I've been so busy with things that frankly, I've not had much time on my hands for the contemplation of the hobby. One thing I have realised however, is that I don't really need to go to shows anymore. For the first time in years, yesterday, I didn't bother going to Hammerhead. Instead we popped into the Crucible Theatre for a light and excellent lunch, followed by a peek in the Millennium Galleries and an excellent exhibition on the subject of Storms in the Ruskin Gallery. This came after two consequetive nights at the Crucible Playhouse listening to a concert fro two pianos on Thursday and then, on Friday a blistering jazz performance from the Denys Baptiste Quartet, whose young pianist, Sultan Stevenson is outstanding. Even if Jazz is not your thing, have a listen to his own albums - they're excellent. Well, we are into March and the year is blisteringly busy. I do want to crack on with a few more trips down memory lane, but I need to find a bit more time for th...

 Finding the hobby was something I'll always be thankful for. As I remarked to Roger just last night, if I'd had the kind of conversations in the early 80s with school friends, that I've had recently with those same people, I'd probably have never discovered or got into gaming at all. An odd and somewhat unsettling thought, but I'm sure that would have been the outcome.  Thus, I'd not have been talking to Roger... When I got that first Holmes edit of the D&D rules from Hopkinson's Toys on The Gallery in Sheffield, I quickly absorbed the wjhole rulebook in a way I must can't do today.  I was totally hooked and being a kid and not put off by the incompatbility of things, I bought T1 Village of Hommlet and worked around the lack of Rangers in Basic D&D with Alan and Harvey getting stuck into the scenario with gusto. My very first dungeon was the one included at the back of the Holmes rules, and the players came a cropper with a Black Pudding, lurkin...

 Satanic Panic miniatures launch the start of a truly massive new range of Chaotic minis on Kickstarter in March 2026 with 135 Champions of Misrule and 15 shields with which to customise them even further for a unique army -  your  army. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/satanicpanic/champions-of-misrule-28mm-metal-old-school-fantasy-figures     

 Yesterday morning at 8:15 AM we set off for the Badlands (according to some, who have absolutely no idea of the wargaming history of Doncaster, probably because they are relative newcomers - wW must forgive and pity them) and 28 minutes later after a bright and sunny trip up the M1/M18 we pulled up at Doncaster Racecourse, parking 20 feet from the doors where a healthy queue for the debut of the new calendar fixture 'Tabletop Gaming - Live' staged by Warner Group Publications, who also run the highly successful BMRS model railway show at the same venue. It's a great venue to be in. It's BIG... It swallows crowds and I cannot stress that enough. The floorspace taken by just the 'bring and play' area was as large as most 'cattleshed' conventions, and was busy all day up to the point where we left, having spent longer there than  atany Wargames show since 2022. True, it was geared towards more boardgames and RPGs, but it was  lively  and  friendly...  Now,...

 It's been a fun week after I commented publicly at the 60% rise in the door price to Partizan. Of course the True Believers (who probably only go to the largest and most fashionable shows anyway) were on me like a pack of Yorkshire Terriers with OCD, damning me to hell and demanding to know - even after 5 days - how I could not bat an eyelid at spending large sums on figures, yet complained about a £3 rise in ticket prices to a show, which let's face it is pretty much the same every time and which, as is the modern trend offers eye candy and the same traders, year in and year out. There was even one comment basically asking how I dare say such things when there were companies out there relying on shows for income.... Err, how would they otherwise exist, if that's truly the case... Absolute nonsense in an age where we all pretty much shop and browse online. There was the usual 'Stay away, and let the rest of 'us' enjoy it', that collective angst reaction, as...

Wargames shows are a raw-nerve topic... If you like a show, you'll probably defend it to the last - I understand that. For around 30 years, like many of my circle, I  rabidly supported and gave my time to one show, but at the same time, I visited around 12 shows per year, all over the country from the age of 14. Every show felt different, but what was always at the core of the convention experience was the sense of being amongst your people. I don't mean race, gender, political view - none of that meant a fucking thing - but rather gamers, be they wargamers, roleplayers of that rarest of beast back then the the jack-of-all-trades who played everything, anytime, anyplace. Resellers were in the minority and there were, for a long time 'big box' companies were  not a common sight, but over time they have become the norm. Meanwhile the smaller companies don't bother turning up, a situation which is now spreading to  the medium sized companies who seem to be staying away...