Held at the York Racecourse (North East England), this annual ritual for many gamers is the first wargame show of the year and so is always popular as we emerge from our brief winter hibernation.
In terms of trade / wargames, I previously felt it a very unbalanced show, with a strong emphasis on traders and little tabletop eye-candy going on, but this year, I got the impression that more games were being showcased.
Spread over three floors and trade stands everywhere, there are several choke points throughout, where the volume of attendees makes movement around the venue hard work, especially for anyone carrying a disability or injury ….. bizarre why some insist on wearing their backpack, doubling their body mass! The good Mrs. Wargamer was side swiped by one a couple of years ago and so has taken up karate - be warned!
My past few visits have left York falling from my list of shows and yet, here I am again, drawn like a moth to light and after this year’s visit, I’m really glad that I did go - perhaps it is just that buzz from the first show of the year, confirming that wargaming still has a pulse.
Of interest though is that we find ourselves as a nation, sliding ever deeper into budgetary restraint with the financial crisis of high inflation and high energy costs biting ever deeper. How will this effect a show that by reputation is trade focussed?
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I am presently suffering from a ‘back flare-up’ following a fall and so with limited time that I can stay on my feet or even sit for any length and with forward flips and hand stands definitely out! this show was put to the back of my mind.
So it really was an ‘out of the blue’ decision to go - though I think secretly, Mrs. Wargamer had been banking on a trip away and was not going to let me off that lightly, as it was her encouragement that sealed the deal.
For what is essentially a trade show, I hadn’t really thought about a spending plan. If I were being sensible, I would look at the stash that already exists rather than add to it, but happily, the traders have selling charms and handling the delights on offer is so much more satisfying than admiring fro afar on a 2D screen!
The first thing of course is that initial wave of euphoria of walking into a show - a perfect self indulgent moment that just presses all of the right buttons! - thank you, thank you, thank you, to all those that make these things possible, from organisers to traders and those putting on games, it is hugely appreciated - please, keep the show scene alive forever!
Without a shopping list, I just went with the flow, aimlessly walking around. I actually thought it was less crowded than the last time I went, so I was able to visit traders fairly comfortably.
Anyway, browsing around and returning frequently to a table (for a rest) that Mrs. Wargamer had bagged for Kindle reading and pinching all the treats I had packed away! - I stayed mobile for long enough to see the things that I wanted, but I’m sure I still missed things.
There were four main elements to the show. The trade, the demo / participation games, a set of tables for wargamers to privately sell their unwanted items on and areas for refreshments.
Demo / Participation Games;
My own feeling is that there were more of these than the last time I visited. They were well attended, plenty of work had gone into them and everyone who I spoke to or annoyed with the flash on the camera were friendly and generous with their time and a special shout out to The Lance and Longbow Society in that regard.
Here are a few pics. I’m sorry, I know I missed some and am not able to attribute many, but they give a good sense of this part of the show;
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. Now I really liked this table (above and below) because it was small, easily do-able on a kitchen table. It was next to the Warlord Games area and I think the idea was you looked at it and thought ‘I could do that at home’ and would then buy one or two starter armies from Warlord Games - exactly the sort of symbiotic relationship that traders should have with demo tables.
By the way - I am told that the new Epic armies will be released at salute, so we can probably expect a pre-order campaign very soon.
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. The above three shots were of the Hei Lei Bridge game (October 1922) …. See, I do remember some things!
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. The above 4 shots were from a Vicksburg game, done in 10mm I think.
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. The above two shots are of a Dark Age scene, where everything other than a few metal miniatures had been 3D printed from STL (is that right?) files - amazing. The bloke running it was very friendly and helpful.
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. The above two shots are from a ‘battle of Britain’ game. I did of course memorise the name of the game system ….. but …. that was few hours ago now!
. Lovely big board game …. But just take a closer look at the game counters (below) using models on bases.
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. This is a resin dungeons type game and the layout looked superb. I have just bought the D&D starter kit for when the grandchildren visit …. Just to see. Something like this would really help set the scene.
So that was most of the games and they set a good tone for scale and subject diversity - something for everyone!
Private sellers;
The last time I went, this seemed too chaotic for me to join the queue for, it was something of a rugby scrum, but this year, the sellers tables seemed to have more space to breathe … or maybe less punters, who knows.
The idea is you rent a table for an hour or so and then sell your own stuff. I know Hammerhead do the same sort of thing. Anyway, there was a lot of nice stuff there and of course a lot of variety. I had one of those moments when I picked something up (a Roman 28mm army) and it was almost in my hands for too long and was nearly mine! But then I remembered the four unpainted projects at home and calm was restored.
There were some gorgeous painted units / armies for sale, going for decent money. I would not have been able to part with them myself - but I wondered, on a ‘bring and buy’ stall, do the punters spend ‘decent money’ on such things, or are they mainly looking for £10 bargains? - I really don’t know.
