After a busy weekend in a shopping centre (Mall) in Milton Keynes, I am claiming victory for NQM’s first exposure to a non-wargaming public. It attracted just under fifty public contacts ranging from fleeting “Did you make all those little planes?” to rather longer variations on the theme of “I used to play with those, and my Grandad was in the desert“. In addition, there were a dozen plays-through almost exclusively from wargamers, but with three small to early-teenage children, who were already computer gamers, trying their luck.
As we were on a busy corner, we also spent a lot of time explaining what all the FOG (Field of Glory) and AdlG (Art de la Guerre) Competition Gamers were doing in the middle of the concourse (“It’s like a national football league of teams of toy soldiers“). Other stands varied from historical, through the Wild West to the Peterborough Club’s Dad’s Army fighting Zombies on the opposite corner to us, which was attracting a lively crowd and which was the source of much hilarity for all concerned. Apparently everyone could outrun the Zombies except for private Godfrey!
It’s heavier than it looks in Lord of the Rings.
Most of my time was taken up on the Northamptonshire Battlefields Trust stand, which was a busy focus due to the medieval hardware on display. The commonest contact there was ” Would you like to photograph your offspring holding a sword and wearing a helmet?” with the caveat “but only if you promise not to stab your brother/sister” and then a hand-off to the parents with a leaflet and an invitation to visit Delapré Abbey if they wanted a good family afternoon out. Anyone who lingered, showing more detailed interest was handed over to Vincent, or to Alex, who has a History Masters degree and actually knows what he is talking about. We may also have recruited a speaker for our 2023 program who has an interest in the English Civil War.
YesthatPhil came along too. He had had the presence of mind to bring a couple of DBA armies along, so we all managed to fit in a game or two during the days’ quiet spots of calm. As at work, when nothing is happening and you make a coffee, it guarantees that you will be interrupted, so some of the battles were rather fragmented. I don’t know if Vincent or Alex are convinced yet, but we are working on them.
You stick them with the pointy end.
As to Crete, I needn’t have worried. Everyone who invaded Crete succeeded, with between 3:58 minutes and 49 seconds to spare, and I handed out just under twenty information sheets: Okay for a first run out. Improvements to come will be better signage, and as YesthatPhil puts it “Some Fallschirmjäger bling” to attract people in from a distance. I did have, as a contingency, the option for two players to sit down, with one player taking the Commonwealth, but in the event, no-one took up the “Would you like to be defeated by your offspring?” option, as I had weighted the scenario in favour of the Germans. Even so, it was still touch and go for them on a couple of runs-through. Forty nine seconds to spare is still a win!
HERAKLION falls to the Germans!
The key to making the game run on time was to have the player roll five dice using the traditional Risk mechanism, rather than using the Table 12 fire mechanism, and to tell the player if they were attacking or defending. Also having a timer counting down, meant that the player wanted things to move along, as they were focussed on beating the clock, rather than winning the die rolls. Telling the children that the dice only counted if they landed in the box helped too!
In other news … the Hobbit expressed disappointment at the lack of giant stompy robots in his last game. See this remedied over on Pigs in Spaaace. Link in the sidebar.
Not Quite Mechanised 