Putting on a game

[Mike]

How many of you put on games at shows/cons.

Is it just you, you and a pal, or as part of a club, is it for fun, or is it to promote/sell something?
Demo games just for looking at or participation games for people to join in with?
Is it fun, easy, how well does it go?

[Steve Johnson]

It’s a while since we have put on games, mainly due to lack of time to get together these days for regular games. Also I think we are that much older and the drive and energy has gone. When we did it was for the following reasons:

Double Six gamers was myself, Craig of Tiny Terrain and other friends as and when they were free.

We put on demo games of Blitzkreig Commander II in 10mm and 15mm, to showcase the rules to a wider audience, as well as wargmaing in smaller scales.

Frankly it was a lot of hard work and a long day, with plenty of prep before hand. However it was rewarding when we got to chat to fellow gamers, got nice comments about our game etc.

Would we do it again? Maybe, if we found the time in our busy lives to get things organised.

[kyoteblue]

I ran Games, Tournaments, and Demos when I was younger, now I let others do that.

[Chris Pringle]

Since the publication of “Bloody Big BATTLES!” in 2014 we have been putting on games at two or three shows a year. These are shameless exercises in self-promotion to plug BBB.

“We” means me and many other members of our happy gang at OWS – Oxford Wargames Society, and we run them as official OWS games.

They are all participation games, and geared to enabling people to turn up, join in, stay for just half an hour if that’s all they’ve got, or play a whole game if they want. Sometimes they are big battles that will take 3 or 4 hours, but often we run small ones that can be run several times in a day.

How well does it go? I reckon we’ve got a good formula; I would say that, wouldn’t I, but pretty much everyone has a good time, and I’ve yet to see any drop-in participant throw his teddy out of the pram or say it was a bad game or a waste of time. Plenty of players discovering BBB at our show games then head straight for the Caliver stand to buy a copy – I think Caliver sells out every time!

Is it easy? No – serious preparation is needed, and then on the day it tends to be manic non-stop exhausting action.

Is it fun? Absolutely! I just wish weekends weren’t so rare and precious and that I could get to more shows than I do.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!

https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info

http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

[Deleted User]

A show put on by the local model railway club invites us every year (about 10 in a row now) to stage a “demo” wargame. We’re the ‘Only Wargame in Town’ & really get a lot of attention from a large-ish crowd who know about Warhammer, at best & have never heard of historical miniature wargaming.

 

The show runs for 2 days & we work at getting everything together for the entire year. For me & my 2-5 pals, it’s a big deal, loads of fun & a source of pride.

 

I have posted shots from various games (we never repeat any game & never any period except for 3 Nappy games) here at TWW.

 

donald

[MartinR]

I’ve run lots of participation games at shows as part of a club, and individually at more focused wargaming events. Ive done the odd demo game too.

It takes lots of design work, a certain amount of prep and it is useful to have team support on the day. We have a fairly tried and tested formula for show games in terms of approach (but a very varied range of subjects).

"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" - Helmuth von Moltke

[Guy Farrish]

I used to help run participation games for a few years at various events – rarely wargames shows funnily enough. We mostly attended things like air shows, military  days, fetes with a re-enactment element and country shows. They were aimed at letting people see something of what wargames were about and letting them try their hand.

As other people have said, it is a lot of work in the preparation and in my experience, requires player/presenters to be very switched on to how people are feeling when they approach. We were a mix of military and civilian trainers and instructors so that helped.

Many times we got the ‘I’m just looking’ people to hang around by not pushing but including them occasionally in discussion and then decisions and before they realised, they were engrossed in charge of a unit or a wing, and family members were returning at ever shorter intervals asking ‘haven’t you finished yet?!’ I am very pleased to say that participants included men, women and children.

The games were designed to run as games, there was never dead time – so we had a shift/watch system – people playing (always prepared to stand down and mentor at a moment’s notice if there were public wanting to play), people ‘front of house’ engaging the public and ‘spares’ ready to take any role if everyone was engaged in talking/playing. The shifts/watches moved round every so often  (There was supposed to be a break factored in somewhere but that never seemed to happen!)

