Monday 14 October 2013

SELWG, or Ally Pally to Crystal Pally

I like within sight of Alexandra Palace, and yesterday made the epic journey through the rain, "sarf of the river" to Crystal Palace, where SELWG is held.  Mate Ian Notter very kindly navigated, generally lifted and ported, and helped me set the game up.

Here are shots of the game; I'm afraid I failed to take pictures of anything else, because time was at such a premium...  Happily Ian took some great closeups.  One helpful thing, there, is the light, which is better than most shows and made the photography easy.






Thapsus seemed gratifyingly popular as a participation game; we ran it twice, with novice players both times. It was larger than the colours game, with perhaps 1300 miniatures on the table. There were lots of positive comments about the look of the game. Strangely, the first game took over 3 hours to play and the second less than 90 minutes! I've fired off copies of my "To the Strongest" rules to half a dozen interested gamers. C

All in all, I had a very enjoyable day at SELWG. The event was very well organised and there were some great games on display. We came in in the top 3 participation games. It was great to see some familiar faces, including, amongst others, Big Lee, Guy Bowers, Phil Steele and Richard Lockwood.  Trevor Halsall very kindly delivered the "Best Participation game" trophy I missed at Colours. Many thanks to Nick Speller for bringing an mate and his legions, and helping to pack up at the end, and Jay and mate for playing so enthusiastically, and indeed all who dropped by for a chat.

This was Thapsus' final outing (at least for a year or so); today I need to start work on the Salute 2014 game!

22 comments:

BigLee said...

It looked like a really great game and for me was the best looking table at the show.

Paulalba said...

What's a lovely looking game, inspiration on a table!

BigRedBat said...

Thanks BL! I was delighted with how it looked, and played.

Dalauppror said...

Stunning looking game !!!

I especially like you boat with all the archers, marines and bolt thrower, realy adds to the picture !

Best regards Michael

Neil Scott said...

a great looking game

CelticCurmudgeon said...

Hi Simon,]
Was there not a battle in Spain between Caesar and a force representing the "Boys in Pompey's band" that you could do with very little additional painting. You might need to find a hill to use, however. Your rules would easily work there.
Jerry
A/K/A The Celtic Curmudgeon

BigRedBat said...

Thanks all!

Hi Jerry, yes I'd like to do all of Caesar's battles. Munda is a real possibility, but I'll need a few more minis, first, if I'm to do it justice. Give me a couple of years...

WimVdB said...

A very good looking game!
Great pictures!
I wonder how your rules play. Playing a game with 1300 figures, and ending it in 90 minutes?
Whish I could participate one day.

Best Regards,
Wim

BigRedBat said...

Hi Wim, yes 90 minutes, and that included teaching the players the rules! We played quickly as the show was about to end, there was a positive frenzy of card-play. :-)

El Grego said...

Outstanding! I am particularly impressed with the 90-min game, from start to outcome.

The Angry Lurker said...

It was a damn good looking game.

Prufrock said...

Great stuff. Well done!

Secundus said...

loving the marines and the small ship, great stuff.

Phyllion said...

I thought your game was one of the finest on show.

legatus hedlius said...

That ship with its crew of marines is truly wonderful!

BigRedBat said...

Thanks all! It was a very entertaining day.

Barry Lee said...

Excellent. And very good pictures too. Congrats

Moiterei_1984 said...

That's awesome.

fireymonkeyboy said...

Droolingly good-looking game. Some day . . . . ;)

Sean said...

Congrats on the awards. That is a great looking game. I look forward to seeing what you do for next year.

Ray Rousell said...

T'was a great looking game Simon, unfortunately most of my pics of your game were blurred!! Good to meet up again for a chat.

BigRedBat said...

Hi Ray- the blurring- everything in the game was moving so fast! ;-) Great meeting up. Cheers, Simon