They were beautiful and worth their money, but that is not my point, is that the right environment to sell them? Will they shift? I suppose you get to see them in the flesh, so to speak and there is no chance of damage in the post.
I noted some painted armies on the trade floor going for good money, with one army at £12 per cavalry piece - they were lovely, but that did make my eyes water!
I am though, glad that lovely painted figures can achieve a price that respects the work that has gone into them.
Anyway, I thought this was a well handled and successful part of the show.
Refreshments;
There were a couple of places at the show where you could sit and grab a coffee and snack. I am hugely grateful for these islands of sanctuary and really, all shows, with an ageing customer profile, should look to providing more seating.
The Lance & Longbow Society offered me to join in the game - and I looked at that spare chair more thoughtfully than I should have :-)
Today, I had pain and pins & needles and was glad of a chance to sit down - on another day (when I haven’t fallen off step ladders), I would be fine, but I saw other gamers on sticks or limping etc and there must have been many more with invisible impairment - so this seating is really important …. plus, how else are you going to show your mates your new Aztec army!
So yep, for this big venue, another thumbs up.
Trade;
Vapnartak is big on trade and if you are buying, it doesn’t disappoint.
For my own plunder;
The night before the show, I had seen a couple of YouTube videos looking at the new edition of Hail Caesar rules from Warlord Games and thought I might look at them. I have first edition and never used them, but the new edition is expanded to cover the Wars of the Roses, so ….. essential then :-)
Plus, at some future point, I will be doing 1066, so the new rules are worth consideration.
Anyway, when I got to the Caliver Books stand, I went into panic mode in case they might sell out and bought a copy from the big stack :-)
A couple of months ago, I ordered a few bags of 1/72 metals from Tumbling Dice, just to explore them. They have a lot of tin in them, so the metal is very hard (good). I quite liked their proportions.
Anyway, to continue my trials, I bought a further 4 bags. One of WotR retinue archers, one of 8 Norman 1066 mounted knights and two bags of four horses each to go with the riders.
He had painted samples in the showcase, which is what made me jump, though he doesn’t have painted examples on his site. The owner feels that punters typically zoom in on the screen to see the detail and of course such digital scrutiny is seldom kind to painting efforts - just as it isn’t to the human face of course. I get that, as I often think the same about the blog, but I still think he would be better with the images on the website, as these days they are expected as a matter of course.
Next stop, Early War Miniatures (EWM). WWII 20mm specialists. I noticed that his display cabinet had new items …. 3D printed houses. The thing about these is that they have a nice compact footprint, but the body has quite a bit of presence.
Part of the cost is for the interior detail, but as I am a philistine and always glue the roof down, then some of that is wasted on me. I bought two different houses and a walled garden yard for one of them. These look ideal for north West Europe games.
Finally, a visit to The Last Valley for some terrain pieces from Andy. I got some river sections that would do at least 6’ plus curves etc for a bit of variety, plus a pond feature with a tree and some fencing, just for a bit of dressing.
Conclusions.
There are shows that you go to from which you could be forgiven for believing that only the 28mm scale exists, whether on the trade side or the gaming side. York is much more a ‘something for everyone’ type of show.
There were several traders selling books and rulebooks, a couple doing boardgames, many either fantasy / sci-fi or Euro style game and all of the mainstream figure scales were represented.
I note that there are also traders here who are cutting down on the number of other shows that they attend, so this is a place to catch them.
This leads on to the question of show viability. It seemed last year that some of the bigger shows had increased numbers through the door, post pandemic. On my way out today, I asked the staff on the door how numbers had been, mainly because I thought the day was slightly quieter, but they said numbers were up.
So, is it the case that the bigger shows will survive or grow and it is the small to medium shows that will have to worker harder as some traders cut down on their overall show support?
I must say that one show that I went to last year, that is in the latter category, reported record numbers attending, so who knows. I have noted some gamers reporting on blogs and forums that they will now only attend the most local of shows, so this might actually help the smaller show in terms of numbers.
In any case, footfall is a crude test of viability - it is the takings at the till that will ultimately decide the issue. We will probably have to wait a few seasons before post covid fallout, the squeeze on family finances and spending patterns feed into the wider picture.
Anyway, I hugely enjoyed my day and would again thank all those that make such things possible.
On the way to the car, I was trying to explain to Mrs. Wargamer how the influence of reforms of the Austrian army in 1809 mattered, but quite honestly, it was hard to get a word in edge-ways, as she wanted to talk about the Sunday roast that we had booked at the hotel, something about that being the highlight of the day - surely not :-)
EDIT - as an aside, on the high street today (WH Smith), I bought the latest issue of Wargames Soldiers and Strategy magazine. Pages 35 - 50 were missing and in their place, other pages had been duplicated. I got back to the shop just as they were closing - nearly all copies had the same problem, three didn’t. So if buying, just do a quick check as it looks like the problem is sporadic or indeed might only be limited to the batch at this shop.
Resource Section.
My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ is being re-configured to showcase various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.
