, it was rather obvious they had no idea how many people were in the venue, other than the clickers they used as you bought tickets, but none for when you left.
DeleteI just looked up capacity - maximum is 3000 for "theatre" performances (?) 1200 for a "banquet" (!) And 960 for a "cabaret" ! Not sure what a wargames show fits into.....
Deletehttps://www.newarkshowground.com/venues/george-stephenson-exhibition-hall/
I assume anything with tables reduces numbers....
Other sites assume max 4000 "standing" whatever that means.
https://www.tagvenue.com/rooms/nottinghamshire/105660/george-stephenson-exhibition-hall/george-stephenson-hall
I'm guessing it's why there are no chairs? As that would make it a banquet or cabaret and so restrict numbers?
The other halls seem to hold less but are more suitable for agricultural events.....some of the smells I encountered on Sunday made me wonder if I was at one!☺☺☺
Neil
I'd love to know how they work out the capacity issue, given the nature of the event. Certainly there were some choke points in places and in the participation games area, the tables seemed far too close together, making it very hard to move around, even for a 'svelte' person like myself! The lunchtime odour was rather rich, but not as bad as one year at Colours, where it poured down whilst people were queueing, so there was a horrible damp smell permeating the whole show!
DeleteFantastic show and photos sir!
ReplyDeleteIt is a great show Michal, and there were some French in the queue in front of me, whom appeared to have come over just for the show!
DeleteHi Steve, thanks for the pictures, I have enjoyed them and as predicted, there are a few games that I know I saw, but didn’t remember them from your shots, such is the overwhelming nature of the show (good).
ReplyDeleteI also note that I am not in any of your shots, so we must have well and truly missed each other …… though your photo of the rear of the StuG is identcal to mine …. So maybe were were stood side-by-side :-)
I would echo Neil’s comment that a. Few years ago, Hammerhead used both the halls to accommodate numbers, it was very good. I don’t know whether that would still be economically viable.
Bummer about getting their early and having to leave to get cash - how irritating, but that must have been the case for a quite a few people, so i think they need a back-up plan when that happens, say a second machine, that has been set-up with one of the organisers or some-such.
I was surprised how many traders took card, usually the internet signal for these things is a problem.
For me, Partizan and Hammerhead are the two best shows. Salute is too far away from me and York is heavily trader based with not enough game eye candy to satisfy me - balance is everything and that is what Partizan / Hammerhead offer.
Seeing the pics on your Blog as well as some on Youtube etc, does show how easy it is to miss many excellent games, whilst struggling to move around the show! I was not the only one who was caught out on the cash front, with a stream of cars leaving the show to find a cash point. It caught the organisers off guard too, as they were naturally struggling to find coins for the change.
DeleteI've been to Salute a few times, but it is a pain to get to, even busier as a show, expensive to park and more of a shopping trip with some games thrown in too. Oh and it is even noisier than Partizan! I think they do need to have a good think about what to do going forward, as the entrance tent just slows things down, having some games right in the way having just paid. It wasn't as enjoyalbe as last year and it did make me think would I really want to come again next year, which is a rather sad state of affairs.
Thanks for the pics Steve! I went, but have stopped taking many photos at this show now - I go with my son and it isn't easy to talk to/keep an eye on him and separately focus on taking the pictures. There were a couple of smaller scale affairs, but they were all in the 'Participation' area - a very nice WW1 game (by Charles Rowntree), and Baccus' Thirty Years' War Lens game. The Operational Manoeuvre Group gents were there with their 10mm moderns, and there was a nice Lego game too.
ReplyDeleteI love nearly all the games, and there is lots to interest me in the trade stands, and I would like to rummage more in the bring&buy, but it is just really, really crowded. The Caliver stand is always a bit special before about 1:30... So I definitely buy less than I intend to at this show, which isn't something wargamers often say!
