Heretical Gaming

On Sunday, my 8 year old son and I attended the Other Partizan show in Newark - it is quite local to me. I had to go and pick up my other son at 1pm, so I was very much on a deadline.

It was a very, very busy show, even for Partizan. There were still fairly long queues past 10:30, which used to be quite a rarity. Everywhere was thronged inside the hall. It made shopping really quite difficult for me, especially with a younger child accompanying, and although he was feeling a bit shy to stop and play any of the participation games, I might have felt it was a bit loud and busy for good gameplaying myself. I didn't have a chance to speak to some gamers and traders I usually do, just purely because of the busy-ness. In the end, he bought himself some (more!) Romans from Warlord, and I picked up a pre-order from Baccus.I might treat myself to some window shopping this weekend.

General impressions were that the standard of games was very higher, but bigger definitely didn't necessarily equal better: I think that the hobby has gone past that point where more figures = more cool. For instance, it was the eye-catching way that they evoked the imagery of The Hobbit and not the 'masses of goblins' which made that game stand out. I think that vignettes and eye-catching bits of set-piece terrain have become ever more common. I wonder if they are entirely a 'show' thing, or if people include these things more-and-more in home and club gaming.

There were a wide range of periods covered. The bigger 28mm Vietnam games felt somewhat noticeable: not that Vietnam has ever been ignored, but often the games have been smaller.

First game was a Roman-Britons battle in 10mm by the Forest Outlaws' club. All Kallistra 10mm stuff. It was apparently the culminating battle of their big club campaign, which is a great idea for a show! Nice to have a chat with one of the Outlaws I know, too.

James Morris and friends put on a Battle of the Five Armies Midgard game. Love the backing art of the mountain, very similar to some of the drawings in the books

I love that Ravenhill (right) had a little model raven on top!

Next up was Lutzen 1632. A big game, I didn't get a single shot which did it any justice! But very nice.

The following game looked like it was an early C20 game. I couldn't quite figure out what was happening just by looking, but it did look great fun.

A traditional Partizan staple next: a beautiful 28mm AWI game put on by Steve Jones. It was quite busy so I didn't get to say hello to him unfortunately, but it looked fantastic. I think this was a what-if landing scenario. It featured some very nice fortifications, including a small star fort.

The man himself, concentrating!

Rubicon put on a new Vietnam set-up, featuring a downed helicopter.

A more toy soldier-ish set up next, a Mexican-American war game I think. Looked pretty in a different way, like a shot from The Wargame for the next generation or something.

More Vietnam action. This one featured helicopters on top of clear plastic tubs filled with foliage for a flying over the jungle effect. Do they take out the foliage or swap to a clear tub if flying over the open, I wonder? Anyway, very nice indeed. I wonder if the recent Rubicon releases have re-invigorated 28mm Vietnam wargaming somewhat.

Some WW2 action next. Looked liked 20mm, Normandy, maybe Goodwood to me.

A Great Italian Wars game next: Imperialists try to stop the French escaping with some booty. One of the team was a bit concerned that they were outshone by the Yarkshire Gamer who was doing Italian Wars too. Not so!

A small but very lovely-looking Ancient Greek myth game. Low figure count, but still a visual feast, with lots of characterful terrain:

A D-Day game next, following (I think) 6th Green Howards attacking after the beaches and into Normandy's interior through the next line of strongpoints.

Another small but pretty game - some kind of naval action with card ships and sailors, from a new 'Paperboys' set

There was another Paperboys game, SYW I think.

I can't quite remember the details of this one...maybe SYW in America, perhaps? Looked great anwyay.

Next up, a 'Garden' of 'Market Garden' game. The Arnhem campaign continues to fascinate many gamers!

A VBCW game next, featuring all the characteristic elements - slightly toy-ish but very eye-catching and characterful features.

There was a huge Japanese game - loads of things going on visually. Was this by The Bunker people?

