We are pleased to be able to bring you this short heads-up about the latest offers, news and announcements you can expect to see from our some of our traders at the Britcon Trade Show this year.
In case you've not been before, the full venue address is Barnes Wallis Building, Staff House Conference Centre, University of Manchester, Sackville Street, Manchester M1 3BB. The Google Maps link is here
The nearest car park is the Charles Street Car Park, in, erm, Charles St, Manchester, M1 7AR. The car park was (at time of writing this) £2.00 GBP/day on Saturday & Sunday. If you are planning on parking here you can check on the Uni website in case this has changed in the meantime.
For those arriving by train at Manchester Piccadilly, leave Piccadilly by the Fairfield Street Entrance, and cross the junction to be beside the Bull's Head pub. Turn left and go under the railway bridge, and immediately turn right, following the railway viaduct past the Optometry department. You'll pass two large red magnets (it's art..) and then turn left down some steps. The Barnes Wallis Building is in front of you.
Even more simply, when you get to the UMIST campus, you are looking for signs that look like this:
What can you expect to see at the show? Well….
Battle Foam are a brand new exhibitor this year, and will have their range of custom cut foam packaging and carrying cases. They are offering a generous 15% discount on list prices for all Britcon orders, and you can also order in advance by emailing jemma@battlefoam.com or calling in your order on 01702 462 017 for pick up at the event.
Steamforged Games will be at Britcon as a trader, and will also be running our first ever Guildball Tournament!
Guild Ball is a table-top skirmish game. Drawing influence from medieval "mob football", teams of players clash to ensure their team is victorious and the crowds of ravenous fans are well entertained. All this comes second to furthering the political interests of the powerful guilds that fund the sport, where a sudden goal or public assassination can swing the delicate balance of power. The game mechanics are intuitive whilst allowing for a wealth of tactical actions and varied play styles. Limited resources ensure that planning and quick-thinking will work to a player's advantage.
Britcon 2015 will feature the largest Guild Ball tournament to date, with players competing for a wealth of prizes and glory for themselves and their chosen guild. The Guild Ball team will also be running demo games for new player to demonstrate the tactical football and bloody combat involved in a typical game.
Steamforged always like to ensure there are a few additional treats on offer at shows, and Britcon 2015 is no exception! They will have our usual show-exclusive promotions available, offering great value for money for new players and experienced veterans alike.
In addition, the latest player to Guildball's expanding player roster, Minx, will be available for purchase, and our newly released tokens sets and templates will be for sale in limited quantities. The full and recently restocked miniature range will also be available all weekend.
Colonel Bills are offering a 10% pre order discount on ALL their in-stock items, which includes 4Ground items (where they already sell at a discount to list price anyway). They will also be carrying all the new 4Ground items such as the Cross and Crescent desert buildings etc, and the New 28mm Church.
The Colonel tells us that these are selling very quickly and we therefore recommend pre ordering to avoid disappointment. Contact Colonel Bills via their website for more details and to place your pre-order
Lesleys Bits Box will have one of the most talked-about games of the moment, the new Age of Sigmar starter set from Games Workshop for a price-busting £64.00 GBP on sale at Britcon. Rumour has it that GW have a packed launch schedule coming up, so there is every chance that there will be even newer stuff announced at out on sale by the time the show comes around.
KR Multicase have just launched some new bespoke foam sets for Star Wars Armada vessels and fighters, which are selling really fast. To make sure you get your set to keep these amazing new models safe, pre-order from KR online for collection at Britcon
Instant Armies will again be attending Britcon, which they tell us is one of their favourite shows of the year. This year, as well as their vast range of painted 2nd hand figures, they will be bringing their full Flames of War 15mm WW2 stock (both painted and unpainted), with the new (unpainted) packs on offer at discounted prices.
For the Saga and Bolt Action players they also have 28mm figures both painted and unpainted from various manufacturers, and for the 15mm FOG and DBMM players their stand will have literally thousands of 15mm figures again painted and unpainted.
New for Britcon 2015 will be figures for sale in pre-sorted units, allowing you to put units or armies onto the gaming table "instantly" as well, in case those first couple of games don't quite go as planned.
Magister Militum have told us that they are now stocking the FoGAM v2.0 rules in proper hard copy, along with a pretty much full set of army lists, so if you have been playing from a downloaded QR sheet for the last 3 years, this is your chance to "go legit" !
They also have just had a restock of Miniature Worldmaker rubber terrain in DBx sizes so make sure to visit their stand and take a deep breath full of this amazing terrain!
We also have a well stocked Bring & Buy – Britcon is great for a Bring and Buy, as all of players will definitely be there to the end of the weekend giving maximum time for your stuff to be seen, and sold. We also help you out by giving you the chance to complete your Bring & Buy entry form in advance.
In the Bring and Buy area we will also have a "tabletop sale" from Jonathon Smith, who recently was bequeathed the wargames collection of a long time friend and fellow gamer by the name of Stephen Atkinson, who sadly passed away in April of this year after a battle against cancer. Jonathon has been asked by Stephen's widow to help her husband's collection go to a good home, and will be selling off the collection at Britcon and raising money for St.Lukes Hospice Winsford (who looked afteer Stephen) and also for the SAMA82 charity for Falklands Veterans in the process. You can get a preview of what Jonathon will have for sale on the Facebook page he has set up for Stephen
** SPECIAL NOTICES **
We still have odd numbers registered for some of our gaming periods, so if you fancy "upgrading" yourself to become a competitor we can probably accommodate you – even if you only wanted to play for one of the days over the weekend, it would allows us to avoid having too many gamers sitting out "byes". Currently we would love to hear from you if you fancy a day or two playing Guildball, Saga, Bolt Action (on Sunday), FoGR, Flames of War and 40k – just contact us via the BHGS website and we can see how we can accommodate you.
We look forward to seeing you over the weekend of 8th & 9th August
The BHGS Britcon team
(NB – Sally 4th have unfortunately had to withdraw from the event, however Battlefoam have taken their place)