For the first time ever I made the 140 mile trip via the A127, M25, M11and the A1 to Newark for the Other Partizan. The five hour round trip for a little over two hours of gaming goodness was absolutely worth it! It was busy, crowded and hard on the feet but I was able to get everything done that I wanted to - apart from meeting a couple of people (sorry Mr Barnes!).
The first port of call was to transact some business with Dave Lanchester which was, as ever, an ongoing pleasure (and I managed to reinvest some of the proceeds in some items that will feature in the next post) and one that I have no doubt will repeated!
The rest of this post will be largely a photo dump with some commentary - it has been rather a long day after all!
Look closely at the Sherman on the bridge at Arnhem - I managed to relieve 1st Airborne in 15 turns out of 20. This was a feat I also managed on my visit to COW a few years back. It is a tale I will tell my grandchildren - and mightily bored they’ll be….
John Armatys - overseer of Operation Market Garden, Wargames Development aficionado and all round good chap - who has persuaded me to pen a blog post about mast building!
Mr Flanagan - roller of legendary dice - thinking about his nest move against the esteemed Mr Evans (he moved at a critical moment and so you can only see part of his head!). I was very much taken by this game - properly researched history, attractive terrain and figures and an organiser passionate about the subject matter!
One half of Ken “Yarkshire Gamer” Reilly’s excellent Italian Wars bash.
The other half - Ken is sporting the blue tee shirt!
The whole thing - beautifully executed and with pike blocks that looked like they meant business
WW1 in East Africa in 28mm
The view from the landward side
The accompanying naval support
The view from the sea looking inland
More of the naval support including some old friends….
A-Fez of state….Just like that!
For a number of reasons my favourite game of the day - I will let the pictures do the talking
Native bearers
The view down the table
The all important back story and beautifully executed. I suspect that Eric would have been delighted to see this.
All of the pictures were taken on my phone so apologies for the quality but trust me, there are plenty of better quality ones around!
It was a very quick visit for me - around two hours - but I could have happily spent a full day and then some yanking time to take it all in. These games were the standouts for me but there was sufficient variety of games, large and small to cater for all tastes and all of a high quality.
My show haul was modest, three books and three bags of MDF bases but the shopping was never the main reason for going.
All that atmosphere - well done to all that made it such a special day.
Partizan's a great show, no doubt whatso ever. Gutted I missed it this time round! Cool pics though Dave!
ReplyDeleteHi Ray,
DeleteMy pictures barely scratched the surface and were taken on my phone hence the variable quality. It was pretty darned crowded but everyone seemed relaxed about it. I got to see nearly everyone I planned to and managed to get my business dealt with early on.
Loot-wise it was fairly restrained - three books from Dave Lanchester and three packs of bases from Pendraken.
Oh, and I also managed to liberate Arnhem so not a bad way to spend a Sunday and five hours in the car!
All the best,
DC
The Partizan shows are the best on the calendar IMHO. Much more enjoyable than Salute which is just too much on so many levels. Even though the shows are busy, they never feel crowded to me. I always come away feeling very inspired, even if I don't spend much money these days, given the size of my leadpile!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve J,
DeleteIt was packed but oddly did not feel like it - it was massively inspiring in terms of the games though.
The expenditure was very modest but to be fair I have already been investing in some additional bits and pieces and then there will be the Warbases bill!
All the best,
DC
Amazing show! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Bartek,
DeleteIt was a great show and there are plenty of other blogs that will have more pictures and are well worth a look!
All the best,
DC
It was a good show, if a bit dauntingly crowded at about 11:30, it calmed down a bit in the afternoon. Sorry I missed you, I did see you at one point, deep in conversation with the Kallistra guys, but then you got away before I could say hello. Good pictures, I can see why you liked that WW1 Africa game!
ReplyDeleteHello there Mr Barnes,
DeleteYou should have rugby tackled me to the ground (assuming you could any spare ground that is!)! Sorry to have missed you - I will drop you an email later.
All the best,
DC
p.s. I liberated Arnhem too!
ReplyDeleteGood show! It will be a tale to tell your grandchildren etc, etc…. ;-)
DeleteLooks a good day out David. I was put off going by the distance (from SW London) - not much less than you really. I need to plan a visit next year, via a stop off at my sister's just a short trip up the A46 from Newark.
ReplyDeleteThe Madasahatta game looks fun.
It certainly was a grand day out but I would plan it better for next time methinks. The Madasahatta game was outstanding and I have asked for some more pictures.
DeleteAll the best,
DC
I missed you by one stand, David!
ReplyDeleteI was next door to the Edgecote game with NQM, I must have been off hunting down a bacon butty, or did you do a wave-by hello when I was busy?
Regards, Chris.
Hi Chris,
DeleteI am so sorry I did not stop to say hello - I saw NQM but I reckon it must have been the bacon butty run as I do not recall seeing you. In truth I missed the connection ‘twixt NQM and your good self and so humbly apologise for this appalling oversight!
Methinks I will need to plan my next visit rather more effectively than the ‘smash and grab’ style I adopted due to time restraints.
I also think that visiting a wargames show would make a good plenary game for COW - but dont ask me to devise it! :-)
All the best,
DC
Sorry to have missed you Dave, glad you enjoyed the show and it was worth the trip, it is one of my favourites. I was also on a flying visit but managed to do some shopping, play NQM and liberate Arnhem too. On turn 19 though.
ReplyDeleteI think I may have seen you in the distance (along with a fair few other people if truth be told) but time was definitely my greatest adversary! To the best f my knowledge Arnhem has been liberated at least three times now!
DeleteI shall be getting a copy of NQM and using it but not i the way you might think….
Hopefully next year at one of the Partizan shows I can rectify the glaring omission of people unmet so to speak!
All the best,
DC