"Salute 2016 Musings" Topic

I went to Salute at Excel on Saturday as a punter for the first time ever. I've been 3-4 times in the last few years but always either running a game or as the organiser of an arena display (does anyone remember the Vikings a few years back ?). This year however I decided to use public transport. Apart from anything else, compared to going by car I would be about £30.00 GBP better off – more money for figures !!

I didn't book my ticket until very late on Friday night but even then plans had to remain fluid because I had a real life matter to deal with before setting off. Eventually I left the house about 10.00 and arrived at Excel at about 11.30. No queues in sight so I went straight in – well almost, I had to threaten my phone with violence to get the ticket back on display to be scanned.

First thing was a quick walk round to get the layout into my head before starting shopping. The hall was busy, but the Warlord and Gripping Beast guys were very helpful and their stands weren't too crowded (an advantage to arriving late) so very soon the Salute bag was duly stuffed with 100+ 28mm plastics and a couple of books. Next I sought out a couple of friends who were helping on stalls, before meeting Craig at the Ministry Of Gentlemanly Warfare. Coffee now called, so outside for a wad and a brew before going back in to the throng.

Fed and shopped, I made my way down to the ‘Thunderchild game offered by the Space Vixens guys. I spent a happy (?) 30-40 minutes sinking all the Earther refugee ships with nary a scratch on my shiney Tripods – Uuuulaaaaa !!! Then it was back to the Ministry Of Gentlemanly Warfare where I had a longer chat with Charles before playing my first game of ‘Blood Eagle' – which I also won. Fighting the urge for a beer (made easier by the price) I then started looking for the paints and varnish I had on my list – yes I even had a list. Having completed my purchases, I spent the next hour or so ‘Window Shopping' and bumping into friends

It was now about 3.30 and the floor was beginning to wear on my feet. (A common complaint I know). I thus set off for the DLR and my journey home, made about 15 mins shorter by using a different combination of Tube lines. (I'll remember THAT for next year !).

My main impression matches that of other posts I've seen. A sad decline in historical gaming, and a continuing surge of Skirmish games of all kinds, some of which seem to require figures that sell for prices that I consider to be verging on obscenly inflated. To some extent this has to be a legacy of the GW generation, who were weaned on spending hours on a single figure that cost 5,6,7 8 or more GBP. This is made more palatable when you only need as few as 4 figures for your army (Squad, Company, Team – whatever) but I worry that within a few years the sight of massed battles will be a thing of the past.

The only saving grace in this trend is the fact that some of these games (Blood Eagle for example) can be bought complete (Rules and plenty of hard plastic 28mm figures for two armies) for under £40.00 GBP GBP.

Overall, as a consumer I give it 8.5/10. It's never going to get a ‘10' because of that damned hard floor and the extortionate price of the ale ……

I agree with your observations on skirmish games, which seem to have a large presence in historical wargaming at the moment. It could be a cycle, but even my gaming group has cut the number of our big battle nights to less than half last year. I also agree with the skirmish figure pricing, but someone is obviously buying them or there wouldn't be so many new lines popping up.

The increased presence of skirmish gaming at shows could also be down to how much kit people want to lug to a show to put on a demo or participation game, especially if they have to use various forms of public transport to get to a particular show. Would you rather try and carry around several hundred figures for a large game or only around fifty figures for a skirmish game while trying to navigate through a crowded bus/train/tube/DLR etc?

I cannot say how much of a factor the above is in with regards to the increase in skirmish games at shows, but it probably is an element for those who are putting on a game at a show and are thinking about what to put on their table.

Ezza

Perhaps skirmish games are also more suitable for participation games because more players can take part at once or more games can be played in the time available.
Games in which one player controls one figure/tank/monster are probably much easier for an umpire to control.
Such games also present visitors who are not already wargamers with something that they could hope to achieve themselves without undue expenditure of cash, time and effort, which IMHO is important in attracting people to the hobby.

Speaking as one who has been putting on Participation games at Salute since 2007, we have found that punters are generally looking for a fast game, maximum 40 minutes that does not interfere with the serious business of emptying ones bank account for the acquisition of goodies. We have put on both historical and non-historical games. This year we kept a Steampunk theme with fastplay IHMN but having seen Blood Eagle we might explore this as many club members have SAGA forces.
The question of carting everything to EXCEL is another issue. Coming down from the wilds of North Derbyshire, we travel down by car and I have to say London is not a destination I relish driving around or through thanks to the dubious roadworks (was it the A13 down to one lane on Saturday?) and spurious signage.
Salute is still an amazing show and the Warlords are the apex of helpfulness, I just wish it was outside 'Transport for London's' area of interference…

I would have to agree with the speed and interchange of players.

We have put on large games at Salute many times over the years and both the practicality and utility of having people dipping in and out of a game we are trying to keep viable for the whole day has always escaped us.

The skirmish model where the game can be reset and replayed any number of times will always have the advantage and will teach players far more about the rules.

As I understand it the several day/residential format of US events has given rise to people attending games for a much longer period and indeed going to the show with the specific idea of playing an entire game of their choice, regardless of duration. This being feasible without the pressure to charge off and do some serious shopping before the doors close.

Translating that into a few manic hours at Excel is a much bigger ask.