11-13 July, Knuston Hall, Northamptonshire

The 2014 Conference of Wargamers

There are so many good things to say about CoW that it is hard to know where to start.  Let's just say that the mix of people is excellent, the attitude convivial throughout ... the accommodation is ever improving and, to my taste, the catering (which barely stops all weekend) is a good 8/10 (for reference: no other wargame venue I have been anywhere in the world has topped 7, and I can't afford 10).  

The bar stays open till you go to bed and seems normally priced.  

The wargaming is 9:00 am to, say, midnight and just stops 4 times for main meals or tea/coffee (with home-made biscuits and cakes - indeed, a cream tea, this year).

Anyone can come so book yourself a wargame holiday.   If there is a problem, it is that the event is just the two days and most sessions only run once - so there are always great sessions you miss (especially if you are putting stuff on yourself) ...

For me, the weekend started with an outing to Cropredy Bridge to look at the ECW (1644) battlefield, and finished with re-running my 20th Cent. Naval 'pop up' game for an old friend ...

In between, I put on two main sessions and aided in an ADG (all ancient/medieval), played landsknecht cards, drove a T55 tank and commanded a detachment of French regulars in Canada ... I joined in on some innovative games, ancient, renaissance, Lace Wars and both World Wars, there was a morale boosting sing along (seriously ...) and a crisis game in a time shift ...

Gladiolus ...

For late night entertainment on the Friday, Will revived Gladiolus and I took along a set - at one stage we had 4 boards in play with several players being introduced to the Society of Ancients classic combat game.

(Gladiolus at CoW: you can teach old dogs new tricks - or should that be the other way round?)

I understand that the game is now out of print and is one the Committee is considering reprinting: so it was great to see players taking to it instinctively, getting good games and entertainment to start their weekend

(a 'made-over' Gladiolus set featuring hexes rather than offset squares, and some nicely laminated cards)

(15mm Gladiolus from Outpost ... 20mm Gladiolus from the old Atlantic plastics set)

Before retiring, I got in a game of Doodlebuggers with WD Display Team North, and set up Montaperti for the morning ...

(Doodlebuggers: normally I would edit out the beer bottle, but a 'London Pride' beside a defeat the doodlebugs game seems fortuitously appropriate)

Montaperti 1260

This was a shameless plug for the Society of Ancients BattleDay.   It is Hydaspes next year, and this year my take on Montaperti using Basic Impetus (plus) was flagged as *Best Game* (so has become my advert for the event).

(Montaperti at CoW: the players announce their intentions)

We had 2 players a side plus some non-playing participants, and in the 2 hour session, managed an intro to the BattleDay, briefing on the battle, guide to the rules, plus completed the game (the Florentine army broke at 10:50 with the session due to end at 11:00)

(Montaperti at CoW: the disarrayed units are broken; the numbers behind units show their current VBU)

The Florentine cavalry wing severely battered the Sienese army's tough German contingent driving them back to the Arbia but failing to break them, meanwhile their pavisier/crossbow units were unable to hold in the infantry line.

(Montaperti at CoW: a closer look at the combat)

(Montaperti at CoW: knights from the Sienese rearward reinforce Lancia's Germans on the banks of the Arbia)

... and the flanking force under the Duke of Arras arrived in good time behind the Florentine left.

In fact, it was neither the Sienese reserves nor the flank march that settled the day - the Florentine knights finally ran out of steam - and then their losses combined with the infantry casualties across the ridge were just too much.   In the basic game, this 50% value would mean the loss of the army but in historical games, I replace it with an ever worsening die roll - in the first instance the army must roll at least a 2.   

In fact, the test resulted in a 1 and meant we could wrap up without running over into the coffee break or needing an artificial solution.

The players seemed to have enjoyed all this  - as a recreation of Montaperti and as a run through of Basic Impetus.

Saturday:

Here's a quick look round at some of what else CoW had to offer on Saturday ...

(a 15mm German Apokalypse occuring at the main railway station)

(anti-tank missile debris on the lawn following a massed tank attack)

(the French marching on Quebec)

(another lawn, another battle: Little Cold War action)

(German Peasants War ... cardboard Landsknechts)

And for my main evening entertainment, I played the French regulars in a huge game of Muskets and Tomahawks ... 

Commercial games - especially of the glossy sort are a rarity at CoW and only get brought along if people really think you ought to know about them, so I was pleased for the chance to get an objective look at this much hyped product.

(Muskets and Tomahawks: scenes from our raid on the village)

Ancients games ...

... and in addition, Trebian ran a multi-player version of 'To Ur is Human' - an excellent treatment of the earliest period of warfare which we have been helping him test and perfect on a Wednesday night ...

(To Ur is Human ... battling for the fields and gardens of ancient Mesopotamia)

Former SoA President Ian Russell Lowell contributed sessions on German soldiers, cardgames and Hittite raiders ...