Would definitely agree with lack of seating both inside and outside too. And there are some notorious chokepoints - for some reason the OG stand seems to be put very, very close to some of the games (over in the far corner, by the toilets).
I wouldn't want to attend the show with a child in tow, as having to keep an eye on them, would mean I'd hardly see anything, especially given how packed the show is, the choke points etc as you mentioned. Yep, the OG stand is not ideally placed to a gentle browse, but the same could be said for many of the traders. I think the only chance is to get in early doors before the great unwashed masses flood the hall;)!
DeleteA cracking report, so many lovely looking games on show, really top notch.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Donnie and there was so much more to see, that I simply did not have the time to take photos of etc.
DeleteThanks for all the pics Steve. Yes, there were a heck of a lot (maybe I actually mean LOT) of games. Well painted figures and terrain - a lovely spectacle, even if there’s zero chance of me ever recreating most of them at home.
ReplyDeleteThere were some very nice Lego figures iirc, but I didn’t get chance to investigate further. Peter Pig’s PBI game looked interesting and easily achievable for the average gamer.
It was nice to finally meet you Steve - the bright orange hoodie worked a treat for easy identification 😉
The event was, as you and others have mentioned, rather crowded. I too preferred it when they used both buildings, but I imagine the additional cost of hiring the second building was probably the deciding factor in “downsizing” just to the single (but still admittedly large) one.
Cheers,
Geoff
So many games in fact Geoff, that I reckon I missed having a good look at over a third of them, maybe even half. Some you could barely get to see what was going on. The more achievable ones in and around the participation zone were on my list, and I only caught a glimpse of the Lego game en passant, so maybe next year if I go, I'll check those out first. I know some chaps in front of me in the queue were wondering why the price had jumped £3.00 since the previous show at the same venue? I imagine the effects of the budget and the Iran conflict coming into play....
DeleteThanks for sharing your photos and thoughts Steve. I don't know how I missed this. Again! Plenty of eye candy.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Chris and I'm sure you'd love the show, even if it is dominated by the larger scales.
DeleteAs always a feast for the eyes Steve....I hope you all realize how lucky you are to have all these shows in the UK, one of the few things I might miss, if I had been to more than 2 or 3 as a teenager!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we don't take it for granted, given that we've lost a good few shows post Covid. At one point there were 3 shows back to back in the same part of the country, so completely diluting attendance and spending etc. Whilst I don't really spend at the shows, given I realistically have all I need, I do like to see what's going on, meet fellow bloggers etc to chew the cud.
DeleteThanks for the excellent report and pics 👍🏼.
ReplyDeleteA bit mad, the ‘no card’ entry fee scenario! And entry seems to vary across shows. I seem to recall the last Warfare, Farnborough was something like £13, while Colours was still just a fiver. Wonder how much the traders get asked for…..? As without them we’d be less likely to attend the farther off events, I think.
Glad you liked the report Martin:)! Somehow the system they were going to use went down just befre the doors opened, which was a real pain, causing all sorts of issues for them. I'm surprised there is not a cah point on site, given it is used for agricultural shows etc. I know from speaking to Leon at Pendraken, that in a sense the traders are helping to keep the entry fees lower than they might otherwise be. I think £5.00 is a fair price, with £10.00 being the top end of what I'd probably pay at present. But no traders would probably mean no shows...
DeleteWonderful report, enjoyed your take on the day and your photos! Great to finally meet up too! I echo your comments on layout, crowds, noise and fug too, but especially on seating. Perhaps we should organise a sit-in protest at the next show?😉
ReplyDeleteThanks David and it was great to finally get to meet you, even if only for a short time before I had to head off back to Bristol:). A sit down protest by the entrance, with deck chairs, blankets and flasks of tea might be in order:
Delete"What do we want?"
"Seating!)
"When do we want it?"
"Now!"
Great report Steve, lovely pictures, and your post-show thoughts are always interesting and pertinent. So sorry I didn't find you, it would have been great to chat!
