Chillcon, Left Me Cold

Well, a couple of years ago I saw an email sent to traders telling them of the amazing show that Chillcon was going to be, following the death of Triples.

Now, whilst Triples had some major faults by the time the empire fell, it was, even in it's decline, arguably a major show. It just needed some work on it from a more commercially minded and P.R savvy team.

Chillcon has simply not filled those boots and to be honest, at £5 to get in, with only a couple of major traders, it was a bit embarrassing to admit  having paid to get in.

Cupcakes, face painting and a stall selling meads and beers?

Give over! Is it a wargames show or a bloody craft fair?

'Goody Bags' for £30 at a 'school show'

The gym has an awful amber lighting which means anything in there gets a sickly hue - Not a good place for a bring and buy where careful scrutiny is the name of the game.

Despite my recent  history with my former club (which I regret but which think was inevitable - It could have been someone else if not me, but I have a habit of opening my gob, for better or worse.) I beg you, SWS, get your game face back on, get some people in the industry on side, (we have a LOT of them in Sheffield) and make Sheffield great again.

I want to see good looking games, top manufacturers, less resellers and a proper bar with crusty grognards, bantering and debating rules, history and even the differences between High Elves and Town Elves. Frankly, it is my opinion that the organisers have no real idea of the hobby, say pre-95, and their idea of a warmer is someone who has little time and more money than sense, so that they gravitate to the 'glossy book' school. This in an area which is only second to Nottingham for it's input to the hobby and where they are singularly failing to raw bon the knowledge talent and vast miniature collections. When I say vast, I am talking individual collections of multiple thousands of 15 and 28mm models.

Chill con, when you remove the cheap gloss, is actually no different to many of the 'school shows' of the 80s and 90s, and in fact in many ways is actually not as good.

Many of the Grognards will recall fondly the Carlton Le Willows school show in Nottingham. It was run by the school, and they even opened the school canteen so that gamers could get a bloody good lunch for a bloody good price.

Ecclesfield and Chapeltown alone, have a serious number of gamers , many of whom have family connections with the school and therefore they could be a force for good.

I think it's time that someone roused the Sheffield gaming community and got Sheffield back on it's feet with a proper convention on a proper scale.