I haven’t done this for over 20 years but seem to remember that organisation and logistics could be quite time consuming, and the day itself quite tiring but very enjoyable.

[Phil Dutré]

I have run participation games for >20 years at (European – important in this context) conventions.  Usually we are a group of 2 or 3 friends preparing, building, running the game. We have won a few “best of show”, “most original game”, … trophies.

However, the “participation” bit has varied over the years. Some years, it works very well. Other years, it’s a dud.

What’s most important is that the game acts as a focal point to start up conversations with fellow gamers/visitors. During the day, I don’t care that much whether the game “proceeds” at a steady pace. The purpose of the game is not to play the game, it’s to invite other gamers to start talking about wargaming / the ruleset in use / the period / life in general. It often happens I meet friends I haven’t seen in a long time. So the conversation drifts to non-wargaming things, of course. Sometimes we wander off and do some shopping ourselves. But we always keep someone at the table.

Sometimes visitors demand too much (“I paid the entrance fee, so you have to entertain me”), or criticize if the game is not to their liking. They think game hosts are employees of the con. That irks me. I consider all people present, whether they have a game there or not, as attendees. It just happens some attendees took the effort to put up a nice game for the benefit of everyone to make the con more attractive.

[Patrice]

We do (some members of An Argader forum). About 6 week-ends a year or so, in games conventions or miniature models conventions.

Either large games prepared for 5-6 players who had booked in advance; or short demo games for visitors; and in both cases we explain the game and the historical background, we talk about the miniature terrain and the minis we displayed, etc.

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Chris Pringle]

Phil Dutré wrote:

What’s most important is that the game acts as a focal point to start up conversations with fellow gamers/visitors. During the day, I don’t care that much whether the game “proceeds” at a steady pace. The purpose of the game is not to play the game, it’s to invite other gamers to start talking about wargaming / the ruleset in use / the period / life in general.

Well, yes and no (for me). Yes, in that our attitude is that first and foremost we are there to entertain. If that means letting the game sit for a while because passing punters want to chat, great, we want to meet people and we like to have a good natter.

That said, part of the entertainment value for people who’ve joined in as players is that the game should move along quickly enough to keep things interesting; and of course that is one of the key selling points of BBB, that the action is pretty fast and furious. So I tend to run games at quite a high tempo.

But of course it all depends what the people on the day want, and we go at whatever pace everyone is comfortable with. And we’re always ready to down tools and talk with whoever comes by.

[Tony Hughes]

I’ve done a few with our local group, a few with just another mate and a couple solo, have also done a display stand to encourage interest in small scale wargaming (1/6000 up to 10mm).

The last was probably the best I ever did, we couldn’t get away from the stand and even roping in mates, who came to the show as punters, to help we still had people queuing up to chat about parts of the display or rules or sources of figures.

Participation games have gone well. I was ill prepared for one due to the other half of the team moving away at short notice and me being too stubborn to cancel, even though it was obvious I couldn’t do it alone. The other was spoiled by a miserable sod who did nothing but moan and criticise the rules when he was clearly using suicidal tactics – never did one of those again.

I haven’t done one for nearly 10 years now, probably getting a bit long in the tooth to expend the energy it takes.

 

[Bandit]

Mike wrote:

How many of you put on games at shows/cons.

Is it just you, you and a pal, or as part of a club, is it for fun, or is it to promote/sell something?
Demo games just for looking at or participation games for people to join in with?
Is it fun, easy, how well does it go?

Last year, I believe I ran…

Just shy of 20 games at conventions – all of these were participation games to introduce players to and promote ESR Napoleonics. These are a lot of work, mostly becomes it comes as part of a lot of travel, 14 hour days working (including the time running games), and hauling stuff around. The rooms are often hot and loud though, so you’re always very, very appreciative to the random person who offers you a cold beer mid-game. There tends to be a lot of teaching because these are intended to be introductory games. Questions coming at you from all angles will make you feel tired by the end of the day. They are mostly a lot of fun and I enjoy doing it. That we produce things that are attracting complete strangers to even stand on line and see if there is an opening because of a no-show is an incredible compliment, and it is always frustrating not to be able to include everyone who wants to play.