(IRL is the only person I know who sports an 'I love Luwian' tee shirt ...)

... in addition, Treb came up with a last minute 'pop-up' - Rapid Raphia, an attempt to make a quick-fire but satisfying game out of the massive Hellenistic pike and elephant clash ...

(Rapid Raphia: two boards going side-by-side)

This looked like an innovative success which I think I am destined to play in our weekly local get together this week (and we might try it out at a show, I'm told ...) ...

Before turning in on Saturday, I set up my Northampton session for the morning.

Northampton 1460

Whereas my Saturday session was more of a game with attenuated presentations, 1460 focussed more on the discussion of the battle, location and reconstruction, and on the work of the Northampton Battlefield Society.

(Northampton 1460: me behind the camera, Mike Elliot talking about the battle)

It was great to have a good number of participants, and in the second half of the session, I presented my ideas for wargaming the battle, we worked through the game ideas I have developed and came up with some really good period enhancements ...

(Northampton 1460: the final stages of the Yorkist attack)

(Northampton 1460: Lancastrians man the barricades at Delapre)

(Northampton 1460: the battlefield viewed from the North - NNW)

This session went really well and I am looking forward to modifying some of the attendant mechanisms for the outing at Kelmarsh Hall (History Live!) with the Battlefields Trust next weekend.

*******

Of course, I was helping a session on Friday night, the presenting both mornings, so other people's weekends would have far more diverse than the weekend I managed to cram in.

So maybe we will see you next year?

More on Cropredy (ECW Battles/Cropredy); more on 20th Century CoW (P.B.Eye-Candy)

(Montaperti at CoW: battlefield panorama)

(End-piece: this engraving of the Eleanor Cross at Hardingstone hangs in the Hall at Knuston - it is the landmark from which Archbishop Bourchier and Legate Coppini watched the battle of Northampton)

Leeds, 4th December

Recon

Many apologies to the organisers - as advised, we were unable to travel to Recon due to uncertainties over the severe weather. As it happens, it seems it would have been fine (but how can you tell at 6.30am in freezing conditions?).

Steve Ayers got over from Salford ...

There were no particular problems and the local main roads and the motorways were clear (though there were a couple of snow ploughs on the other carriageway of the M62 over the Pennines clearing the margins of the road). The Pudsey Civic Centre car park was covered with snow and had not been gritted but was negotiable with care.

As promised on the web the previous evening, the show went on though (not surprisingly) in somewhat reduced form. Many traders and games had failed to make it and the show was confined to the main hall (nothing upstairs).

Even so there were several empty tables (rather ironic that originally there wasn't room for an L&LS game of Wakefield 1460). A Dark Ages game was using the free "Comitatus" rules. There were a few other small games, mainly fantasy but nothing particularly eye-catching.

Despite the weather difficulties about 250 wargamers (as well as me) made it through the doors, so well done to them and the organisers.

Steve


Here's a memory of us at Recon in 2008 (it was snowy then, too ...). We did Gladiolus with the big Gladiators.

This year we were hoping to do Greyhounds in the Slips ....

Maybe next year ...

Birmingham, 13th December

Wargamer 2009
The other half of a busy weekend saw the Shows North crew at Wargamer in Birmingham (Tamara Fordham easily beating me in a pre-Christmas game of Gladiolus ...)...

Graham Fordham provided the 'man'power in the afternoon, enabling me to head north for Derby in time to present the trophies at the end of the Doubles Event. Thanks to everyone for getting that to work: actually it is a real pleasure to do two events on the same day, but it can only really happen when everyone helps.

Wargamer is one of those smaller shows that the West Midlands seems to excel at, and was our last official outing before Christmas. We handed out a few more sample issues of Slingshot, of course, but mostly dealt with subscriptions for next year and enquiries. It was also a last chance to spend some money with the traders, entertain the visitors and put the year to bed.

(an appropriately wintry Flames of War)
And, of course a chance to take the camera around one last time. Not a great deal of ancients games on display at Wargamer, it has to be said ... we obviously still have some work to do ....

See you all next year.

Thanks from the Society of Ancients to all the show and event organisers ... 27 of them, for me, this year ... that's a lot of people mucking in to help us make sure the public doesn't miss out on ancient and medieval warfare.
(Wargamer 2009)

Royal Armouries, Leeds, 1st November

Fiasco 2009
Great to be back at the armouries again - even if the coffee is as expensive as it is luxurious ... even if the way they manage the apron in front of the armouries seems designed to frustrate exhibitors. Excellent slot the organisers gave us this year ... I'd asked to be next to the ever helpful Steve and Dave of the Lance & Longbow Society - but I also hoped to get a chance to look at the Ilkley Lads' ancient naval game ... which turned out to be right next to us ....
Ancient and Medieval zone at Fiasco 2009

