"It's Triples this weekend" Topic

Hi

It is Triples in Sheffield this weekend and I am looking forward to the show this year as I was unable to attend last year as I was watching AFC Wimbledon in the Conferecne Play Off final)

There look to be more traders and games present this year than my last visit.

I am looking forward to see the Mons 1914 game and also hope visitors like our Old School Chotusitz game using Charles Grants War Game rules with 1200 Prince August 40mm figures on the table.

On the buying front I have a copy of Maurice to pick from Caliver Books and will probably also buy Charles S Grants Wolfenbuttel War book.

I may also have impulse buys but will try and keep away from getting any more lead – unless it is for casting more Prince August 40mm figures.

Cheers

I'm going with a group from York club. I haven't been to Triples for a few years and I'm looking forward to seeing how its changed since its move.

I'm not planning to buy much beyond the usual basing and painting supplies. I am looking forward to having a look at the games and I'll make sure I look out for your Chotusitz game.

Cheers
Aubrey

Aubrey,
see you on the bus :-)

I have no money, so am leaving it out this year – I have a shedload of stuff I need to paint anyway, so more buying would be simply self indulgent.

Have a good time lads!

Pat

Always a good show at Triples, we are off on Friday and a 2 night stay!

I'll be heading over there on the Saturday. There's very little I feel I need at present. ("Need", of course, is not the same as "want") but as I'll be missing Phalanx because of a holiday, it's a long gap to my next reachable show which looks like being Fiasco.

I will be there with some of the chaps form Penarth running a 40mm Meexican American War Game.

Tom H
aka Bilbo

Well I am going!

and looking forward to it.

Beasts of Bolsover, Stand 108 – if you are there stop by and say hi!

Me too – for the first time I'm staying for the weekend.

Staying at the Garrison hotel.

Tony of Tiny Tin Troops

I'll be there Saturday. Triples used to be my favourite but York as now taken over, but it will still be worth going. I have quite a lot to buy this year as well

Looking forward to it.

Craig

im hoping to go and see my mates from the Penarth Club

and see my range of figures in action!!

as a punter this time……

regards

Ged
gringo40s.com
gringo40s.blogspot.com

Went today for the first time since erm…. let me see, the early 1990's when it was at the Octagon where I recall it being a complete crush, 3 deep at every stand and you couldn't see a thing. Now the EIS came as a very pleasant change, great venue with ample parking and the layout in the halls was fine with plenty of room for manoeuvre. The B&B wasn't a crush like Derby and the booking in seemed straightforward, unless like my friend you had spent ages last night already writing out a long list of whatever it was he had to purvey, only to have to do most of it again onto 3 forms!! lol
V impressed with the guys from Stonewall and their Mons layout, hope it wins Best in Show. Some other very decent looking games too with a lot of thought and effort going into some judging by the terrain on display.Well done all.
Overall a good day out, my colleague is already making plans to return next year, and we will be making the somewhat shorter journey to Partizan next week so as far as we are concerned the two shows so near together isn't so bad. All in all we give Triples an A rating!! Thumbs up lads!

Sorry to say but for me it was quite disappointing.

To be ripped off by G4 for car park unlike last year was a shock – esp as the 'overflow' was past streets with on the road free parking.
A surly gent asking for £5.00 GBP to get in and not even offering maps out.
Only 1 demo game looking for players (despite seeing things three times) – Wings of War for info.
Queued 20 mins for food to find nothing but hot sausage rolls and instant coffee – only one serving and three behind the counter faffing about.

Did meet a few good folk though and got most of the bits I was after but never again. Hi Ainsty, Two Dragons, Mantic, Ironclad and Four A.

Wonder if it was because I was wearing a GW fleece? I know one stand that spoke to me as a 'fan boy'.

And as for the 'daleks' – do you have volume controls?

I had a great time at YSP from lunch-ish onwards though so the day was not a total waste.

Will I go again? Nope.

Went today. Photos will be up on my blog shortly.

The parking charges were a shock and the upping in entrance was a shock too.

The food was not great and pretty pricy.

Will I go again. Time will tell. Have stopped going for two days due to the costs. And now they have gone up again.

