I wondered how this show might go down. I got a call from a group colleague on the Sunday morning to see if we were going -if only for a pint and a social. Off we toddled the 20 miles but were amazed at what we found.
As we had been at the Sheffield show the previous weekend with our demo game and we had collectively exhausted our budgets so we were only up for minimal spends. However we need not have worried at breaking the bank as the number of traders attending was the lowest I can recall and we have been to this show since it started.
Why the lack of traders, demo games and punters?
Well in our opinion, over a beer, the following fell out ( much of which confirms what has gone before)
- Cost to get there - from a demo game point of view the game outlay in time, material, effort and purchases, the travel cost and usually the lack of thanks from organisers for attending most shows (not all) leave me wondering how there continues to be anyone willing to put on demo games
Triples date change clashing - Sheffield is as far the other way as the distance to Newark for us
The economic climate - this is not a cheap hobby
The internet and the ability to see before you buy ( and potentially exercise some form of restraint prior to pushing the 'proceed to checkout' key
Show exhaustion - two days of demo'ing does take it out of you if you make the effort to engage with every passer by
Bank Holiday - Its a favourite with the missus "Why a show on a bank holiday - don't they have kids of their own?"
School Holidays - lots of shools in Notts are now taking term time holidays very seriously and pushing parents towards taking their break at half term
No Bring and Buy at this show- people may be funding their purchases via an offloading on the B&B
and of course .. the crappiest food on the show circuit. Sheffield has always provided good food at low prices both at the old and new venues in my opinion
The poor lighting - we used to carry a full set of portable flood lights to illuminate our demo games until the PAT man jumping with "more than my jobs worth"
Tim from 'Like a stone wall' Wargames Group
Nottinghamshire
UK
http://www.freewebs.com/like-a-stone-wall/