I think this was the Yarkshire Gamer's Great Italian Wars game. More prettiness and 'big game impact'.

This next game was set in the SYW, based on the aftermath of Kunersdorf (I think!)

A large ACW encounter next:

A Chariot Wars game, with another spectacular fort at the table edge.

The next game featured a topic I have never seen covered before at a show: the 1941 fighting between Greece and Italy around the Albanian-Greek border. It had quite a distinct look and feel this game: somewhat 'toy soldiery' but somehow without the slightly whimsical cross between Little Wars and Camberwick Green that might often mean (e.g. compared to say the VBCW offering). Not criticizing the latter of course - it is popular for a reason! - but trying to edge towards defining the differences.

As is traditional, Boondock Saintes did something slightly exotic and very spectacular: this time, WW1 in East Africa:

Keeping with the African theme, the Perrys (I think!) did a British landing in Egypt at the end of the Revolutionary Wars:

Apologies, I forget the details of this one. I think it was maybe another Paperboys' game or similar, but this time in the ACW. I may have got this entirely wrong...

I must have been distracted at this point, because my memory is playing me up a little now. I think this game is a Back of Beyond, Bolsheviks somewhere in Russia/Central Asia in the 1920s game. I could be wrong (It was actually the assault by the Whites on Ulan Bator).

Okay, this one is a bit more clear: the chaps behind For King and Parliament were trying out the extension of that game system into the WSS - Frenchmen set to with Dutchmen - or at least, Germans and Swiss being paid by Dutchmen - somewhere in Flanders.

Some kind of Medieval raid scenario next:

Another WSS game: Malplaquet perhaps, IIRC? Very big, with lots of figures on the table.

A small but very good-looking 10mm WW2 game next (from Anschluss). REALLY liked the look of this one:

Then, a really huge game of Poltava. It was too big for me to get a good single shot:

Next, an Oathmark fantasy game. It somehow reminded me a little of an old WFB report in White Dwarf, although with the colouring set to a different shade?? Hopefully that makes even a little bit of sense!!

A very nice piece of something slightly whimsical next: a 'Prelude to Madasahatta' game, which features some characters related to that famous campaign, but set a few decades earlier. A bunch of jolly yet hard jack tars go to beat up some Zanzibari slave traders.

A slightly more serious take on Colonial action next: A British landing in the Opium Wars (I think)

Another Vietnam game, with more Vietnam helicopters. Very green and dense terrain. Eye-catching stuff!

A 6mm ancients' battle (I think Romans against Successors, but could very much be wrong about that!!!)

The Too Fat Lardies' put on Chain of Command: British against Germans in damp and cold 1945.

Crooked Dice's 7TV set up:

Apologies, can't quite remember what this one was. It was one of the first games in the participation area, I think maybe put on by Gripping Beast. Looked great, anyway.

A really big, very Warhammery-looking fantasy game next:

There was a small but effective and very informative Edgecote game on. It had these great little cards by the side, explaining certain incidents and information surrounding the battle. I found it much easier to deal with than a handout or wall-of-text in the circumstances of a busy show.

A WW1 Trench game.

A medieval knights' game

A really huge Omaha game. I'd seen this at JoS, but still looks just as impressive now.

A variation on the 'ferry across the river' game I think I have seen once or twice before at Newark.

A Western game, put on by the Veteran Wargames Assoc.

Some kind of big SF game, which defied my visual understanding. Looked great though, lots of little details to enjoy.

A really big Pegasus Bridge game:

A really unusual set-up this, I wish I had had time to ask more about it!

Another small but pretty participation game; some type of 'adventure' game I think.

The now traditional Partizan Kriegspiel

Another game of Undaunted: think I have seen this one a few times now:

Another Revolutionary Wars battle: the Brits battle the French in Belgium in 1794 (I think!)

Some kind of WW2 Big Battle game. Apologies, can't recall the details of this one (a kind person in the comments said this is Not Quite Meechanized). It is Eastern Front, 1943 perhaps.