Diary & Events

The Alumwell Wargames Society held their annual show at the usual venue of Aldersley Leisure Village. This year's event seemed a little subdued with fewer traders than last year and the number of visitors also slightly diminished. Nevertheless, there were some fine games on display and the club was very ably represented by Andy S, Daniel, Howard and Stuart S running a great looking 28mm Bolt Action WW2 desert scenario. Club members Charles H and John F were also displaying impressive looking tables (Charles' game was a North West Frontier action and John's was a Wellington in India game).  All the displays attracted a lot of attention and  favourable comment. Some old faces also made an appearance - Andy T, Anthony and Tony S to name but three - and hopefully we'll see some of them back at the club soon.

The club game itself was a recreation of the British assault on the Italian positions at Fort Nibeiwa, Western Egypt, on 9th December 1940. Daniel and Howard were the British commanders while Andy and Stuart led the Italian force.  The historical result was a convincing victory for the British Western Desert Force and this outcome was repeated in the game, despite stout resistance from the Italian troops. Well done to all who took part.

Dave K and I attended the Hammerhead Show in Newark where we ran a 28mm game of 'To The Strongest', a refight of the Battle of Tewkesbury 1471. It went very well, with a lot of interest in the game from passers-by, compliments on the quality of our paintwork, and even a compliment from the official HH photographer on the general look of our table. We were able to throw together a pretty decent visual representation of the historical battle I think, utilising Dave K's excellent medieval buildings, scenic items from Darren Ware and peasants, monks and live stock contributed by myself. Oh, and a large MDF church, constructed and painted at the last minute, standing in for Tewkesbury Abbey. Learning from last year, we used a lot fewer units this time (filling them up with more men) so that the games lasted for a lot shorter time, were more fun and knockabout, and players were able to come in and out in half an hour or so.

We ran four participation games in total, tweaking our formula a little in between each game, and all the players had fun (I think we should ask for some commission from To The Strongest). As well as mirroring the terrain and basic army composition of the historical battle we also included the two ambushes that took place - Somerset's for the Lancastrians and then, a couple of turns later, the Yorkist cavalry ambush. These looked great (see photos) and were fun for us as wargamers, but may have baffled the participation players a little and interrupted the flow of the proceedings.  We will have to think about whether to include such detail in future efforts.

Thanks to Dave K for another excellent and productive collaboration (we have vague plans for an English Civil War battle next year).

The Ten Acre Lane Scout Hut, Streetly was the the venue, for the second consecutive year, of the annual Wargamer show that used to be held in Halesowen. It's a small venue but there were about ten display games and a smattering of local traders to fully occupy the available space. The show was fairly well attended during the morning but customer traffic fell sharply after lunch. The club was represented by Harry and Charles who were running our display game and Nick and Neil W who were trying to look important. We also had help from Paul J and Wyn who popped in to say hello and spend some money. 

Harry and Charles were re-fighting the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest using the "To The Strongest" rules. This famous engagement, fought over three days in 9 AD, resulted in the annihilation of three Roman legions and the loss of up to 20000 men. It would be nice to report that Charles, playing the role of Publius Quinctilius Varus, was able to reverse the historical result and lead his troops to a glorious victory. Alas, it was not to be. Even so, the game looked great and we had plenty of visitors to the table to express their admiration. Well done and thanks to Harry and Charles for their excellent collaboration.

After a three year break the West Midlands Military Show was again held at Aldersley Leisure Village on Sunday 12th March. The show was reasonably well attended but it seemed that there were fewer traders, fewer displays and fewer visitors than in pre-pandemic days. Peet and Vlad brought their impressive Stalingrad game (see the report below on the 2022 Wargamer show), using 15mm figures, vehicles and terrain and Chain of Command rules. Also involved in the setting up and actual playing of the game were Dante, Charles S, Andy J and Maurice and many club members visited the table during the day. It was particularly nice to see some old friends who have not been able to attend the club for a while - Tom and Sue, Clive, Tony, and Daniel M - let's hope they can visit us frequently in the coming months.

Many people complimented Peet and Vlad on their display throughout the show and I am delighted to report that they won the third place award for the best display game, a thoroughly deserved accolade and recognition of their hard work and attention to detail. Thanks chaps.

Harry and Dave K represented the club at the annual March show in Newark. I am grateful to Harry for the following account and the pictures that accompany it. There is a YouTube video of  the whole event that features Harry and Dave's game from 12:25 onwards.

Our display was pretty successful I'd say, with plenty of interest from passers-by, including kids, one of whom joined in the participation game with great enthusiasm. The game itself was pretty knockabout, with little strategy or tactics involved, but some good lessons learned in terms of how to run future participation games.

For the record the game resulted in an eventual win for the Romans, although thanks to some weird "dice rolls" they just COULD NOT finish me off as the Gauls, despite me extensively stretching the rules to enable them to do so.  Was completely exhausted by the end of the game, which at least limited my impulse buys at the show. I was very happy with how our display looked, and this was greatly enhanced by the addition of Peter James character figures and scenic pieces.

Thanks to Dave for an excellent collaboration, and for acting as the chief "club ambassador" on the day (and writing the information sheets). Thanks also to Andy S, Daniel S and Mike for helping us with the playtesting, and Stuart S for facilitating with the Hammerhead management.

