The Other Partizan 2026 : part 1 'Parti-time'

Last Sunday 11th October I was fortunate enough to attend The Other Partizan show at Newark Showground; being one of the largest UK wargame shows,  it's always good to be there and see so many games and gamers under one (sometimes rather cramped) roof.  I started from London about 8:30 (really should have been earlier!) and drove, arriving about  10:45, stayed till the bitter end at 4pm - and still didn't see everything! It is a BIG show.   I was very pleased to meet up Chris aka Nundanket of Horse and Musket Gaming fame, he very nimbly stepped into the shoes of 'the other Dave' in the traditional Waldorf and Stadtler tour a wargames show act,   and we also met the excellent Neil of Aufklarungsabteilung and had a good talk with him - great to introduce these two to each other, and a nice reminder of the ability of this blogging mullarkey to bring people together 'IRL'. 

As usual I took quite a few pictures as we toured around, and as usual I think I'll simply show them in roughly the order I took them. On previous visits to this show I had regretted reaching the Participation games area too late in the day, so this time I suggested starting there - to be quite honest, I'm not sure that was a good decision this time, as I managed to miss the 'best in show' game! I'll give some thoughts about the show in general at the end of the next post, so in the meantime let's get on.. 

First up, Big On Strategy group's  18th Century Canada game Turkey Hunt : 28mm figures I think, and using One Hour Skirmish Wargames rules. I think I played one of their games ( A Robin Hood convoy ambush ) at a show a while back, and can verify they are a really friendly bunch of guys ( I think the lady here had stepped up as a 'participant' ).  The focus of some first-class  wargamers pointing here was of course, the Turkey.: 

 Mr Nick Hindley's 6mm Six Day War game looked interesting, especially when you read his information leaflet (below) - I really liked that he was clearly happy to take 'input',  suggestions, advice etc from anyone who had relevant knowledge.  Also as Chris pointed out, the combatants in 1967  had a pretty polyglot mix of equipment from cutting-edge 'modern' (1967)  to WW2 survivors, including former Axis and Allied kit in the same armies (I think Chris has a pic of a couple of the armies in his report of the show)   

 

KB Club's  Cold War armoured action using  Manoeuvre Group rules, with the first of many rather effective terrain  backdrops seen during the day.   

 Wings of Glory Aerodrome Forum presented WW1 Air Combat, with appropriate headgear, and just look at the numbers of rather nice models available,  The Fokker DVII was the best fighter of the period,  but also had the coolest colour schemes too, I thought! 

   

Footsore Miniatures 28mm Roman skirmish using Gangs of Rome rules, and a rather nice town layout: 

 Bearfoot Miniatures showed a rather nice-looking Bolt Action  game in 28mm scale,  Assault on Brecourt Manor Narrative Scenario  based on the exploits of Easy Company, of Band of Brothers fame - though I seem to have only managed to photograph the German side, with just a few of Easy Co. visible in the distance !  A very professional-looking information board, too. 

 

 The Warregame group presented their 28mm pike and shot period game The Siege of the Ile de Re 1627 : 

 

Great Escape Games  put on a 28mm WW2 Eastern Front game with No Easy Ground rules: a smart-looking and compact table, and that brewed-up Panzer looked suitably gruesome. Has someone got two versions of every tank model, one 'active' and one 'destroyed'?   Or maybe it's just a wreck from an earlier fight..

 

A lot of interest was attracted by Blocks of Glory with their game: Lego-like figures in units with the idea that all information about the unit's status, strength etc is built into the unit block ( there seem to even be extending 'arms' giving their firing range! ),  as shown by the display board relating the Visual Integrated Battle Engine.   Interesting idea - though somehow it  all looked a bit daunting to me! I guess you pick it up quite quickly once playing..

 

I'm not good on sci-fi, but this looked nice : it might be Lets Xcape with  The Epsilon Enigma in 15mm scale - but if I'm wrong, do let me know! 

 AKI  Models and Minis  showed One Hour in Maguaga - War of 1812 in 28mm,  using Neil Thomas One Hour Wargames rules.  I can't recall seeing those rules being used at a show before, but of course they would do fine for a participation game for beginners.

 

The host 'AKI' has an Instagram page where he expresses disappointment in his own work and doesn't think this was good enough - I'll admit I thought it looked fine, but maybe he has higher standards than me! 

All Hell Let Loose  bought their 6mm game The Battle of Mons, 23rd August 1914  with their own All Hell Let Loose: Great War rules. 

Once we get later than mid-19th Century in Europe, it seems the armies get considerably bigger up to including WW1,  and  6mm looks like a very good option for the resulting large battles.  Using 2mm scale buildings seems quite a good dodge, though Mons urban area  seems to have taken on a hint of Barcelona in this case, I thought the use of perspex sheeting to represent flooded areas was clever. 
 Figures were from  Baccus, and  Turner Miniatures (3D printed).   

 This looks like a 28mm Vikings game - just not sure quite which one! I think it's Chesterfield Open Gaming Society's 28mm Dark Ages Pillage and Plunder game:

Next, Ecorcheurs  with their Somerset at the First St Albans, 1455   28mm Wars of the Roses game; nice town terrain  

 In contrast to the Mons game above, another approach to WW1 is to focus in much more closely on a small part of a big battle -  game designer David Stone's  WW1 skirmish with his  Zero Hour rules being a nice case in point : 

Caseshot Publishing usually put together a really good-looking game, and this time was no exception - this is Key to Kaiserslautern, Battle for the Schänzel, 1794.  Prominently displayed was Garry Davd Wills'  Throwing Thunderbolts book, a guide to the French Revolutionary Wars which seems to be pretty well-respected, and the game was described as 'a brand new Throwing Thunderbolts scenario'

 

I really should have taken a picture from the side of the table - those hills at the back are made up of many layers of the hex terrain,  these guys must be Kallistra's best customer! 

 Grantham Strategy Club brought  Undaunted Air War Pacific  which seemed to be an adaptation of the Undaunted Battle of Britain  board game :  

 

Burton and District Wargamers showed their 'Modern Chain of Command'  game Tactics, Techniques and Procedures  with an African look to the terrain - 1990s Somalia? 
 

I did like the helicopter with troops sat on the skids - hang on tight, guys! 

And that's what I saw of the 'Participation Zone' - though I'll admit to not being interested in sci-fi and fantasy, so I've probably missed all of those! Even so, the 'Parti Zone' probably had as many games as an average-sized wargames show, so plenty to see!

I think I'll take a break before going on to the 'Demo Zone' , where the really big beasts were - though I'm aware that this has taken nearly a week to produce and there are plenty of other reports out there! Meanwhile and as usual,  Ray's  Don't Throw a One   and Big Lee's Miniature Adventures  blogs have superb (and very extensive) coverage of the event.  So for now, I'll leave it there, and hope to post again in a few days time.  I hope this first selection of games has been interesting anyway; meanwhile keep well, everyone.