Initiative '17, A Konflikt '47 Event Report!
For those of you that don't know me, I am Charlie Monaghan, and I am a member of the Warlord Games trade sales team. I am an avid hobbyist, and have been playing and collecting Konflikt '47 from the release day in 2016.
A few weekends back, I had the great pleasure of attending the Initiative '17 event held at Enginuity Museum in Telford. Hosted by the fantastic people at Questing Knight Games and Unit '47, this two day Weird World War II event completely blew me away! From the largest recorded Konflikt '47 game to fantastic cosplay and sneak peaks from the Clockwork Goblin studio, there was a huge amount of things to see and do.
Upon arrival, each attendee was given a "supply" pack with a huge War Department stamp on the front of it. The seal read "Break in Case of Hostilities." Packed inside these boxes were tons of treats including sweets, a plastic infantry sprue and a limited edition miniature. There was also a ration bag given to each attendee that included more sweets, a bottle of water, a pack of chewing gum and tissues! I assume the tissues were for those who lost their games to dry their tears.
On the Saturday afternoon and evening, the event played host to 66,000 points of Konflikt '47! Operation Rapier consisted of a 44-foot long table where players brought 500pt armies to face off over 4-foot sectors in rotating games. As soon as a player achieved victory, they moved their force to a new sector. This meant there was continuous gaming going on for the full three hours. The giant board was beautifully laid out as you will see from the photos. The British forces scored the greatest amount of points closely followed by the U.S. and Axis with the Soviets finishing last. This was, without doubt, the biggest Konflikt '47 game I have ever seen!
The Sunday event was a wonderfully written campaign, Operation Rask Krig. With the background penned by Clockwork Goblins' Chris Hale and the content by Alan Davies of Questing Knight Games, the players were able to take part in three rounds of rich narrative-driven games. On the ten tables, you could find everything from rift tech-powered U-boats to ruined cities, networks of trenches dug into muddy fields, and of course, a wonderful array of Konflikt '47 armies.
As if the narrative of the day had not been enough to add to the great atmosphere, the players themselves and the armies they brought to the table were fantastic. Every game was played with great spirit and every face wore a beaming smile.
As icing to the cake, the cosplay entrants on the Sunday added huge flavor and characteristic to this Weird World War event. We were frightened by Schreckwulfen, terrified by Totenkorps, and in awe of the various uniformed soldiers.
To make sure I brought more than just a positive presence to the table, I was able to bring along a prototype copy of Blood Red Skies to run a few demo games over the weekend. A few demo games quickly turned into so many, that we were booking appointments for demonstrations before the end of the Saturday. We ran countless demo's and the feedback and comments on Blood Red Skies were incredibly positive. I am looking forward to playing more games of that when it is released.
In summary, this was one of the best events I have ever attended. The feedback I heard from other attendees was just as positive as mine. I am eagerly looking forward to the event next year. I am told it will be even bigger and better than 2017. I would like to say a huge "thank you" to Alan Davies and the members of Questing Knight Games and Unit '47. They really pulled out all of the stops to put on a great show for everyone that attended.