Thursday 6 November 2014

Crisis 2014 - the Annual Pilgrimage


This weekend just past was the annual trip of the St Albans Wargames Club (now perhaps better known for being the home of TooFatLardies) to the Crisis wargames show in Antwerp. Each year this is one of the highlights of my wargaming year. A combination of the chance to get away for a couple of evenings with friends, the excellence of the Crisis show and the wonderfully cosmopolitan city of Antwerp always make it a weekend to look forward to.

This year was no exception. Six of us went from St Albans – Rich, Nick, Elton, Biffo, Noddy and myself. We had a great time both running our participation game of “Big Chain of Command”, and looking around the show. 

 Many of the photos below I tweeted on the day on the @RoundwoodsWorld twitter account, until my iPhone battery died. Others come from Rich and Nick’s camera – and you can probably tell those because they’re the good and finely framed ones!








Rich and Nick justly won the Best participation Game award for their Normandy 1944 game, and it was great to see James and Scrivs win the Most Innovative Game award for their stunning game of Keren 1941, which also featured the “Chain of Command” rules.

As for the other games at the show, its hard to know where to start. There were numerous excellent Great War games, many of them (suitably enough) featuring Belgian resistance to German invasion, including this wonderful game from the Maidstone Wargames Club, entitled "Brave Little Belgium".











There was also an extremely finely crafted participation game in 10mm, set in the Battle of the Frontiers in August 1914, which certainly made me think of brushing up my remaining 10mm figures.





The League of Augsburg put on a stunning display of the wintry field at Fraustadt 1706…





... and Dortmund Amateur Wargames staged an equally impressive game on the Russian steppes as part of Operation Bagration in 1944.




The Freebooter crew put on an excellent game featuring sunken galleons and buried treasure ...





…with more than a couple of games featuring the new “The Crescent and the Cross” rules from Gripping Beast ....







I was also struck by the number of really innovative games being put on at the show. The Tin Soldiers of Antwerp offered a couple of really excellent themed and abstract games of the Great War...


… and another group offered a really lovely game of the Balkan Wars of the early 20th Century. All of these were interesting and unusual, and very welcome for being at a show where the more traditional wargames are much in evidence.



Part of the “Crisis Experience” is the chance to visit Antwerp’s old town. For those who have never been, I can recommend it strongly. It’s cosmopolitan, beautifully restored and welcoming. We ended up at the excellent De Pederstaal restaurant on the Saturday evening, to a man enjoying fine steaks and ribs with a couple of fine wines. I haven’t yet found a better way to round off a full day of wargaming!





All I can say is, I hope to see you all there next year!

27 comments:

  1. Great pictures, it makes me jealous that I didn't go. I am in Ypres for the next two weeks, so I'm not that jealous... :)

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    1. Alex, you'd have enjoyed it. One year, get yourself over!

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  2. It looks like it was a great time. Is there an explanation for the decor for the second picture from the bottom? Or is that a visual representation of the menu?

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    1. Chris, thanks for dropping by!!

      "De Pederstaal" means (I think) stable horse, or rocking horse in Flemish. Horse features prominently in the menu and the theme of the restaurant. I went for beef steak, but I remember I was in a minority! The food is always wonderfully good, whatever you're eating. Tip: Go for the cheese crevettes as a starter. Very, very good indeed!

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  3. This is most definitely going in the diary next year....wonder if I can get the Cowboys or a gangsters a game..

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    1. Well done Dave, you'll be more than welcome. There was plenty of space for additional games this year, so I'm sure you'd be welcome!

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  4. I'm always very envious of these post and you all look as if your are having such a wonderful time.

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    1. Michael, you'd have loved it. It was a great show.

