Sunday 3 February 2019

Vapnartak 2019

Very cold this morning but no snow, yes plenty on the hills but none falling on the righteous, fortified by a black pudding sandwich and a cup of Rosy I set off to pick up Simon and head into the badlands of Yorkshire.

It was going to be a busy day, there was still a queue to get in at 1020, and it looked busy, wargamers of all shapes and sizes thronged the halls, I think it was busier than last year, there were quite a few youngsters and wives and girlfriends in attendance, the latter especially, I even saw one woman playing a game of Bolt Action! The traders were really crammed in this year and there were many traffic jams as people tried to see what was on offer and therefore blocked the small aisles, while their mates/girlfriends etc. stood at their shoulders causing even more mayhem. The venue is large but perhaps it has outgrown itself.

Bolt Action, a very confused table.
Superb table but could have played at home.
Again, beautiful but no one home.
Nice modern game, again no explaining.
 I think Vapnartak is now simply a traders exhibition, it could only loosely be described as a Wargames Show of the old mold. There were several very beautiful, large, game exhibits and a number of small participation games, overwhelmingly skirmish types. On one table nothing happened, it was gorgeous but for me pointless not only that, not one person was talking to people as they stopped to view. The messy but interesting Bolt Action game was the same, I had to interrupt play in order to ascertain the supplier of the very nice British figures. The large WWI Mesopotamia/Palestine type game in one corner was again superb but not once did I see the players talk to the public, only amongst themselves, what's the point, look at us we have a beautiful game you can only dream of, so what.

I know a lot of effort went into showing these games and maybe I am being too harsh but part of the experience of a wargame show surely is to interact with the people showing off their wares, talk to like minded folk not be ignored as you try and work out what is happening.

I managed to pick up a few items, I resupplied myself with some paints, got a couple of nice trees from Last Valley, grass tufts and picked up a great deal on a Tiger I, which I had an idea of getting at some point but could not pass at such a price.

The obligatory haul photo.
Unless I had something specific to get at York I may think of giving it a miss next year, a four hour winter round trip for a small haul could be a show too far for me. I realise I may be in a minority here but I go to wargame shows to see wargames, to be amazed, impressed and inspired, this part of the hobby is going the way of the dinosaur as far as wargame shows are concerned.

Rob and Stuart put on a Cruel Seas participation game, it was well supported and the lads spent a lot of time explaining the game and giving their opinions along with running several games which as far as I could see generated a lot of interest for the game. Well done.

I was supposed to have the 51st finished by tonight but because of the trip to York that won't happen now until possibly tomorrow night, I have the Royal Ecossais ready for priming, however with the arrival of the Tiger these may be postponed for a few days.

As you know I updated my X-Wing game to X-Wing 2.0 with Christmas gifts, I also decided to get a new set of templates and tokens, no, I don't need them, I just wanted them. I got them from Art of War and they are very nice, they cover all the factions in the Star Wars game and were far cheaper than getting them from the US which I was for a time contemplating, thankfully I came to my senses.
 

19 comments:

  1. Looks like you overspend there George :~)
    Eyes down, arse in the air demo's are alive and well it appears, oh well. Can't see this show being added back to our show calender anytime soon.

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    1. Came to more than a fiver Phil. I think I’ll give it a miss next year.

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  2. Your report is welcome as it confirms the decision not to travel to the show in future years, plenty of opportunity to be ignored at more local events! The "Look at me, Look at me!" games have little appeal anymore. That long horse & musket diorama I've seen in so many iterations it's boring if I'm honest.

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    1. That particular horse and musket diorama was just that, a piece of art not a wargame, it belonged in a museum. The Kut 'game' has been there in some for or another for at least three years, beautiful but apart from those playing it was impossible to follow.

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    2. The downstairs horse and musket display is a show institution put on by one of the York club's life members. It is the closest thing to sacrosanct we have in the show. It is a really pretty photogenic display. I agree nothing much happens but it is lush :)

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  3. Sorry you did not see anyone to speak to at the big display game downstairs. I can only say it must have been very bad timing as there were 4 of us manning that table off and on between us all day with usually 2 or 3 of us there at any one time talking and interacting with lots of interested people, answering any questions and with interactive elements for kids and adults alike. I appreciate it is a very busy venue and imposible to speak to everyone. The time, effort and attention to detail that goes into putting on such a display is tremendous and it should be remembered is completely a labour of love for no profit whatsoever and leaves most of us pretty much exhausted. I'm glad to say though that the feedback received from people we spoke to was overwhelmingly positive.