Had an ok day. Mostly saved by meeting up with friends and friendly pleasent traders and some demo folks.

Sorry you had a bad day – I heard about the parking which I know the organisers were upset about. Had you found your way to the competition area (where the main soA stand was – we sponsor the DBA Northern Cup on the Saturday so cosy up with the event) we would have got you a game … and I'm sure Rob Broom was picking up players on the War & Conquest Plataea game.

Rollbahn Ost was running all day and is great fun – but doesn't fill up a lot of the day of course …

But I'm not arguing with you, Andrew – if it didn't work out that's a plain disappointment. Especially after being ambushed by the 'no longer free' parking :(

Phil

I'm afraid my experience was rather negative too.
Stitched up for parking – not the organisers fault, but unpleasant nevertheless.
I don't mind the £5.00 GBP entry fee, but a smile and an offer of a map wouldn't have gone amiss.
Felt a bit empty.
It's a better venue in many ways than the Octagon, but like Salute a little soulless.
Most of the games were, to my eyes, unspectacular and only one seemed to offer participation, with the rest that old wargames show bugbear where the participants are more interested in playing the game with one another than with talking to any passers by and explaining what's going on.
Spent more money on getting in and parking than I did on buying anything.
From a traders point of view in this economic climate, do two day events make sense any more?
Overall, probably the last time I'll make the trip.
:(

Got over today.

My savings on the show price for Pike and Shotte and the savings made by finding a number of full Essex packs for less than half price in the second hand realms of "Instant Armies" covered my rail fare and the entrance (plus what I'd have saved on postage.)

I was very impressed by the number of demo games that looked like good quality club night games. I'll be posting about some either through my blog or GWP.

OK, so I don't drive, but surely the trick on parking is to find somewhere free/cheap near a tram station and ride in on the tram.

day 1 for Op Kutusov went well. Games lasted around an hour and around ten (roughly half) of the players were able to storm over the German defences to victory…

I'm bemused by the comments about the lack of games looing for players? The aisle we're in, table W in the mainhall, has (iirc) four participation games in it (Viet Nam/ Middle East, WW1 tank ace, WW2) and I saw more as I took the occasional break from the game to grab coffee to refrresh my co-presenters.

Charging for parking (as we're demoing) seems a little harsh, but the fee itself (3.50) for the day, not so bad…

The venue is light, airy and gives us plenty of room to roam and mull over the goodies on show – the second hall could benenfit from better advertising but (although tired) I'm still looking forward to the new day.

chin chin

Following up on my earlier post, here's my selection of pictures of simply presented games recorded on my rarely used blog. marquessofgranby.blogspot.co.uk

Interesting comments esp re the participation side – i've never been to a show (in 30 years of going) re looking to participate as its the trader side, with the opportunity to see figures in the hand rather than on the net (or in many companies cases with no photo) and without paying minimum order P&P for small purchases that is the draw – along with maybe seeing some nice demos.

Obviously parking was an issue but in terms of not going again it, seems to me to depend on where ones lives, what other shows are available and why ones goes – if its to buy then whether the person on the desk is not the most engaging doesn't really matter to me – there's no point just saying I'm not going, if the next nearest big show is 6 months or several hours drive away.

Last year I was offered a ticket by someone coming out but thought it better to pay. I think anyway that the era of the 2 day show is well on the way out – which is OK as long as every show does not become a Sunday one as as personally I don't do Sunday shows.

