hammerhead show – The Wargaming Erratic

My wargaming year invariably starts with Vapnartak in York followed by Hammerhead at Newark on Trent.

The queue at Hammerhead was shorter than I expected though

I was going to do one post about these shows but have decided it’s a bit confusing.

So there will be two separate posts. The most notable thing was numbers, queues to get in were shorter or more efficiently cleared!

But then both felt less “crushed”. In the case of VAP yet again there was this odd mix of available space and some crowded areas. It’s almost as if traders get their usual spot and if there are any “no shows” then there is no rejigging.

Having some participation games right next to the crowded bring and buy felt ridiculous given the bags of space elsewhere – all paid for by someone of course.

In contrast Hammerhead filled its spaces although some “late no shows” occurred because the new show runner – Caliver books offered them out again at the last minute. There were no obvious gaps so I assume there was some juggling to avoid gaps.

Anyway two enjoyable shows to get the wargaming year off to a start. Except my wargaming year has certainly shifted to starting in the autumn and finishing in spring once my two winter painting challenges are done. But that’s another story.

A Game Wow!

When I think about it this first half of 2025 has like 2024 been dominated by AHPC – analogue hobbies painting challenge. By contrast I managed only two shows yet one yielded one of the few games I have played.

That was a cowboy shootout using homemade rules…..

Not surprisingly it was Hammerhead at Newark.

Then I had a game of “what a cowboy”. My opponent loved “what a tanker” and reasoned WAC should be as enjoyable. Well that proved not quite the case. We will play again but it has slipped down the list.

Actually there is no list and until today my gaming had been quite limited.

Then I had a spur of the moment, moment no doubt brought on by quite a bit of reading about battles fought.

In this case ACW – I am reading western theatre actions at the moment.

I also have been reading my Colorado purchase – a soft cover book of maps showing the whole ACW war.

In the book are some contemporary maps by a certain Robert Knox Sneeden. He was a Union mapmaker who not only spent time as a confederate prisoner but was also a watercolour artist. Clearly he had a good eye! And by good fortune his maps and diaries have survived.

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_showing_a_battle_ground_at_Kelly%27s_Ford,_Virginia,_17_March_1863.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

So taken with his work was I that I simply made an entry for today’s game in his style.

I played using one hour Wargames book, rules and scenario plus solo options for set up. Figures were what I fancied fielding!