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    1. I fully appreciate that and can only speak from my own experience. I spent time at all the large games throughout my three hour stint and as I said above, I had to interrupt the BA game to get an answer. They were beautiful and thanks for your efforts.

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  4. I have seen many great games where the people putting the game on make no effort to interact with the public. Some have the talent to paint figures well, make scenery or write/understand the rules but public speaking and interaction does leave the individual feeling left out.

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    1. Sadly I find this the norm, I admired a beautiful early Renaissance game last year, FIASCO I think, but they had no interest at all in talking about it, in fact quite a lot of the time the table was empty. There were tables at York, especially up in the demonstration area where things were buzzing so not all bad.

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  5. Hi thanks for your thoughts on our show. We did have a couple of pinch points. That is entirely my fault trying to fit large games in around traders. Vappa has for a long time been a trade/sales show with addition hobby promotion. We try to book participation games rather than just demos but are restricted by what people are prepared to come with. The bolt action arbourne assault was in association with 1st Corps. There is a balance to be struck though. The large layouts are impressive and eye catching and capture a lot of photographic attention. More participation games are good but short games are usually needed and that does lend itself to skirmishes. The other support we have for the hooby is a full floor of competition games and a half floor of participation/demo games. There has to be a heavy reliance on traders as they effectivly pay for one of the best venues on the circuit. Thanks for coming ans do come again. We appreciate reasoned feedback as it helps us improve.
    Nathan

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    1. I don't have anything against a trade show and have went to York for years, I just hanker after what probably doesn't exist anymore, although I do that with many things. The large games were beautiful as I have said but I personally did not manage to engage with anyone at them. Thanks for taking the time to review my points.

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    2. Apologies again if we missed you. We are all very friendly and approachable really and only too happy to explain and answer questions for anyone interested. If you are at Vapnartak next year please do come and speak to us.

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    3. If I manage to save another fiver, I will, ta.

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  6. Your observations for this year are pretty much the same as my own over the past two years and so with a sore back and the uncertainty of weather / road conditions, I decided not to go, we usually do a stop-over and enjoy the beautiful city each year, so not going was quite something for me.

    From a 'bad back' person's point of view, with limited 'on feet' time, I have found the place to be too packed and the wait in a queue to get to a trader, too long, the consequence is that I only get to a limited number of targeted traders and miss the rest, that together with a trader / game imbalance in favour of the trade has meant that it has moved down my list of 'must attend' shows. I'm sure that is my loss and a ton of others would not agree, but there we are!

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    1. There are plenty of gamers who like the show for what it is, it was very well attended. I am at a stage where it is not primarily the traders that interest me so from my point of view I will have to think twice about next year.

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  7. Hi George it looks like you raised more interest with your post than you did looking at the games on the day:)

    I arrived late - 11:30 and was surprised at the number of people leaving, I got into the crowd pushing through the bring and buy, it was a bit like being in a slow moving river of mud, I just got swept along slowly. However I managed to spot a Sails of Glory boxed set and fought manfully against the flow and bought it for a reasonable price, I was very pleased with myself.
    I also bought some trees and retired to put everything in the car before going back to enjoy the rest of the show. It was now 12:30 and there was a flood of people leaving. It was much easier to navigate the stands after that.
    You're right, it is very much a trade show, but the participation games seemed to be doing well. I'd gone specifically to chat to the guys on the Wings of War tables and they were a jolly good bunch, so all in all I had a good day.
    I do like to venture up to the top floor and look at the competition games and just remind myself what I don't like about the hobby, but give them their due, they are passionate about it.

    I guess we all want something different from a show, I'm inclined to the view that a light airy hall is ideal, but I went to the last Triples and it was a soulless affair, nothing like the pushing and shoving in the university days, I just don't understand it.

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    1. I think a lot of people come to buy stuff then leave, I have to admit about two hours at a show is usually enough for me, I have what I want and have looked at what games are available. I thought the numbers were fairly steady throughout my time there. The WoW guys always have a good stand and are more than willing to talk. This post has garnered more comments than most.

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  8. Interesting read George. I did make a bit on the tabletop sale, which was handy, but I agree on the dioramas. They take up so much space and a change is as good as a rest.

    I take participation games to a number of shows and offered something a little different to the tableaux for Vapnartak a couple of years ago (not expecting to get a ground floor spot). The response was not positive (paraphrasing only slightly), suggesting that the game wouldn't be pretty enough as figures weren't a key component. I've not bothered offering since.

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    1. Hi Ben. You are not alone, Helion, who now support nearly all the big shows in the UK and are becoming ever more popular with wargamers cannot get a slot at York.

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