As you can see from the photos, I was quite impressed with the deep gloss varnished 'deep sea' terrain boards they had borrowed for the event ... I hope you enjoy that reflective quality I tried to capture.
For a less 'arty' look at the game, and loads more pictures, you can try James Roach's blog ( here ...). The game is based on Piquet and features Xyston model ships. It seemed to work very well and looked splendid. Full marks, lads - and nice to be sited next to an ancients game. For another option, you might like to take a look at the Society of Ancients edition of Richard lee's Corvus (see it on the website's games page ...) ... If you get the chance to play either of these games at future shows take advantage. Always good to see the warships at work.

big figures Gladiolus from the Society of Ancients

Also available from the website, our own featured game was the gladiators classic, Gladiolus. An excellent participation game, and popular with kids and grown-ups alike. We had some fun with this, as usual.


some of the other games round and about at Fiasco

Elsewhere, Fiasco had the usual mix of games, displays and traders ... I was particularly impressed by the range of dice the Dice Guys had on offer (yes, the do ... dice).

For some reason, Fiasco always seems a little smaller and less well-attended than some of the other Autumn shows. Strange, given the excellent added attraction of The Armouries making this a potential day out for the whole family ...

Although perhaps there are slightly fewer of them, the quality of the games at Fiasco is always good (I suspect you'll guess which impressed us this year, though), and there's plenty for the younger ones to do too. Put it in your diaries for next year.

Twilight over the med. as the day ends at Fiasco ...

Birmingham, 31st May - 1st June

UK Games Expo 2008


OK ... I know - no ancients content in that photo at all - I just wanted to give you a feel for the event. This was not a regular wargames event - but a more general games fair ... so although, amongst the magic, dragon chasing, and gangster cleansings, a FoG event was being played (and Flames of War on the Sunday ...), the venue was full of families, suited-up roleplayers and self-confessing boardgame geeks ... not quite the general public we meet at Milton Keynes - but still a refreshingly diverse mix of people who don't yet know they want to play historical ancients! Edgebaston's extensive Clarendon Suites are the elegant venue for this sprawling event: lots of rooms, lots of traders, lots of demo tables and even more visitors...

So not a lot of space left over. This was our first visit to the Expo, and very much an exploratory outing. The organisers had provided us with an 'information' stand ... so somewhere on which to lay out Slingshots and games (the guts of what the Society of Ancients does ...) but no linked gaming or demonstrating table (which was OK, as, forewarned, I was covering the event solo..)..

The Expo is very much about playing, and joining in. The organisers' preferred style is for rooms centred around games to try out, with trade and information stands surrounding them - preferably sponsoring the tables in front, and selling the games being hosted on them (so the show is like a vast 'try it and buy it' bazaar...): so, a great idea, though not a model that exactly matches a non-commercial association like the Society of Ancients. Needless to say, I would have loved to have been able to set up the full 'Shows North' participation version of Gladiolus, and I think it would have gone down very well.

Remember them? They certainly draw visitors in.... They take 4' x 4', though - not an option, even if I'd had them! Fortunately, as well as 'the big fellas' I have some 15mm Gladiators (which, of course, actually fit on the board that comes in the Society Game Pack ...)..

These allow a Gladiolus game to go almost anywhere - and so I was able to set something up, and show interested browsers how the game works. Of course, I'm a big fan of the 15mm scale - and even though they are small, I still think they look OK...

Good enough to merit a few gratuitous photos, anyway. Gladiators are such a great subject for pictures ... For those of you that are bound to ask, I think these were a mixture of Museum Miniatures and Outpost(?) ...

... then mucked about a bit by me so the equipment is a reasonable match to the descriptions designer Andy Gittins gives for the (6) specific gladiators built into the game (but its a while since I did them). For 15mm figures, I think they have photographed up nicely ...
The Expo? an enjoyable weekend, and the Society's range of games proved very popular. I think sometimes we don't make a big enough play of the diverse selection of games written by our members and published by the Society of Ancients over the last 15 years: from these Gladiators to the Medieval Tournament, from Ancient naval battles in 'Corvus' to the re-issue of Paddy Griffith's rampaging 'Aquitaine' ... and in the middle? Dynastic politics, Dark Age skirmishes, battles for the lordship of the Steppes, and the innovation of Graham D Evans and the De Matrica Bellae 'matrix' game. Oh, yes ... and more gladiators ...
You can get all of these from the Society - they are listed in Slingshot, and Peter tells me the shopping option for them will soon be up on the website - but I'm wondering if here, or somewhere like it, isn't where you should 'find out more ...' I'll see if we can't get a bit more supporting material up somewhere ... the games are such a great resource.

The Expo? yes - I hope they will invite us back next year, and I hope we can play a fuller part. I understand the Field of Glory mini tournament went well - so perhaps there will be more of an ancient/historical flavour in the vibrant mix, next year.

Thanks, everyone
(for more on the UK Games Expo ... click here)