Glasgow wargame show 2012

I grabbed my camera and headed to the Royal Concert Hall this morning for my first ever visit to the Glasgow wargame show. The event started at 10am and I arrived shortly after opening, paid £3 for an all-day ticket and entered to find that the hall was already busy with many games going on and a lot of visitors checking out the traders and games.

Prussian army facing off against Russian and Austrian opponents

Bandit down! RAF scores a kill against the Luftwaffe.

There was a healthy mix of games, some appeared to be demonstration only but others invited active participation. The arrangers were very helpful and welcoming, with many taking time to explain the scenarios and games being played to interested bystanders.

Indian braves advancing in skirmish line

A rifleman seems to be checking his weapon - perhaps after a misfire?

Several of the tables were massive, showcasing warfare across the centuries (11th to 20th) and the continents (Europe, Middle East and North America). While the majority were focused on historical conflict there were two at least two games with fantasy elements.

British troops in line formation prepare to face assault by Indian braves

Fatimid cavalry advancing in the desert

Land, sea and air warfare were all represented and there was also a good range of complexity, with the smallest games having 10-20 units on the table while the largest had hundreds of miniatures.

Crossbowmen at the ready in front of the main Crusader line

It was good to see that the event had a healthy turn-out with visitors of all ages and it looked like people were enjoying themselves. While tabletop gaming may not offer the special effects of modern console games it is considerably more cerebral and I hope the hobby will continue to see new recruits joining, which events like the wargame show will surely contribute towards.

Skirmish at a chapel in a fantasy game

A Crusader army faces their Fatimid foes in open terrain near Ascalon in 1099

Pictures are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. A full set of pictures from the day are on Flickr.