Wednesday 8 November 2023

The Other Partizan Wargames Show Report; Somewhat Boring Title- Far From Being a Boring Show!

Here we are, nine days out from the best Partizan show I have ever attended and it's time to put into words my feelings about the event. I heard from one of my mates that it was the best turnout for Partizan thus far with over 1200 bodies through the door, I think with more women and kids attending too, though I could be wrong on that as I'm going on a "feeling".

After the brief obligatory walk around the hall one thing was noticeable immediately, most of the display games had disposed of their battle mats and replaced with ye olde terrain tiles, which, in my opinion, just makes games look so much more presentable, and geographically understandable. This is not a knock at terrain mat users, they certainly have their place and can look great if made well. 

These photographs are all "clickable". They are quite large files so you can dive into the detail. don't forget, you can click right on the image then click "open image in a new tab" for the full size files should you wish to do so.

Before I dive into the games, I want to make an apology to the great looking games I missed! It was not until checking out extra Partizan games here and there, mainly on Facebook, that I realised the plethora of games missed by my aging eyes and lens of my camera. Yeah, I still wander around shows with a camera! 

The first game to mention would be the Bodkins (Dave Andrews, Matthew Bickley, Simon Chick, Nichol Murray, Andy Mill and myself David Imrie), The Siege of of Hennebont, 1342, during the Breton War of Succession. 

I am obsessed with the Early Medieval period, High Medieval period and the Late Medieval Period, in particular the Hundred Years War, ergo there may a clear bias afoot but this game was quite simply the best game I have ever seen in my whole life! It had everything. The standard of painting of each miniature was outstanding, the terrain tiles so well thought out they presented the scene with perfection, the buildings including Hennebont so well detailed they told their own story and the standard of hand painted heraldry on the nobility unsurpassed. 

NB. This post is so damn late that I am going to publish it as it is. I would have loved to delve deeper into the other games but time has father not been kind enough to allow me to find the time to do so.
Apologies to all the other gamers, games, clubs etc. You all are worthy of a well deserved mention!

The Bodkins, The Siege of of Hennebont, 1342, during the Breton War of Succession:























Iron Brigade, 28mm Dragon Rampant, Winter is Here:


Cramlington Wargames Group, 28mm Zulu Wars Battle of Inyezane River 22nd January 1879:



Boondock Saints, 28mm Mughal Empire, Lalsot 1785 and the Rise of Benoit de Boigne:

















Gothenburg Gamers, 28mm Crimean War:
 Gothenburg Gamers                                    28mm Crimean









Bramley Barn Wargames Club, Elizabethan Ireland Game:




The Billhook Brothers, 28mm Medieval Naval, Never Mind the Boathooks:



Perry Miniatures 28mm Franco-Prussian War, Valour and Fortitude Rules (Free with WI):







League of Extraordinary Kriegspielers, 28mm Back of Beyond, Setting the East Ablaze:


Shrewsbury Wargames Society. ECW, Siege of Stokesay Castle:






RAF Wargames Association, 28mm, Vietnam Never Get Off The Boat:


Pandyman Entertainment, WW1 Trench Warfare, Trench Offensive:




We're putting on the Battle of Hereford 1055 at the next Partizan. Definitely something to keep us all very busy at the club as it's a large project and requires more painting than I had, at first realised!

20 comments:

  1. Nice report, thanks. Much better pics than my meagre post!

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    1. I'm one of those crazies that still walks around shows with a camera attached to my neck! LOL

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  2. Thank you for posting this. Unfortunately I had to give this a miss. The Boondock Sayntes is invariably my favourite table!

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    1. It was certainly one of mine too. Highly imaginative, creative etc but my love of the 14th/15th Ce won out at the end of the day. TBH, I would have done a write up for all the games if I had been able to find the time.

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  3. Enjoyed, thanks. i was there, but still lovely to visit again ….. virtually :-)

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    1. True. It's always nice to look back and remind oneself.

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  4. The ECW game was by Shrewsbury Wargames Society. Seige of Stokesay Castle.

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  5. Hello,
    And thanks for the partage !!! I'm impressed !!!
    Nikkobourges

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    1. Cheers Nikko. It was a special one even for the high standards of Partizan.

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  6. Sometimes its difficult to put into words just how talented some wargamers are. I couldn't attend this year and I knew the games would be very good, but they surpassed that by a long way. Your group are too talented to be allowed to play together. A veritable Man City of the wargaming world.

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    1. Thanks mate. I'm not in the Bodkin's Robbie. I was but stupidly dropped out for personal reasons way outside of the hobby. Now, I wish I had never left!

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  7. Excellent post, thanks for sharing.


    Willz.

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  8. Brilliant Darrell, I'm keen to make the next Partizan and looking forward to seeing Hereford

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    1. Hopefully we'll see you there mate. We'll be the ones scratching our heads and peering at the rules a lot LOL

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  9. Stunning array and a great write up

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  10. Excellent post and very good photos! Haldon's book was well received when it was published many years ago because there were not many sources in English at the time. I hope that you found it more useful than I did.

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    1. At the time, it was very useful. Obviously historians move on and as more information becomes available the "story" changes. Have you read The Armies of Ancient Persia: the Sassanians, Farrokh?

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