"A Goodbye and Thanks to Salute" Topic

Not totally sure if this is a Sir Chris Hoy moment, or a Sir Steve Redgrave ("If you ever see me in a boat, you have permission to shoot me.") one but a retirement one, it probably is.

After 10 years of Salute games Uxbridge Wargamers have decided to "go out at the top" – well the top for us, anyway.

We have run 28mm games in AWI, Ancients and finally, this year ACW. All of them on 12 x 6 tables with 1200+ miniatures and all to the highest standards we could achieve within our resources.

All our games have been actually played on the day and every time we have talked to so many people we have been virtually unable to speak the morning after!

During this period we have met many great people from all over the UK and Ireland, plus those from the US, Canada, France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Germany, Norway, Finland and Sweden who visited for the show.

This year we put on what we felt was our best ever table and received our best ever public feedback, not to mention the best ever Salute Mugs!

However, as well as being ten years older, the shear size of Salute is now forcing us to call it a day.

The combination of the demo gamers 08:00 – 18:00 day (on site – a lot longer overall) and the physical size of the venue has now reached a point where three of us can't play a large game, talk to a continual stream of flatteringly interested people in the way we like and have any hope of seeing any of the show at all !

Joe Dever's photo montage has, as usual, made us wonder where we were on Saturday – it can't have been at the Excel!

So, for us, it's now back to the pre Excel days of viewing rather than doing where Salute is concerned.

We would like to thank all the many, many people we have had the pleasure of talking to over the years and above all the Warlords and the organising committee, who have continually improved the event in the face of what must be constant commercial pressure and endless restriction imposed on them by the Management of what is the only venue that can now hold the numbers involved.

Good Luck to them in the future and Good Wishes to all the oft maligned demo gamers who give their time each year!

Even if you don't do future Salutes, you should keep up the good work at other, smaller shows, Trajanus.

But congratulations on what you have achieved and thanks for being part of what makes the big show …

Phil

Thanks Phil,

We did Newbury as well as Salute for a number of years but recently that has clashed with holiday dates for one or more of us (as it will again this year) so we have to miss that one.

Newbury is more manageable, as being over two days and on a smaller site, its possible for each member of the crew to get round the show, run the game and do some serious jaw wagging – all the elements we enjoy! :o)

So dates permitting we may make our return there in 2014.

All the Best!

I'm not sure I understand…I get the time and effort necessary to put on a nice game…I also understand how hard it is to socialize and run a game…it seems to me that the main rationale for your decision is not enough time to see the rest of the show…is that seeing the other games or shopping or both?

If you need more time to wander and shop, just put on a smaller game in the morning and leave yourselves a couple hours at the end. I realize setting up and breaking down games is not a simple as it seems.

I suspect this is yet another difference between U.K. gamers and U.S. gamers…

db

If you need more time to wander and shop, just put on a smaller game in the morning and leave yourselves a couple hours at the end. I realize setting up and breaking down games is not a simple as it seems.

If every display game packed up at 3pm, all the punters would be more inclined to leave so the organisers wouldn't be too happy about them doing that.

I suspect this is yet another difference between U.K. gamers and U.S. gamers…
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UK shows are mainly 1 day now – I think in the US that yours take place over several usually in a convention centre with hotel attached – just doesn't work that way here

UK shows are mainly 1 day now – I think in the US that yours take place over several usually in a convention centre with hotel attached – just doesn't work that way here

Yep, one-day shows in the US are almost unheard of, even with very small cons that could be confused for a club meeting. Just a different norm, like you said.

The Major and GNREP8 have it.

Salute is one shot at 5000 people, in seven hours – effectively six allowing for a wind down.

With three people actually going through a game turn by turn, as if playing at home and doing the meet and greet stuff, the moral pressure on whichever one is away trying view the show, weighs in at around sixteen tons! :o)

We fix it that shopping takes priority but that's done on an "out and back" basis from the table. Viewing the other games tends to be an aspiration!

Its also surprisingly hard work standing on a floor built to take fully loaded 18 wheelers (with a void underneath) while talking pretty much non stop for that amount of time. Everyone who wants to discuss the game has just that one day and if you hit a streak its surprising just how many of that 5,000 want to talk.

The added problem is that to get this circus in one place requires a BIG room, so just leaving your table and doing a circuit without even stopping, takes a fair while.

The remarks about Excel being a "hanger" are no exaggeration its a big old place with everything in just one floor area.

I'm not sure how big the floor space actually is – Warlords could advise – but I know I'd not want to run laps of it! :o)

Trajanus – I think it's in excess of 10,000 square metres.

The other commenters are right about the pack up. I suspect anyone that tried to packup at 3 would be, what's a good phrase?: "asked not to" :)

My solution for your woes, incidentally, is more people and take shifts off. You don't have a 3 man game, Trajanus, you have a six man game with three on and three off at any one time.

That's what we normally do anyway. Didin't work this year as my 'sub ggroup' within the Warlords tried to run two games ourselves so we were stretched so thin I was in the same boat as you!

Not next year, though: one game, more folks doing shifts!

John T

Fully understand your decision, T, and congratulations for having hit ten years! We put on a demo game this year for the first time. It was tremendous fun, but incredibly hard work for all the reasons you describe. The floor is a killer for the feet, the incredible interest and curiosity of the public is insatiable (great buzz, but murder on the voice, and all consuming in terms of time). We had worked out that actually playing the game from start to finish was not an option, and went for demonstrating the rules on parts of the field in specially designated scenarios. Even this was not finished simply because of the crush of interest from the public, and at least one of the scenarios ended up as participation rather than demonstration! All in all it was incredibly rewarding, but I never saw the show, and didn't see things that would normally have absorbed most of my interest. Still, I think I found it my best SALUTE experience ever.

Mollinary

We were able to solve the shopping quandary vs demo gaming by employing those members at the club who have less of a vested interest in the shopping side of Salute. Others build the table, paint the figures etc. Also some of us are busy with PR for our own show etc.

My solution for your woes, incidentally, is more people and take shifts off

Nice idea JT – thing is we are miserable s and no one will play with us! :o)

the incredible interest and curiosity of the public is insatiable (great buzz, but murder on the voice, and all consuming in terms of time)

You need to watch out for that – its addictive! That's how we ended up doing a ten stretch! :o)