On reflection after yesterday I would add a couple of things to my post above.
Yes we thought the price for parking was cheeky when you drove through the already full car park, past empty streets to the rear of the EIS to park in another car park. Next time we're turning left 3 roads after the EIS and parking down a side street, once bitten, twice shy.
We found that if you give a bit of banter to the folk on the door it helps, as these are people who lets face it have a boring boring day just sitting there doing nothing but taking money off strangers (would you volunteer to do it for two days and still smile at the end of it?) however we were charged £10.00 GBP for 2, and had to ask for a concession for one over 65 which we got, only to look at the ticket later and see that it was £5.00 GBP/person for 2 days, so we paid for both days despite only going for one. I wonder how many others fell into that trap?
Saw loads of participation games, didn't have time to join in unfortunately otherwise I would have, and had only paused for a few seconds to take in the enormity of the Mons game before one of the Stonewall guys was by my shoulder chatting and giving me info on the actual battle as well as how they constructed the terrain boards etc, so I didn't find all the demo guys standoffish, in fact at Derby last year the same Stonewall guys were amongst the most chatty and informative then, maybe its just their way I don't know. However it would be nice to have some of the others be as friendly I agree.
However it appears some of them just can't win as people moan about demo gamers setting up games and then vanishing into thin air leaving a table of figures which hardly move during the day, and no one is around to talk to anyone, or they get panned for actually playing the game they've painstakingly made over months,and brought some distance, and set up early that morning or the night before taking some time, and getting so into it that they ignore all passersby as they are busy enjoying themselves too much!
Perhaps clubs putting games on should take turns to designate a participant or participants to talk to the public whilst the game is ongoing, so that they all get to game most of the time, but we get to talk and admire their efforts? After all the demo games are for our benefit, aren't they?

I went and played in the Impetus tournament on Sunday. That meant I only had 30 minutes free to look round and that was not enough. I might go over next year but would not look to play in a tournament as the main show IMO deserves at least 3 hours to look round.

The parking was apparently as much of a surprise to the organisers as it was to me.

Went last year and came away disappointed, but I have to say most shows are like that now, due to agents carrying all the same stuff warlord, perrys, armypainter, etc so you see one stand you've seen half the show, can't say prices vary either. As for admission pretty sure I was charged for two days, which was strange 'cos I went on the Sunday.

I was rather annoyed to be £8.50 GBP down before I'd bought anything. Triples has always bothered me too because they charge the same price whether you go one day or two. I've always gone on a Sunday and had to pay the full weekend price. As someone who goes to 'shop' I don't need to go two days running, so I regard the admission as a bit steep in that respect.

As regards complaints about food, there was plenty at around 11.40 when we went, but the coffee machine held everything up. It was very slow and your food went cold whilst you waited.

Despite all this I had a reasonable time and will probably always go, though £5.00 GBP to get in and go shopping is irritating.

Paying for both days but only going for one? I think it is the other way round … there is a basic admissions price and it covers the whole event. The sub question is it fair? I can't answer. It is less than half the price of Salute.

Paying to shop? Well, a show is so much more than that – but if you miss out on all the other attractions, I guess you just have to weigh in the balance the admission plus travel (less any show discounts) and set it against the carriage costs you'd pay by mail order.

If they anything like balance out then the show is a winner as you get to try before you buy, and take the good home with you rather than wait for delivery.

Then again, seeing a wargames show purely as a shopping opportunity is a limited perspective (I'm glad they are much more than that)…

My thoughts – (We put on the old school Chotusitz demo game)

We were also asked to pay for parking on both days but I refused to pay – parking attendants let us in.

We have the same issue with Leeds Fiasco at the Armouries where traders dont pay for parking but people putting on games do.

As far as I am concerned we put time and effort putting games on without which these shows would be just a trade event. I expect at the very least to get parking particularly as there is often a lot to unpack/pack away. A cup of coffe would not go amiss either.

If traders get free parking why not the people putting the games on?

The guy on the door also made a smart arse comment to me on Sunday morning which to be honest showed up his lack of inter personnel skills. I suggest SWS think about that. Perhaps they need to do more rotation on the door .

We spent a lot of time talking to the public about our game/rules and figures (I suspect Prince August will get a few orders as a result). We also played the game to conclusion with the Austrians winning the day – I hope we got the balance right.

Our Old School game seems to have struck a resonance with the public and has certainly encouraged me think about putting on more games in the future.

