Triples Sheffield Wargames Show 2016

[Andrew Bruce]

Here is a few pictures of triples

Lots of people complaining about triples this year what’s your opinion

Triples Sheffield Wargames Show 2016

Take care

Andy

Wargaming in 10mm 10mm Wargaming Facebook

[Mike]

Wow. Lots of negative reviews.
Good and interesting reading though.

[Steve Johnson]

Not a good situation for any show to be in. Possibly too many shows almost back to back hits visitor numbers? Speaking to traders over the past few years a lot are cutting back on shows as the costs involved over all do not make it worth their while attending. this year for the first time I don’t really feel the need to attend a show. Salute was good to see last year but simply too big for me. My favourite is Colours which I plan to attend this year all being well.

[Not Connard Sage]

Just a few personal observations about show attendance:

I have no need to go to shows, as I can buy everything online. This is a boon – see below.

I have no desire to go to shows, as I can get into a scrum of shoppers down the local Asda on a Saturday afternoon. Although the smelly, be-backpacked wargamer may be a caricature, it has a basis in fact. Being elbowed out of the way by a fat malodorous tosser trying to barge to the front of a stand happened to me once too often.

I never went to shows to see exhibition games anyway, so that was never a draw. Let’s face it, watching a bunch of blokes move toy soldiers around isn’t very involving unless you’re one of the blokes doing the moving. Nothing much happens, or at least seems to happen, for extended periods of time…boring. IGOUGO is bad enough for the ‘non-phasing’ players, WeGOUWatch is terminally dull. We won’t even talk about the wargame dioramas, where nothing moves at all, all day.

Re-enactors. No, just no. I wrote a lengthy paragraph here, and then deleted it. ‘Nuff said.

What else is there?

 

 

Obvious contrarian and passive aggressive old prat, who is taken far too seriously by some and not seriously enough by others.

[Steve Johnson]

Fair points Not Connard Sage. I forgot to mention that at Colours I always run a demo game, so don’t get to see that much of a show. Others I’ve attended, very few of the games attract for a whole variety of reasons. I rarely buy stuff at a show, except books that I might see on the B’n’B etc. It’s simply easier and often cheaper online, after factoring in petrol and entrance fees etc.

[willz]

There does seem a fair few negative comments flying around about the show.  Sadly for me it’s a bit to far for me to travel from the South of England to the North for a war-game show, but if you have one held in your town or near you enjoy it.  I assume it must be time consuming running and organizing a war-game show, trying to please everyone from traders, gamers, visitors, displayers and re-enactors.  Let face we war-gamers can be a fickle bunch of people and at times hard to please.

Andrew thanks’ for an excellent photo report of the show, it looked ok to me.  like most people I tend to judge a show on the atmosphere, number of games, bring and buy and traders attending.  Sometimes I feel disappointed with shows as there is little I want to purchase, however as “Not Conrad Sage” mentions nowadays there is the internet for buying stuff.  I go to shows mainly for inspiration and the social event, I try to attend 6 or so a year mainly in the South / South East of the country.  I am a firm believer we all should support our local or near local war-gaming events, the internet is fantastic but this hobby may become even more insular if we as a collective group of fairly similar like minded individuals do not support each others efforts.

I attended Triples in the 1980’s and had an excellent day out, though at the time I was working in Barrow-in-Furness so it was a fairly short train journey.  I got to talk to Peter Gilder, so for me Sheffield Triples has very found memories (if slightly rose tinted).

Enjoy this hobby its fun.

 

[Fredd Bloggs]

Ok Triples, have posted elsewhere but will post here as well.

Traded at Triples, hit target, but seemed to be in the minority with this. But when a Saturday at 2pm is quieter than a normal Sunday afternoon there is a problem. Numbers felt down, the main hall was sparse, with big gaps (we got an extra 6 to 10 foot free) and they still stuck traders in the small hall as well instead of just filling one hall.

We were ALL packing at 3pm and the hall was basically clear by 4pm, the official closing time.

Thoughts: the vocal visitors want to go back to the Octagon, which a lot of traders would instantly decline. Sheffield Wargames Society want to keep it a 2 day, which on this years evidence is plain madness. They also want to ‘reclaim’ the old Triples date as the last show before Easter, meaning you now have 3 shows on consecutive weekends within 80 miles of each other. If you have a day job as well, the restock become a logistical issue as well, especially for those with Salute on the Horizon. And the killer blow here, we took slightly more at Triples than WMMS at Wolverhampton. But that slight increase is undercut by overnight accommodation, double the stand price and losing both days of the weekend.

Next years plan is Hammerhead and WMMS, and not Triples, better return on outlay and frees up another day for restock or you know, life.

[Simon Skinner]

I went on the Saturday, and it felt deserted. If you’ve trawled through the links and read all the comments on Andys 10mm blog then you’ll have come across my comments and pics on the TMP links ( under Volleyfire!) so I’ll not bother repeating myself, except to say that although it made for easier  shopping and getting around, there was no atmosphere and it felt pretty dire.

What I would be interested to know, given that someone on the Pendraken forum had done a rough headcount at 11.30 on the Saturday, is how many punters in total attended over the two days? Especially as Kallistra have put photos and a write up about the excellent  Hammerhead show online now, and they had at least 1217 people attending a one day show. It would be nice to compare.

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