Warfare show 2016

On Saturday I visited the Warfare show in Reading for a couple of hours. This show is the final show of my year and represents an opportunity to make purchases to cover my Christmas break. Warfare always feels like an old fashioned show; there are a lot of competition games going on, the demo games are fine but not major eye-candy, the retailers are packed into a sports hall, and the B&B is large. I travelled by train this year, so did not have the usual car parking problems. The B&B was disappointing, there was not as much on offer this year and I did not make any buys. I bumped in to many wargaming friends which is always nice, and saw my mate, Graham, who was taking part in the FoW competition. The demo game which stood out for me was the attack on Foy, set during the WW2 Battle of the Bulge, using CoC rules. The winter setting and figures were beautiful!


The trade hall is the main attraction for me, and I quickly set about purchasing my 20mm USMC and Japanese WW2 forces I had planned for Bolt Action. The core of each force was battlepacks from Lancaster Games, supplemented by additional figures from Britannia Miniatures. I also stopped to look at other 20mm manufacturers; Sgt's Mess and SHQ, and made some extra purchases from them. Once these acquisitions were safely in my bag, I toured the traders making small purchases here and there! A few MDF bases, a pot or two of paint, a pack of dice and some markers, another Western building etc I dithered about getting the 'Pike & Shotte' rules from Warlord, but resisted because I'm undecided about the whole Black Powder system - it all looks very pretty but it doesn't grab me. There appears to be a revival of Ancients rules at the moment, and certainly the demo games featured a few new products, of which To The Strongest seem to be popular. I think I will resist and wait for time to sort the wheat from the chaff. I currently happy using Impetus and Sword & Spear.


After a couple of hours I had reached the point where I needed to leave. If I stay beyond this moment I find from past experience that I make foolish buys. So, another year of shows has passed, roll on 2017!