Cheers

Went to Triples this weekend. I find it hard to agree with those who the ticket price of a two day show is expensive. I have paid in the area of £5.00 GBP in for much smaller one day shows. So the way I always look at it is. Buy one day get one free. Maybe it's just how you look at it. I enjoyed the show, parking was pricey. And not a Pleasant suprise. But I guess the organisers will have to sort that one out with the venue before next year. I think paying £8.50 GBP before you start is asking a bit much. Because parking was free previously I think a lot of people got caught out. And rather than finding on road parking had handed over the cash before they realised what was going on. On the whole I enjoyed the day, everyone I spoke to was pleased to talk and explain what they were doing. The standard of games both display and participation were generally very good. And I liked the Daleks, they were collecting for charity and seemed to me to be well received. Anyone who say's otherwise is a sourpuss. Spent my cash and could have spent the same again. If I spend enough at Total Battle do I get shares? All in all an enjoyable day.

I went on the Saturday and really enjoyed the show. York Club had put on a minibus for us so there was no issue with the cost of parking. There was some great games on show. I thought the Old School Chotusitz, with the homecast 40mm figures, was excellent. This summed up my wargaming 'dream' when I first discovered the hobby. As I suspected though highlight of the day was the Rollbahn Ost participation game by WD. Unfortunately, my Army Group South fell short of its objective but a very inventive game and certainly the best 20 minute wargame I've ever played.

I got all the paints and basing supplies I wanted, bumped into a few people I only see at shows and put the wargaming world to rights in the minimalist bar.

Oh and I really really loved the Daleks.

After missing Triples for quite a few years I definitely plan to go next year.

Cheers
Aubrey

Yesthatphil no I paid the 2 day price on the last day, which I think is a bit wrong, the other way round is Warfare in Reading were you paid each day without there being a 2 day price (2 years ago) don't mind paying admission, club has to pay the venue and make a profit, but and it only affects 2 day shows is to get the prices fair. Salute maybe twice the price but you get alot more than twice the content.

I enjoyed it. Cost was a bit steep especially as my mate drives so I pay the rest and had spent £13.50 GBP GBP before I had seen any figures (except for the excellent daleks of course).

My mate who seems to have turned old suddenly wanted to go just as I was about to pressure Richard and Nick for a game of their Romano-British rules. Looked good but on hindsight I had probably bored poor Nick already with my ramblings so it may have been a good thing. Note to Nick: Marne 1918:Friendensturm and yes there is Vassal!

I actually bought so many plastic tanks, hills and buildings that I was actually called a bag man and couldn't really move around at the end without nutting someone, my revenge for the rucksack brigade there.

All in all a great show and the new venue is growing on me.

Thanks

Craig

There was no option given about a two or one day price. Was not even asked. Just grunted at, and asked for a fiver!

Sorry, Lardie the Great, I hadn't realised there was a 1 day price. Still, I know the Sheffield folk follow the traffic on TMP so I'm sure they'll be seeing all the comments, negative as well as positive.

I had a great weekend, but I'm disappointed if that wasn't shared by everyone. That's not just a platitude – I like shows and want them to thrive. If the formula doesn't work for everyone it needs to be changed.

Phil

I think I parted with about £200.00 GBP on the day on various items on various stands (not including entrance fee etc), made £36.00 GBP on the B&b :-)and all in all rate it about 7.5/10. Entrance fee, okay, its not that dear compared with Partizan and others, if you had the option of paying for one day only and the entrance staff were a bit much punter friendly. Car parking, caught out this time, next time I suspect the car park will be nearly empty and the side streets full!! Venue nice, open airy and light with plenty off room for manoeuvre apart from the bit of a bottle neck in the entrance to the main hall where people tended to stand whilst debating where to go next, not really an issue though. Cafeteria wasn't too bad, maybe you have to time it right?
Re participation games, perhaps instead of you having to gain the attention of someone who is engrossed in the game, and not all wear logo'd polo shirts so it isn't always apparent who is putting the games on apart from the person in mid flow spouting the rules who doesn't want button holing every five mins, why don't the games put a sign on the table, once they have started a session, stating when approximately the next game will begin? A ring binder arrangement with laminated paper sheets saying 'next game starting at 1.30' or next game starting in approx 10 mins' would suffice. That way you can wander by, have a nose, think 'That looks good, I'll come back in such and such a time' and go off to browse/shop without having to interrupt someone to ask such questions? I'd have been there to have a go on one or two if I'd known that, and if the same notice carried an approx time for the length of the game too so you could plan accordingly. Its not a massive thing to do, but it would help I'm sure.
Also, given the amount of seating area and empty courts at Sheffield, what about demos or seminars in one of them during the day? How to make scenery or painting demos,talks demonstrating the latest set of rules with a game and a blow by blow account whereby loads of people can get to view the latest figures (which these days see to go hand in hand with the newest rules) whilst someone explains everything with the audience able to ask questions for explanation of those hard to grasp rules mechanics,and/or one of the
re-enactor societies such as a Medieval one knocking 6 bells out of each other demonstrating their prowess? That should entertain the youngsters and a few adults?
Good venue which could be exploited more I feel.It could have the potential be a Salute of the north perhaps if moved back to later in the year, since I'm sure many don't travel down to London to see Salute?? I don't know.