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed very busy and somewhat hard work especially in the morning (I got there about 11:00), I saw most (but not all) of the big demo games but didn't really have time to do justice to the participation games. Next time I may start there, instead. I also didn't really have enough time for traders - in a way I feel the show has too much to fit into one day, you can't see everything, so have to prioritise - but that can be difficult in the crowd, too!
I'm glad you enjoyed it and a shame not to meet you, but as many others have said, trying to spot someone amongst the mass of wargamers was a real challenge. I think I would start with the demo games, then move through the Societies tables, finally landing on the demo games. You are right in that there is almost too much to take in in one visit, something David Morfitt and I were talking about on the way back home.
DeleteNice photos and good overview and of course good to meet you! My primary experience of wargaming shows is Salute, so to me Partizan is light ,airy, pleasant with a surface that isnt too hard on the feet and pretty cheap!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
It was great to meet you Iain and a shame I had to leave soon after, as it would have been lovely to have chatted longer. Salute is just way too much for me on so many levels, plus there aren't enough games to tempt me. One of the organisers summed it up as a show for shopping with games thrown in. Personally I go purely for the games, as the shopping I can do online!
DeleteLovely tricorn actions. Your photos are excellent too. I never manage to get the real light of the gaming table.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andre and it was nice to see some large and very nice 18thC games in action:). Luckily the lighting in that part of the hall is pretty good, which really helps.
Delete"Steve - I was lucky to miss the cash crisis as I'd pre-booked and yes it was crowded, a victim of its own success. For historic wargaming it is very tough to beat and for my money the very best looking games (participation or demo) in the UK. Rich at 2FatLardies has done a thoughtful view on why it works for him - sounds ok price-wise for a trader. And on that, I was helping Simon Miller out on his Marlburian game purely, of course, to avoid spending too much; that failed dismally. I'll be back in the autumn."
ReplyDeleteFrom Andrew Farquhar.
I'm not sure how this ended up in another post on my Blog Andrew, so I moved it here! I agree that it is certainly the best for historic games in the UK, but certainly a victim of its own success. Do you have a link to Rich's article, as it would be interesting to read?
DeleteSome great photos Steve, not sure how you had the time, I really enjoyed the show, superb games and meeting lots of fellow gamers. As for the crush it didn’t seem too bad to me but then I didn’t arrive till 11:30 ish and I noticed quite a few people out having lunch when I arrived. Travel costs I guess will continue to be a challenge for a while ?
ReplyDeleteAt the end of my day out, having taken in as much as I could, I gave myself about an hour to wander around taking photos, as it was much quieter then. I can't see travle costs coming down for the foreseeable future I'm afraid. I was quite shocked at how much it cost me to fill the car, which was already half full!!!
DeleteAn excellent batch of pictures, Steve. Mine were much less comprehensive. Don't know how you managed to see and photograph so much! Thanks very much again for the lift there. It was great to meet you. It was certainly quite an event; overwhelming is about the best word to describe it! I think I've just about recovered now... ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks David:)! I think I've learnt to see the tables and take everything in at the start, then do a disciplined whizz round at the end when it tends to be a bit quieter. You do need to allow oneself some time to recover, with Monday being a day of doing nothing other than re-charging my batteries!
DeleteNice post Steve, some fine games this year - the scale has certainly increased in size in the past few years, a few years back it seemed that 3x3 was all the range good to see the grand scale.... Nice to meet up with fellow bloggers ;-)
ReplyDeletePerhaps next time.
Cheers
Stu
Thanks Stu:)! There are smaller games and so 'normal' 6'x'4 ones too, but I missed a lot of these due to the late entrance issues. All have their place in the show, but I must admit some of them were a tad large, making it hard to actually appreciate all that was on show.
DeleteI wish you'd come over and poked us in the ribs and said hi Steve, please do so next time! A great selection of photos of a fantastic day out!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray and I will try and remember to give you a poke next time I see you at a show:)!
Delete