Notice: Due to issues with the processing of VAT on deliveries to the EU a limit has been put in place, restricting orders to a maximum of £135. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

What is the purpose of a wargames show?

28th Oct 2019

  This is another one of my occasional ‘musing’ pieces about the hobby.   It’s been prompted by just chatting to various people at the recent Fiasco show.  The fact that they all had this conversation with me in one form or another was the catalyst for me to get typing.   Before I get started can I say right from the start that I attend about 15 shows each year and love going to each and every one of them, and that all the show organisers do a great and thankless task.   Anything that I write below is neither malicious nor aimed at any one person or show.   Finally, all points refer to the UK show scene with which I am familiar.  Experiences will vary in different countries.

When I started the hobby, way back in the 1970s the show scene revolved around a national wargames championships.  There were local and regional heats with a grand final weekend at the ‘Nationals’.   There was a relatively small trade presence at the latter, but the regional events were lucky to get anything more than the local shop making an appearance.   This model was first challenged by the arrival of Northern Militaire, which was a weekend event, but offered a far broader experience and nurtured the seeds of the ‘demo’ and ‘participation’ game format that continues today.   There was a competition of sorts holding the event together, but people went there to shop, meet other gamers (far fewer of us in those days) and just be part of something celebrating our young hobby.   As a young boy I fond the atmosphere energising and exciting and it was instrumental in putting me on my future path.

Now fast forward to today.   The competition element is still there and BHGS run regionals and a finals weekend, but that, I would say, is not most peoples’ experience of show attendance.  Far more likely is a show like Fiasco;  a mixed economy of traders and local clubs putting on a range of games.   They offer a chance for local gamers to visit traders from around the country and for them to show off their modelling and painting skills.   For most mid-sized shows, this format is an established template and has been so for many, many years.

However tried and tested this format is, to my mind it has got stale.   There is no focus to the show, other than the existence of the show.   The ‘buzz’, the excitement, the inspiration seems lacking.   Okay, the attendees are no longer young teens, and we greyheads are less excitable than once we were, but there seems little attempt to rev things up.    Any trader can tell you how this goes:  Doors open at 10.00 and sales come in till about 12.30.   At that point it goes quieter while people have liquid and solid intake, there are few sales as people do a final sweep and pick up last minute purchases and by 2.30 you may as well pack up.   The show may be officially open until 4.00, but there is no one around until then.    To my mind, that is really quite sad, although from a personal point of view it means I can get an early start for the homeward journey!

So what’s to be done?   I think that organisers need to take a good look at their events and decide exactly what they are intended to do and perhaps revisit things.   A great case example of this, is Hammerhead.   This started out as a specialist fantasy and SF show, but was faltering badly in this guise.    Paul and Sally at Kallistra, took the event on and completely transformed it, turning it into one of the premier showcases on the circuit.   They aimed it at people wanting to actually play games, stated that all the games on show HAD to be participations, gave incentives to attendees to stay until the end of the event in the form of prizes, moved a superb new venue and made the whole package much more exciting and dynamic.    The end results?   Big attendances, an oversubscription from traders wanting to attend and a massively enjoyable show with a great buzz.    To my mind, those shows with their own USP are those that are setting the trends.    Salute is Salute, but the sheer size and international nature of the event make it a success.  Crisis performs the same function in Belgium. 

I don’t think that the long-term sustainability of the current show circuit lies in doing exactly what was done in 1980s, 1990s or even last year.   The demise of the once mighty Sheffield Triples is a great example of where that thinking can lead.   As to what should be done is not up to me to say – my own thinking on this subject is manifest in what we do at the Joy of Six, but there are other options out there from people more creative and imaginative than I ever could be.

I think it’s time to get a little more creative with our show formats and get some excitement back into our wonderful hobby,