Post by Scott on Jun 4, 2016 19:20:05 GMT
Easy to get to the NEC on a Saturday, so good marks for that. Also good marks for the parking.
Not good marks for the 45 minute queue we had to wait in line for to pay. It was almost as if that the NEC staff (of which there weren't nearly enough!) had never actually held any kind of event there at all!
The Expo itself is now pretty much unrecognisable from the old format. Now in one of the NEC halls there were very many people. The walkways were quite wide though which was good. It was a struggle to get past both the queue for the bring & buy & speakers as they were in the same hall along with all the trade stands & demo games. It was also very noisy as well as warm with all those people inside.
Always good to see things you'd never normally see. There are clearly some innovative people out there making lots of different games.
I did make some purchases though! I bought a new 6'x4' gaming mat from Artistic Imrpessions suitable for large Frostgrave games. My next purchase was Nine Men's Morris from Play's With History. Then I went to the River Horse stand & bought some Terminator miniatures. There was also a trade stand selling Reaper Miniatures, so I added a few more of the resin packs to my collection. I also bought a newly released Wolf figures from Mierce Miniatures. My final figure purchase was for a Rangifer pack for Frostgrave. I just managed to buy a double sized Kaiser box from Lesleys Bits Box too before we were all thrown out of the hall at 5pm.
Clearly the move to the NEC is a statement of intent by the UKGE people to make it the number one gaming event in the UK. For me it certainly has lost the charm of the earlier Expos, but it undoubtedly makes them far more money, which is good! Whether for a wargamer like myself I'd end up paying a similar amount to go the the Expo next year or Salute, it's an easy answer really as I'd rather go to Salute! Of course you can't find a space & game with friends at Salute as it pretty much is a shopping trip only.
Not good marks for the 45 minute queue we had to wait in line for to pay. It was almost as if that the NEC staff (of which there weren't nearly enough!) had never actually held any kind of event there at all!
The Expo itself is now pretty much unrecognisable from the old format. Now in one of the NEC halls there were very many people. The walkways were quite wide though which was good. It was a struggle to get past both the queue for the bring & buy & speakers as they were in the same hall along with all the trade stands & demo games. It was also very noisy as well as warm with all those people inside.
Always good to see things you'd never normally see. There are clearly some innovative people out there making lots of different games.
I did make some purchases though! I bought a new 6'x4' gaming mat from Artistic Imrpessions suitable for large Frostgrave games. My next purchase was Nine Men's Morris from Play's With History. Then I went to the River Horse stand & bought some Terminator miniatures. There was also a trade stand selling Reaper Miniatures, so I added a few more of the resin packs to my collection. I also bought a newly released Wolf figures from Mierce Miniatures. My final figure purchase was for a Rangifer pack for Frostgrave. I just managed to buy a double sized Kaiser box from Lesleys Bits Box too before we were all thrown out of the hall at 5pm.
Clearly the move to the NEC is a statement of intent by the UKGE people to make it the number one gaming event in the UK. For me it certainly has lost the charm of the earlier Expos, but it undoubtedly makes them far more money, which is good! Whether for a wargamer like myself I'd end up paying a similar amount to go the the Expo next year or Salute, it's an easy answer really as I'd rather go to Salute! Of course you can't find a space & game with friends at Salute as it pretty much is a shopping trip only.