In 2016 we ran big games to get a lot of eyeballs directed our way, 6-10 players, 6×16′ tables, handful of two-three thousand figures on the tabletop. Last year I switched to doing introductory games, 4 players, focused on teaching and answering questions.

In addition I believe I ran maybe 3-5 public games for local clubs in 2017. These are more relaxed but still generally require some local travel and therefore hauling of stuff. Far less exhausting but still work to some degree. They tend to be larger, 8-10 people playing, ample figures for everyone. Some people know the rules, some do not.

And finally I would guess another ~6 private games for the regular group I game with. These are the most relaxed, normally run at my own venue so that there is no hauling of game materials anywhere else. The players are generally fairly familiar with the rules or remember them pretty fast so there is less teaching going on. Anywhere from 6-14 players.

It is a lot of work to run games, especially public games, especially at conventions, but it is rewarding work that is fun in its own right. And frankly, it is probably the best available promotion for game systems.

Cheers,

The Bandit

[Darkest Star Games]

If I am attending a convention I always try to run a game there.  Which game or era depends upon whatall else is being played.  I generally run a Vietnam game as that war is usually both under represented and many usually try it as “ww2 in the jungle” and I really like to try to portray a bit of historical accuracy as far as the feel of the battle/skirmish.

Usually it’s just little old me running things, unless my buds decide to pull out the HUGE pirate game, which takes at least 6 of us to run as we tend to have around 40 players.  It’s a huge amount of work, but a real hoot to both run and play!

 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a demo/display sort of game in the US where people were not allowed to play, or had to just watch the people putting he game on.  I understand that is fairly common at UK/Euro shows, but has always struck me as odd.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[craig cartmell]

I run participation skirmish games at shows up and down the UK each year. Usually it is only about eight shows a year, as we are completely self-financed and don’t trade at the shows.

We generally put on between one and three boards, depending on how many volunteer crew we can get to come along. The boards are 75cms square and  designed to provide games that are 30-40 minutes long. So, smaller forces and simple objectives, with a predetermined turn limit.

The reception varies with the show. At some we might just run a couple of games, at others we are busy from the beginning to the end. Usually it is five-six games per board.

We have found that the perfect crew is double the number of boards you are displaying, plus one. Then there is always a guide for each board, plus someone running ‘front-of-house’, and the others can have time to relax and see the show themselves. This is important if you are relying on volunteers.

A piece of advice; do not underestimate just how physically exhausting such shows can be. You are on your feet, being welcoming and helpful to people, for six to eight hours. Always have plenty of snacks and water under the table. If someone can make an hourly run to the coffee stand that is also great. I have seen game-runners collapse because they were simply not drinking enough.

This was Salute 2017, where four of us ran two games all day, and had a friend displaying his IHMN board games as well. Look – cake from a friendly gamer :D. I slept for fourteen hours after that show.

All that said, shows are incredible experiences. You meet and talk to so many really great people, and most are really appreciative of what you are doing. If you have put good effort into your boards, terrain and figures, then you also get a lot of people photographing and videoing them. This is a really lovely feeling.

Every time we do a big show, on the way back I say ‘never again’ and ‘I am too old for this’. Two days later I am planning for the next show 🙂 because they are addictive.

[Deleted User]

craig cartmell wrote:

You meet and talk to so many really great people, and most are really appreciative of what you are doing. If you have put good effort into your boards, terrain and figures, then you also get a lot of people photographing and videoing them. This is a really lovely feeling. Every time we do a big show, on the way back I say ‘never again’ and ‘I am too old for this’. Two days later I am planning for the next show because they are addictive.

I agree. People are overwhelmingly nice. Go figure.

 

donald

[Garro 7th]

I’m a relative newcomer to putting on participation games but, next month, will be doing my fourth year at Hammerhead.  If anyone is going, pop over to the Battle of Prokhorovka game using the Tanks rules and say hi.

What a night though it's one of seven
What a night for the dancing dead
What a night to be called to heaven
What a picture to fill your head

[Author]

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