35 years wargaming – first Salute – my impressions
2013 was my first ever (and possibly only) visit to
Salute. I thought I would share my
personal thoughts on my visit. Some of
my impressions were positive and some negative, but I am no way having a go at
the organisers – they put on a unique event which adds much to the hobby. It would be foolish to expect it to be
perfect and no one else would share my interpretation of perfection in any event!
The only reason that I made it this year was because I was
fortuitously able to combine it with a work trip, so the transport to and from
London was paid for. I arrived at
Heathrow at about 7pm on the Friday and negotiated my way across London via the
Heathrow express and the underground.
As
an aside I must say I found the London Underground staff very helpful, much better
than I remember in previous visits, which made the cross city travel easy. I had booked a decent room at the Excel
Novotel and arrived there after 9. It
was early to bed and early to rise in anticipation of the day ahead.
The Novotel is an excellent hotel by the way and only a couple
of hundred yards from the venue. I enjoyed an excellent breakfast with stunning
views over the river. I took the
opportunity to check my bearings in the centre itself and found the entrance
where some of the people putting on games were arriving.
The Excel as seen from the hotel - its pretty close
I went back to the hotel, packed and checked out to get to
the centre some time around 9:30. What a
difference! There were two queues one
for pre booked tickets and one for cash payers.
I was in the cash payers queue for the best part of an hour. I struck up a conversation with another two
guys (sorry I have forgotten your names) and so the time passed pleasantly
enough but it took the best part of an hour to get in. Later, when talking to
one of the traders, he said that the event was dead for the first hour which he
found very frustrating. I know the
answer cannot be simple but the time spent queuing was the first negative. A suggestion would be to abandon pre paid
tickets, still have two queues and process them simultaneously? Or have more stations to process people at the
entrance. Or let prepaid tickets in half
an hour early. Something anyway. Not
that I am suggesting a solution is at all easy .
Once in I dropped off my case and tried to get my
bearings. My intention was to savour the
experience, play some games and have a look at some of the traders. I really started by just wandering around
trying to soak up the atmosphere. What
struck me the amount of space. Most shows struggle to fit everything in- not
the case here.
I looked for some of the games that I wanted to play but
came up against two problems. One was
finding them. I quickly become
disorientated had to keep referring back to the (excellent) floor plan. Then as I found them the they had all already
started. I made the decision to try and book a slot at the one where the write
up in the programme had attracted me the most.
This was ‘Drop the Bridge’ by the North London Wargames Club. On inquiry the next game was due to start in
three quarters of an hour, so I agreed to come back then.
This left me some time to browse traders, chat to some
friends and look to see what else I might want to play later. I even bought six Salute dice for £1- I
fancied a T shirt but deliberately had not bought much cash with me and wanted
to keep it for any impulse purchases.
The one trader that really caught my eye was Antenocitis range of SciFi
vehicles, but I resisted temptation.
Getting back to the game I found that they had taken lunch and
the next game was not going to start until one, but that they would definitely
hold a place for me. This gave me
another half an hour to wander around and also grab some lunch. I thought the in house catering was good
quality, perhaps a little pricey but not bad for London.
My next negative was the toilet facilities. Of the 3 potential ones only one was open. I had to have my hand stamped before going to
use them as there was also a car park entry/exit through the same door. With that number of people one set of toilets
is not enough. I also object strongly to
having my hand stamped. No-one else seemed
to mind so that one is probably just me.
Finally the game!
What a good one it was too.
Steve, Ray and Ian (I think – sorry if I got any of your names wrong
guys) helped four of us through the scenario.
A flight of Sturmoviks escorted by LAG 3s where attempting to bomb a
bridge. A heavy concentration of flak
and my 4 Bf 109s were tasked with defending it.
The rules were simplified Wings of War and we all had an absolute blast. I failed to get my fighters on until turn
three but then raced in causing some real
damage and shooting two of the light bombers down, whist losing two
fighters. With the help of the flak we
nearly held the Soviet hordes at bay but Robert managed to time his bomb run
precisely and boom! up went the bridge.
This game was definitely the highlight of my visit.
The Soviets begin their mission to destroy the bridge
What of the other games?
I had a chat with the chap running 'Grace O'Malley - the Pirate Queen' where the kings men were trying to smoke out a pirates lair in late 16th century Ireland. A case of truth being stranger than fiction and I liked the simplicity and the
fun of the scenario.
The English attack the tower as a galley brings reinforcements for the pirates
There were many other games of varying quality but nothing really caught
my interest for long. There was a huge
representation of the Battle of Waterloo manned by chaps in period uniform but
to be honest it left me a little cold. I
have never been fond of tables set up purely for visual effect – I like
wargames to involve gaming! I also took
a membership pack from the Pike and Shot Society – I will join sometime this
year I promise.
Towards the end of the day I revisited Antenocitis stand and
bought a power armour suited figure which had caught my eye earlier. That, the dice and a couple of pained second
hand figures were my entire purchases for the day, a grand sum of £18.99.
I did not stay until the bitter end but made my way back to
Heathrow, had an excellent meal and a couple of pints and then headed back up
to Scotland arriving home at about 11:30pm.
So – pros and cons.
Pros
I have always wanted to visit Salute and now I have. That just leaves Historicon.
I liked the spacious feel to the venue.
More traders than you could shake a stick at. It was not their fault that my wish list was
short and funds low.
Lots of games to take part in- I am sure if I had tried
harder I could have done more than one and the one I did play was excellent.
Enjoyable conversation in the queue
The catering was fine
Cons
Bluntly the cost.
Even with my employer paying for my flights it cost me £250, not much of
which was on wargaming products.
The spacious feel came at the cost of the buzz that
surrounds smaller shows
Finding it difficult to get into games
The queue, the queue. And thrice the queue.
The facilities and accompanying stamp on the back of my
hand.
Overall impressions –
would I go back again?
On reflection I have mixed emotions. Salute is different to any other wargames
show I have been to before, both in scale and feel. I am glad I have experienced it so on balance a positive verdict.
I would like to end by congratulating the organisers for
hosting such a complex event. I would go
back again in principle but to be honest I will probably find a better use for
£250 next year. Still - never say never.