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  5. Terrific report, Sid. Thanks so much. The quality of the games in those photos really beggars description - it is certainly orders of magnitude higher than most of the games one sees in our little hobby backwater of Canada - not to belittle my peers, but I think there's a whole different aesthetic with Brit/European gamers. The little benches got into the grass lawn in the one Belgium 1914 game make my point - that looks more like a model railroad layout than a gaming layout you'd see here.
    It is very gratifying to see TFL getting the recognition it deserves, and to see Richard taking his show on the road - helped, no doubt, by such paladins of gaming as yourself and a very fine TFL banner.
    I must plan a holiday around Crisis.
    Cheers,
    Michael

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    1. Ooh, I hear a gauntlet being dropped. I think us folks in Regina will have to take that one up. I feel a batrep coming on... :)

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    2. Michael, thanks so much! And sorry for the delay in responding - Curt's reply made me think I'd replied already! The Antwerp 1914 game was indeed lovely to see in person. The bandstand and the park benches were lovely, each the result of 3D printing.

      I am quite sure the Canadian contingent could do something equally fine however! Over to one Mr C. Campbell Esq. !

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  6. Wonderful post-weekend report Sidney! I'm definitely going to put Crisis on the calendar as it looks like such a great time out (and your description of Antwerp sounds tantalizing).

    That 10mm Battle of the Frontiers game looked fabulous. That scale allows such fun with terrain and sense of mass.

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    1. Curt, you'd have adored the 10mm Battle of the Frontiers game. I thought about it a lot afterwards. Mike Hobbs (of the "Meeples and Miniatures podcast" fame) mentioned to me that it might be the same game as Alex Buchel (of SAGA fame) has been developing. I hope so, as it looked a wonderful game. Perhaps it was the figures, or the way the table was arranged, but it looked like a cracking game to take on tour - small, attractive, but very portable. Full marks for a small-scale game which stood up well in a vast hanger-like display space.

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  7. Hi Sidney,

    Looks like a great time was had by all! The games look stunning - I was particularly taken with the Balkan Wars game on the map given my fondness for both the period and the concept of an abstract looking battle/campaign.

    Methinks I may have to investigate that a little further....

    Loved the restaurant - was that half a horse I saw as part of the decor?

    All the best,

    DC

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    1. You'd have really enjoyed the Balkan Wars game, David. It was really innovative, and something very different!

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  8. Thanks for the great write-up - my thoughts about the show were very similar. Good gaming, good atmosphere and great company. Cheers!

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    1. Thanks in return, James. It was a great pleasure seeing you and Scrivs again. Very much looking forward to what you come up with next after Keren!

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  9. The fourth last picture in your 'Crisis Experience' sequence is actually in the 'Bar Du Port', just round the corner from the Holiday Inn and some considerable distance away from 'De Peerdestal' on foot. Maybe that's how you guys work up a thirst.

    Great report and pictures.

    Jim

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    1. Jim! Great to catch up with you in Antwerp, and yes Sir, you are right about the photo, which was taken at a relatively sober time in the evening at "Le Bar du Port". We took the easy route of getting a taxi from the bar to the Grote Markt, although we found the next day we could have walked in about 15 minutes!

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  10. Very enjoyable article. The CoC game looks gorgeous!

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  11. Dear Sidney, thanks for the great review and shame for us not being able to meet up yet again, I was there just must have passed you by without noticing! Not to be fussy or pedantic but the restaurant you visited is called the Peerdestal which means the Horse's Stable...

    Cheers Sander

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    1. Sander, thanks for dropping by. It's a great shame I did't get to meet you. I would have loved that. Next time, we should definately meet up, Sir! And thank you so much for correcting me "Peerdestal" it is!

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  12. Nice to hear that you had a good trip!
    It's a pity that we didn't meet there, I would have made your acquaintance very gladly. Although I strolled around the TFT stall more than once I didn't get the connection between the people there and the bloggers they might be...

    Maybe next year?

    Cheers
    Stefan

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    1. Stefan, sorry to have missed you this year, but we shall meet next year without fail !

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    2. For sure !
      I'll show up with a couple of Leffe at your TFL stall. ;-)

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    3. Stefan, believe me, if you're carrying bottles of Leffe, you'll always be welcome at any game!

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