Vapnartak 2010

Last time I went I was disappointed with the show as I was expecting to play games and found very little to do except shop.  This year I took my daughter (who had never been to a show) on the way back to Uni and did not expect to play but went to shop…
I did have a three reservations after the show so I’ll get them over with first:
The car park makes a good swamp and for the quality on venue really lets the site (not the show) down.  Many people got stuck both coming in and going out – park on the road if you can.







The second one is a bugbear of mine – the map.  Four things to change on these please:

1. Sort the index by name not number.  I look for a trader by their name and then find the location on the map.  I have never gone to a show with the aim of finding out ‘who is in the left hand corner downstairs’?
2. When printing use a bigger font.  My eyesight is fine with glasses but these things get smaller each year.
3. Learn to count – do not put 7 next to 2 and 8 or 30 between 26 and 27!  Please decide on an up / down or left / right sequence and apply it.
4. Why say ‘now on three floors’ but only put two of them on the key?  You could have used a bigger font and missed the ‘G’ or ‘F’ block out.

The last one is yet again I was to polite to barge my way to the front of the bring and buy scrum:
Its great to see these and a big thanks to Hull games for putting this on but has anyone taking any crowd control advise from the site?  Some-one is going to be trampled.
Now for a few pictures – not many as I was shopping…
The competition floor:

Very impressive set up – nice selection of games (Warmachine/FOW/WH/Impetus/Northern Doubles) and we only heard one rules lawyer in the five minutes we walked around.  Alice found this very funny especially as I explained the difference between here and Recon – these folk took the games very seriously and really did not want to discuss the games.  Best thing for me where the two gents who where working out who won the game without playing the move out by counting points / strategy – why put the figures on a lovely table?
Talking about lovely tables.  Anyone know who put on the ACW game with the computer rules?  The photo I have is so blurred at cannot show it here but if you see it I think it was the best ACW table I have seen.
Two tables blew my breath away – first The League of Extraordinary Kreigspeilers who where playing 1 turn every 30 minutes on a wonderful board based on Shanghai in the 1920s – pulp like you have never seen it before:

The second one was a ‘Wargamers meets Hollywood’ from Shaun at The Bunker in Newark.  This games assumes the Incas have moved north and clash with native Indians and except for one incongruity (an Inap in the woods) made me drool.  Talking with Shaun the build detail is amazing and you can get to play on this board:

I have put some more pictures on my Inca blog here.
I did think the show was not as busy as last time and the extra room mentioned was only in the competition area so you still got dead end syndrome in places but the “+1 armour of barging” was being worn by many a man.
As for money well spent – sure did!  For this blog I got:

• A set of attack Haggis (still in my daughters bag at point of publishing)
• Eureka frogs with spears and mallets
• Magog and Axe / Wolf shield from Hasslefree
• Heyu as Alice asked nicely
• A pre-order of Venusian Tolero figures (thanks Mike)
• 15mm Ducks for HOTT

Total spend (excluding lunch and entrance fee) was £62.20 and an addition of 56 figures to paint!
I hope Triples at Sheffield has lots of participation games as I will not be buying ANYTHING!
As for Alice – she enjoyed it, loved talking to the Roman re-enactors (archaeologists on both sides of the conversation), though the rules arguments strange but excluding traders / demo staff and youngsters under 10 we where sure she was one of two ladies present!