What has commonly become known as the 'Halesowen Show', despite taking place in various locations in the West Midlands, was held on Sunday 2nd October 2022 after an almost three year break. This time the venue was the 100 Acre Wood Scout Hut at Streetley, Sutton Coldfield, a rather less grand building than previous establishments, but still able to accommodate nine or ten gaming displays and a handful of traders. This year the club was represented by Peet and Vlad who put on a 15mm WWII Chain of Command game with a scenario based on the battle at the tractor factory in Stalingrad. The display was superb, all the buildings and terrain produced by Peet via 3D printer and expertly painted and assembled. All those who visited the table commented warmly on the historical accuracy, attention to detail and  visual impact of the display. Peet, Vlad, Neil and Pete were playing the game, Nick was chatting to interested parties and there was also assistance and encouragement from Paul, Charles and Bryan (Charles actually taking over from Pete when he had to leave).

In the game itself, the Russians were defending with two platoons while the Germans attacked with two platoons plus supports. The German squads attacked with vigour, inflicting heavy losses on the Soviets and reducing their force morale to a dangerously low level. However, the attack ran out of steam as many German units became pinned or were broken and the joint commanders came to the conclusion that their objectives could not be taken. A tactical withdrawal left the Soviet forces in charge of the field.

Many thanks to Peet and Vlad for organising such a fine display - a great advertisement for the club.

After a three year break, the Baccus organised Joy of Six show recommenced in its usual location at Sheffield Hallam University.  Nick and Andy W from the club were assisting Per Broden with his 6mm recreation of the bloody Battle of Lund, fought in December 1676 between Sweden and Denmark and her allies. Although the display was not on the same scale as the massive Poltava table shown at Salute in 2021 it was still highly impressive and looked stunning. Several other members of the club attended the show and there were many fine tables to admire and lots of participation games. 

Postponed from last year, the South London Warlords finally held the 2020 event on 13th November 2021. The show took place in a cavernous hall in the ExCel Centre, London Docklands, so there were plenty of empty spaces that gave the impression that the venue was less busy than usual. However, speaking to one of the organisers, I was told that attendance was between 4-5000 and well up to expectations. Apparently, though, a significant number of traders failed to turn up and some preferred to conduct business from the local pub than the hall itself (Too Fat Lardies).

The club display was situated right by the entrance so it was the first thing that attendees saw as they came into the hall. I say 'club' display but, as everybody knows, the brilliant recreation of the Battle of Poltava in 6mm is entirely the work of Per Broden. From the club, Nick, Darren, Bryan and Neil were there from the start to help Per get the table set up and there was also assistance from Dave B, Charles and Pete during the day. Per's display was the same demonstration game he presented at Joy of Six in 2019 (see below) and it looked just as good as it did then. We had lots of visitors to the table and everybody was kept busy chatting to them; they were all blown away by the detail, accuracy and visual impact of Per's work. I am delighted to report that, very deservedly, Per won the prize for the best display game at the show.

Per's wargaming blog 'Roll a One' is available here. Please also check out the 'Storm of Steel Wargaming' YouTube video of the event which contains interviews with Per and Nick.

The West Midlands Military Show, held annually by the Alumwell Wargames Society, took place at its usual location of Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton on the second Sunday in March. The show is the largest wargames event in the West Midlands and attracts a large number of visitors, traders and displays. This year was no exception, and despite slightly fewer trader stands, attendance was good and there were many fine demonstration and participation games on offer. 

The club ran a participation  game of "in Her Majesty's Name", Osprey's skirmish rules based on Victorian adventure, horror and science fiction writing. The scenario was a Martian invasion, fearlessly opposed by the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Doctor Jekyll (and Mister Hyde) and various resistance fighters. Ross supplied most of the figures and terrain and was ably assisted by Maurice, James, Pete, Graham and Nick. Lots of club members attended the show and many of them took part in the game during the day.

After a gap of a couple of years, the Wargamer show resumed at a new venue, King Edward's Sheldon Heath Academy, Birmingham. The club's contribution was a re-run of the Lutzen game first displayed at Alumwell earlier this year, using Nick's Twilight of Divine Right rules and Bryan and Gordon's 6mm figures and terrain. Andy W, Ross and Neil were on hand to assist and there were also visits from club members Andy J, Paul, Dave B, Clive and Pete. We had a lot of good chats with visitors and hopefully we might see one or two of them at the club in the near future. There were over a dozen games on display, a small number of traders present and the show seemed to be reasonably well attended. The venue itself was a big improvement on the previous location in Halesowen and, with luck, this show can go on to become a regular, successful event.

The annual Baccus festival of 6mm wargaming was held at Sheffield Hallam University on 7th June. The club, in the shape of Nick and Andy W were assisting Per Broden with his immense recreation of the Battle of Poltava 1709, though, needless to say, the three of them spent so much time chatting to visitors that the game was hardly played. The show was well attended and the display generated a lot of attention and admiration - rightly so because, in my view, it was by far the most impressive at the show.

A word about the display itself - magnificent. The table was 18' x 6' and covered in a home made, one-piece mat. With the terrain placed on it the overall visual impact was stunning. The attention to detail was remarkable, from a beautiful representation of the town of Poltava, to the tiny figure of the wounded Swedish King being carried around the battlefield on a litter. To add to the spectacle, Per had chosen to represent all the units at battalion level, so the number of figures on the field was enormous. Truly a fantastic achievement and one done entirely single-handedly by Per, a real master of the 6mm art

The Baccus website is here and Per's "Roll a One" wargaming blog is here with more pictures from the show.

The Stafford Wargames Club held their yearly "Barrage" Show on Sunday 7th July at Blessed William Howard School. The Wyre Foresters were represented by Graham, James, Maurice and Dave who put on a 20mm scale WWII amphibious landing game using a simplified version of the Combat HQ rules by Jim Bambra. 

It looks like it was a busy show with lots of demonstration, participation and competition games taking place.