"Poldercon, a Lardy Perspective" Topic
8 Posts
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toofatlardies | 17 Feb 2015 6:43 a.m. PST |
I've just posted a piece about the very enjoyable Poldercon on Lard Island News which, I hope, will be of interest to some. I must say that I enjoyed the convention very much but, more than that, it gave me an opportunity to consider wargames shows generally. For what it's worth, it is here: toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=3705
Rich
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MajorB | 17 Feb 2015 8:11 a.m. PST |
Interesting. The "Conference of Wargamers" organised by Wargame Developments, has a very similar format to that described, but runs over an entire weekend rather than just a single day. Of course it is also therefore residential. CoW has been running in this format for over 30 years! link |
toofatlardies | 17 Feb 2015 8:21 a.m. PST |
Major B. That's an extremely good point. I attended a couple of CoWs back in the early 80's, and very interesting they were too. Where I feel that Poldercon is a little different is that their games are selected to showcase numerous currently popular (populist?) rule sets, whereas CoW (when I attended) was more of a hot house for developing ideas and game concepts. But, in broad terms, its an excellent comparison. Richard |
Yesthatphil | 17 Feb 2015 8:27 a.m. PST |
What MajorB said … In addition, UK shows have changed over the years, static display + shopping being much more the norm these days than years ago. Today's shows are commercial ventures rather than enthusiast conventions and shopping is now a national pastime (so why wouldn't shopping be what hobbyists most want to do?) … I prefer playing games and presenting sessions so do prefer the CoW type weekend. My guess is that pre-booking slots in games is the way to go … I remember when shows like Triples went to every effort to help recruit and cajole so that Participation Games would get sufficient players to run. Maybe they still do just I can't hear it out the back. Hammerhead have been good (though I haven't been since the last one at Kelham) … but most are not. Traders don't support it, which is probably the issue. Phil |
ordinarybass | 17 Feb 2015 9:09 a.m. PST |
A very interesting read and some excellent observations. I've had fairly limited exposure to conventions, but I think you'd love the conventions here in the USA. Lots of gaming and lots of shopping. In particular the LIttle Wars Convention I've attended a few times in the Chicago area tends to have 100+ (possibly hundreds) of actual games scheduled over it's multi-day format. |
J Womack 94 | 17 Feb 2015 10:23 a.m. PST |
Rich has attended at least one Historicon – I met him there. I very much want to attend a Salute or something in the UK, but I think over all I prefer the conventions in the US where there are more games being played, and for more days. If I had to guess, I would venture that the residential nature of a multiday convention is what keeps UK (and perhaps other European) conventions to day trips. In America, it isn't uncommon to have to travel too far from home to make a daytrip out of a convention practical. I fly 1190 miles (1915 km) each way to attend Historicon in Fredericksburg, VA, not including an hour or so in the car afterwards. At that point, you can bet I am splitting a hotel room with a friend and staying all four days! Whereas if I only had to ride the train for an hour or two each direction, I might be averse o paying the extra for a room. Just a thought. |
ordinarybass | 17 Feb 2015 12:00 p.m. PST |
That makes alot of sense. Multi-day Cons in the USA do tend to have a vacation'able and destination'ish feel to them. Here in Chicago I have my pick of interesting cons for various hobbies and I usually only go for a day or two, but if you don't live in a major metropolitan area, it really makes sense to turn it into a weekend, book a hotel, etc. |
clifblkskull | 17 Feb 2015 9:51 p.m. PST |
Excellent AARS and pics Richard. Thanks Clif |
Huscarle | 18 Feb 2015 11:00 a.m. PST |
A good read, and thanks for bringing this to this Englishman's attention |
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