Show Report – Joy of Six 2013

“Come to Sheffield” says Pete.
“You’ll have a great time” says Pete.
And he wasn’t wrong….

So, a sunny Saturday morning, 2 train rides and a gentle stroll across Sheffield (there will be many gentle strolls to come) and I roll up at the doors of Baccus HQ. In hindsight perhaps a bus/taxi/tram would have been a better idea but us wargamers aren’t afraid of a little sweat. I was immediately revived with tea and hobnobs, the tour was about to begin!

I won’t spoil the tour for anyone, it really is a MUST SEE experience. I had a fairly good grasp on the processes involved but it was still quite an eye-opener. Seeing the machines running, the rack upon rack of moulds, you can keep your candy shop, I know where this big kid wants to be! Add to that the sneak previews of things to come and having your order cast right in front of you (no more say puppy eyes!), it’s well worth the price. Oh, didn’t I mention? It’s free…

After an afternoon wandering around the city centre (you’d think I’d be tired of walking eh?) and a quick visit to my B&B (I won’t name it – it was cheap and central, can’t expect much for that) I made my way to the pub (another long walk…) to meet up with everyone who came down for the event. A few drinks later and we were on the famous Curry Night. This part wasn’t free but what are you complaining about, you already had hobnobs right? The night ended and in the manner to which I became accustomed… I walked back. I’m not going to say whether it was a good thing, or a bad thing, but it was then, 500 yards from my B&B at 1am, I realised I was in the middle of Sheffield’s diminutive red light district. No… I didn’t!

And so onto Sunday and the Joy of Six itself! Being next to the train station it was ideal for me, this meant I was setting off on my last long walk of the weekend. Now here is where I have to apologise once more, it’s always the same when I get to a wargames show, I never take the camera out of the bag. There were so many amazing games running that I could have spent all day taking pictures, but instead I was talking, playing, buying… So, from memory here goes…

Fulda Gap – I spent a large part of my time with the lads from Leeds playing their Fulda Gap game with Cold War Commander rules. Many tips were exchanged and rules learnt, it gave me the inspiration to get my 3mm British out of the bag again and get working on them. More to come on those really soon.

Polemos – No surprise that this ruleset would be popular here. I have to admit, I have yet to get my head fully around it though between the various games I did get a better understanding. That aside the games using these rules were stunning. Seeing the massed hordes of models beats any 28mm non-skirmish wargaming hands down.

Vimiero – I didn’t see the rules that were being used but they looked very interesting, as did the basing method (1 company per base, with movement trays for different formations, skirmishers on the trays). Also exquisite terrain.

Isandhlwana – Another fantastic game with huge scale, great terrain and while I didn’t get the chance to join in, look lots of fun.

ECW – Right at the entrance to the hall, 32ft long table covered in figures. What more can I say?

Add in some familiar faces of Dr Mike and Henry Hyde and it was a cracking day out.

Suffice to say, I’ve already committed to next year and I promise to not only take my camera, but to actually USE IT!

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