Yesthatphil, that is sort of the point, especially on the last day, why would you be charged full price, in fairness to Triples they aren't alone in this. I guess it's easier for them to work out how many tickets they have to sell to break even, but it's a little unfair if you're just going for the 1 day or its the last day. On a plus point the venue is a lot better than the Octagon and has a lot of potential as the above post suggests. I think though to have a northern Salute it would have to be a single day to make life easier for traders and to keep their costs down. It's a great idea though.

Then again, seeing a wargames show purely as a shopping opportunity is a limited perspective (I'm glad they are much more than that)…

Limited or not, it's my perspective, and it's as valid as anyone else's. I don't go for the participation games, and most demo games are of no interest to me, apart from the very rare stunner. If there were no games at all I'd still go for the shopping because, as you mention, you get to see before you buy.

And as for your basic admission price comment, I'd really like to know what percentage of people go for both days as opposed to just the one. And I would exclude those who are in some way involved in the show as against paying punters such as myself.

But I'm glad to see that you're perhaps coming round to the validity of the point as also made by Lardie.

At risk of seeming to chip in all the time, I think all points of view are valid.

I'm sure the organisers want to maximise the appeal – so I'm sure to them all points of view are valid too (and, honestly, if they do better appeal to everyone, more visitors would mean better revenue which might help them keep the entry fee down and be in a 'virtuous circle')…

But in all honesty I have no idea of the financial realities of Triples (of how tight the equation is and how key door money is to making it viable): it is clear that the combination of parking and entry, and the entry having no 'only one day left' discount has given the event more negative comment than the hosts would have wanted.

Phil

I like the idea of demos and seminars/ talks/ presentations – it all adds up to more reasons to go to the show and linger, rather than shop and go…

Of course, actually arranging sny of that would be quite tricky but…

………its not beyond capability, after all the Americans do it, and as Lardie and Phil say it would broaden the appeal, make it worth attending over two days perhaps and give you more value for your entry fee.

I'm a member of the Sheffield club, but not on the organising committee (although many years ago I was).

On the two day ticket issue, a long time ago we used to have Saturday tickets, Sunday tickets and two day tickets. It meant three print runs on different coloured card and lots of left over tickets at the end of the weekend. Not many two day tickets were sold, and it was reckoned that it was easier and cheaper to have just one ticket (which was at the one day price), so that's what we did. We could try having one day tickets @ £5.00 GBP and a two day ticket @ say £7.50 GBP …

The car parking charges were an unpleasant surprise for us too! The EIS web site says "Parking chargers (sic) may apply at events, please check for parking chargers with your event organiser or reception prior to the event". I understand that the organisers were only told about the intention to charge shortly before the show.

Ilkley.

As to your comments re:FIASCO, eveyone pays the same for parking, trader and display alike, and we discount the rate by 50%. We would also assume that traders will be offsetting the parking fees for tax?

To park in the multistorey would normally cost you about 7.50, we charge 4 pounds and Leeds Wargames Club pay for the rest.

If people want we can stop this service, and you can pay the full price :)

Yes we charge the same price if you end up in the car park or the yard, but as the yard costs us 15 pounds per occupier if we go over a dozen vans, you can see that thats discounted even more.

As there is little other alternative in our case, we feel that asking people to pay half the cost is a evil we have to live with, because if we paid for all of the parking, there wouldn't be a show as it would probably mean running it at a loss.

Andy Dickinson
FIASCO Organiser (Games)