The last time I attended the CAVALIER wargame show in Tonbridge was in February 2020, less than five weeks after the Chinese government announced that an outbreak of a previously unknown virus had occurred in Wuhan.
That seems a lifetime ago … and those intervening four years have seen life-changing events for all of us.
As usual, the show was held in the Angel Centre in Tonbridge …
... but one has to wonder for how much longer it will be as the Centre has been slated for demolition by the local council as the current building is no longer fit for purpose.
My main reason for going was to meet up with a number of other wargamers, including David Crook (on the right) & Roy Rousell (on the left), ...
... Postie (AKA Stu), ...
... Henry Hyde, ...
... Nick Huband, ...
... Nigel Drury (on the left) & Pete Grizzell (on the right), ...
... and Big Lee (whose photo was so blurred that I decided not to us it) and to have a look at the various wargames that were on show. The show was spread over two rooms, the main hall ...
... and the Conway Room.
THE WARGAMES
Retired Wargamers Reloaded
Hold until relieved: German counter-attack against the Ox and Bucks at Pegasus Bridge, 6th June 1944 (15mm)
Gravesend Gamers Guild
A Song of Ice and Fire (28mm)
Society of Ancients
Battle of Ilipa 208BC: Punic War action in Spain (28mm)
Friday Night Firefight Club
Fall of the Reich: Battle round the Reichstag in the last days of WW2 (28mm)
Milton Hundred Wargame Club
"Eine Bruecke zu Weit": An armoured bridge assault including a paradrop (1/100th)
Deal Wargames Society
Death on the Savannah (Survival of the Thickest): Can the Wildebeest cross the Savannah, hunted by lions and crossing a crocodile-infested river? (1/32nd)
South East Essex Military Society (SEEMS)
Nach Paris!: Franco-Prussian War (28mm)
Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society
Blood in the Lotus Garden: Honour Satisfied! Samurai Skirmish (28mm)
South London Warlords
We Do Not Kneel – Battle of the North Wall: An epic battle between the Night Watch and Free Folk (28mm)
Real Time Wargames
The Glittering River: Riverine Actions in the Russian Civil War 1917 - 1921 on river, land and air (1/600th)
Central London Wargames Club
Tally Ho Vera: Napoleonic (15mm)
Konfederacy of Eastbourne Gamers
Battle of Villamuriel: Napoleonic Peninsular Campaign (10mm)
Tonbridge Wargames Club
LRDG – The First Rogue Heroes: LRDG Raids in the Western Desert 1942 (28mm)
Cheshunt Wargames
Hoth: Star Wars (6mm)
Maidstone Wargames Society
The Summer of '77: The Battle of Britain (1/300th)
Rainham Wargames Club
Hammerin' Iron: Riverboat Action in the American Civil War (1/600th)
Interestingly, at the majority of the wargames I stopped to photograph, someone from the group or club staging it talked to me about their game. This is a vast improvement when compared to my experience at other shows over recent years and is to be applauded.
BOB,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wrap up of the Show- lots of interest there in the games presented- glad you could meet up with a few of your Friends. We don't have anything like local game shows here- sad even that the local model railway show here is no longer. Stay well my Friend. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI’m pleased that you enjoyed my show report. The games that were on show were an interesting selection, with a nice mix of historical and fantasy/science fiction.
We are very lucky in the UK to have so many wargame and model railway shows available to visit relatively easily.
All the best,
Bob
Good old Deal boys ! looked like a good one Bob.
ReplyDeleteDemitri Ioannou,
DeleteThe game put on by the Deal group was a bit different and looked even better than it appears in my photos.
All the best,
Bob
Good report and nice pictures, Bob! I was there and met both David and Ray, but sadly missed you. It was a good show, indeed.
ReplyDeleteDavid in Suffolk,
DeleteM glad that you liked my brief show report. I’m sorry that I missed you, but I was finding standing was becoming painful and had to go home before midday.
All the best,
Bob
A great report Bob, it was good to see you again and have a chat.
ReplyDeleteRay Rousell,
DeleteIt was great to see you and the other Rejects. I only wish that I could have stayed longer.
All the best,
Bob
Thanks for the show report Bob and a good mix of games. I've seen some of them at other shows I think, with Games of Thrones being popular at present it seems. Always good to meet up with friends and nice to read that the games actually had people willing to have a chat about the game!
ReplyDeleteSteve J.,
DeleteCheers! A lot of the games were new to me and the range of periods and figure scales being represented was interesting. I’m not a fan of the SONG OF FIRE AND ICE books, but the games looked interesting, and I was gratified to discover that George R R Martin collects figures.
All the best,
Bob
Lovely report there, Bob…👍🏼. Some well framed pics of what look to be very carefully presented games. The display games give the impression that they were very well thought through, to give maximum visual impact. All the gamers should be proud of their efforts (the Battle of Britain game especially…I can’t resist an aerial shot of an airfield, me). Thanks!! And glad you made it. Looks like plenty of inspiration there, and a chance to see games being run always seem to boost the batteries, I find.
ReplyDeleteMartin S.,
DeleteMany thanks for your kind words. I wasn't using my bridge camera as I was having to walk with a stick and could not manage both. As a result, I had to use my smaller pocket camera which takes smaller images. I was worried that the quality wasn't quite as good as normal, but most of the photos turned out alright. The exception was Big Lee's where my hand was shaking and his photo ended up very blurred!
The Battle of Britain game used rules from a 1977 edition of WARLORD comic that one of the Maidstone Wargame Society had found. They created an incredibly impressive tabletop for the various aircraft to fly over, and the grid-based rules were simple and fast to use ... so it got the thumbs up from me on several grounds! It's certainly a game that they will be able to use for many years to come, and I hope to see it again on the show circuit.
All the best,
Bob
That Wildebeest game looks hilarious. What a good idea!
ReplyDeleteConrad Kinch,
DeleteIf you contact the club I’m sure that they’d send you details about the game. I’m sure that your kids would love to give it a try.
All the best,
Bob