Crisis 2018... afterthoughts and ponderings

So it has been a few days now since our wargame show has passed, and both body and mind are setting back to their default settings.

Now, while walking around Crisis and looking over the internet, I made a few observations.  Mind you, these are totally my own thoughts, but I thought it might be intresting to share.

I originally wanted to tape this as a video, but the voice totally abandoned me and made place for the typical autumn cold, so let's write it down instead.

1. The Age of the Tile has past

They really where a thing up to a decennium ago, and we still use a lot of them at the club.  The scenery tile, in our club`s case mostly the foamboard TSS ones (the company recently went defunct), as literally hundreds of them are stacked at the clubhouse, are phasing out completely.

But nowadays, it is all about mats.  I saw numerous people walk around with their newly purchased gaming mats, wether they being Kraken, Deep Cut, or like myself, P-Works.  And usually the neo-prene (mousemat material) variation.

The mats are easier to stock and definitly a lot easier to transport, so it is logical, and almost every demonstration or participation game had it as an underground as well.

2. The Age of the mass Plastic Boxes is coming to an end

Warlord, Victrix, Perry Minaitures... you know, those boxes with 20 to 40 figures for around 20 GBP.  At most traders they where at serious discounts, even at the "main manufacturers" themselves.  It seems most wargamers have stocked up on their armies over the past years and are now slowing down on buying them.

It`s something I observe at the club as well.  If there are mega games, figures are provided, so new players don`t need to invest and paint massive armies, something I`ll come back to in point 3 as well.  As a result you could really stock up on them during this Crisis, and another good indicator was the amount of painted plastic armies on offer in the Bring and Sell, because...

3. Skirmish games are a big thing

Many demo games on the show involved skirmish, or at least smaller scale, battles.  The idea to only need 20 to 50 models for an army, as is the case in a lot of World War 2 games on 28mm, is seemingly very appealing to the masses.

As a result, the amount of really massive armies (I`m talking here games with 300 to 500 models a side) seems to be dwindling down, as more and more players due to time constraints and "logistical issues" (painting the armies, getting a place to play etc etc) is getting less and less in the newer generation of wargamers.  No offense to the older gamers amongst us, but it is seemingly a switch coming along with the current day "being lived" mentality in the western world.  My generation just doesn`t have the time to paint up large forces rather quickly due to work and other obligations anymore, I know from own personal experience that my "to and end hours" at work are often just an approximation, and I`m often too knackered in the evening to paint more then an hour a day.
Heck, it seems to me this even causes people to just be able to spare a few hours at a show (pick up orders, quick tour, maybe a short chat) and be off again to that next thing they have to do during the weekend...

As a result, if you can complete a smaller scale (in model numbers wise) force in a few weeks time and play with painted material... that`s just ideal these days.

4. Terrain, the purchase queen of Crisis 2018

Terrain was bought.  A LOT at this Crisis.  Not counting The Last Valley who sells out like every year, the other terrain traders, wether they being resin, printed or MDF, all seemed to do very good business this year.

I understand this is mainly due to over increasing postage costs, because a resin Roman villa quickly goes to a serious weight bracket to pay on top of your purchase, and then there is the "gentle hand" of customs officers to take into consideration as well.

But I saw a lot of terrain in the "loot posts" afterwards, heck, I also bought a bunch of stuff this year, both MDF as completed things.

So there they are, the four points I mostly observed at the show this year... do you agree, think I am totally talking bullshit?  Let me know in the comments below!