The Crisis show in Antwerp had changed venue this year, moving from it's old home in the Metropolis, along the road to the rather larger Hangar 29. We set off on Thursday afternoon, catching the ferry out of Harwich on Thursday night, and arriving at the Hook of Holland on Friday morning. After a coffee to wake us up, we got unloaded at the new venue.
The hangar was a little bare as we arrived, with Tin Soldiers club members rigging up the lighting which they had hired for the event:
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Venue2.jpg)
In one corner, near the entrance, was the bar and food area, which would be run by the club members this year:
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Venue3.jpg)
Unfortunately, Antwerp City council folk had decided that the docks area would be the perfect host for the Snowboarding World Championships...?! :-\ So the area right outside the venue, which was originally set aside for customer parking, was now a sea of activity as workmen built up the scaffolding for this snowy contest:
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Venue1.jpg)
Saturday morning the whole place was buzzing, with a large amount of traders getting set up, and the rest of us adding the final tweaks to our stands. In 2011, there were around 60 traders who attended this show, but with the move to bigger premises, the event had been packed out with a huge amount of extra's, taking the trade tally to 99 this year, according to the floor plan. This is a huge increase, and whilst it's good for the customers, unless the visitors numbers increase similarly, then the spending money is diluted out.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Venue4.jpg)
The show itself felt busy all day long, with a great atmosphere, good conversation, and lots of friendly faces. The Tin Soldiers always put so much effort into Crisis, and it certainly shows. It's all the little things which help, like the signs on lamposts dotted about the city to guide you in, or the large print out of the floor plan for easy navigation. With a new venue, there will always be tweaks, but this looked like a very solid start for Hangar 29.
The large downside to the day though, was the downturn in trade. I spoke with around a dozen of the English traders there, and only 2 reported good sales in comparison to last year. The numbers through the door were around the 1200 mark according to one club member, which is a very similar number to 2011. Having an extra 30-40 traders though, means that the collective spending power of those people is spread out across a greater area, and most traders seemed to experience this. For Pendraken, this meant that we didn't even cover the costs of our hotel/ferry/petrol for the trip, which is a real shame, as we enjoy our trips over to the continent so much.
As a comparison, shows in the UK around the 1200+ visitor mark would be Derby, Triples, Warfare and York, all of which have somewhere in the region of 50-70 traders I believe. To support nearly 100 traders, you need to be hitting at least 2000 visitors I would think. The positive for Crisis though, is that I'm certain that every visitor to this years show will have thoroughly enjoyed their day out, so 2013 should see a growth in visitor numbers for them.
Anyway, that's enough waffle from me, time for the games! As always, there is a extremely high standard on the continent, and the work that has gone into some of these displays must be mind-boggling. A quick apology on the lack of secondary pics though, as my camera battery decided to start flashing red at the start of the day. I even ran to the nearest petrol station in the rain for replacements, but they didn't have any... :'(
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game1.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game2.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game3.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game4-1.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game4-2.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game5.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game6-1.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game6-2.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game7.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game8.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game9.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game10.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game11.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game12.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game13.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game14.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game15.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game16.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game17-1.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game17-2.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game18.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game19.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game20.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game21.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game22-1.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game22-2.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game22-3.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game23.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game24.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game25-1.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game25-2.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game26.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game27.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game28.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game29.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game30.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game31.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game32.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game33.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game34.jpg)
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/PendrakenMiniatures/Crisis%202012/Game35.jpg)
:-bd
Only 3 shows left now, so make sure to get your pre-orders in for Warfare, Smoggycon and Recon!
8)
Some wonderful photos....and games there Leon !
Such a shame that the numbers 'didn't add up'.
Cheers - Phil.
Yep, a shame that you didn't even cover your costs :(. However some seriously nice looking game on show.
Real shame about the 'incoming' but some good games there - really liked the look of Freebooters Fate and the Napoleons Battles Game
Great pics, Leon. I thought when I saw the lighting in the first one you were going to have real problems, but obviously the hosts did a good job fixing extra illumination.
Shame about the financial side, but who knows, maybe the lure of more traders will pull in more punters next year. The venue lokks as if it would take them.
I have to agree with the comments on the standard of games - some real crackers in there. And the Wars of the Roses in French is a new twist. :D
Great photos and some fantastic looking games there. 8)
And as you say Leon, the visitors look like they are enjoying themselves which has got to be good news.
Wow!
I really need to try and make some of these across-the-pond cons.
Great looking stuff!
Great looking games!
Looks like a cool place. Shame about foot fall! However it's hard to find follow up trade and not being visible is no good at all. Hope it pans out in the end!
Some great games there Leon...maybe we should arrange a bus-trip over next year to boost the numbers & improve the financial viability :-\ :D
I do like Belgian beer...hmm... ;)
Quote from: nikharwood on 08 November 2012, 12:38:11 AM
...maybe we should arrange a bus-trip over next year to boost the numbers & improve the financial viability :-\ :D
I've actually considered something similar, but it would need a lot of planning and costing out to see how viable it was. It'd be pretty cool to take a load of folk over, take in some of the sights, a battle field or two, etc.
Looking at the pics again....
Could somebody tell me what the idea of the Zulu (?) shields on the table is ? :-\
37th pic down I think.
Some sort of markers....But what do they represent ?
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Techno on 08 November 2012, 06:03:53 AM
Looking at the pics again....
Could somebody tell me what the idea of the Zulu (?) shields on the table is ? :-\
37th pic down I think.
Some sort of markers....But what do they represent ?
Cheers - Phil
I think they're unit markers, Phil. Each impi had a different shield-pattern, as I recall.
Thanks Ray ! :-bd
They just struck me as being a bit on the large side.
Wouldn't they get in the way as the battle progressed ?
Cheers - Phil.
Well, possibly. But I guess they're there for the benefit of the punters. :-\
What does annoy me - the Russian fleet in Distopian Wars is un-painted - as a DISPLAY at a major show.....
IanS >:( >:( >:( >:(
I was at crisis helping a friend with a boardgame company, and it was her first attendance to crisis. Before she always had some pre-orders and came by to delivr them, but having a 15ft booth was something new. Sales were not bad, and her overhead is lower than when coming from Blighty, but still she thought it was rather slow as well: not much more than last year's pre-orders. Whether that means that Crisis is not the show for boardgames - onle she and Holger from Essen sold boardgames this year - or whether it just was a slow year, it's hard to tell. We had a lot of club people head over, but I too had the impression there were many lookers and less buyers. The fact that we visited Spiel Essen a few weeks earlier probably didn't help.
I know that I spent less than last year, and more spread out as well, plus I spent half a day in the bring and sell to generate some much needed extra cash, after going slightly overboard in Essen a few weeks earlier. Still, one obvious thing is that there is way more room in this new hall, maybe it will fill up, metropolis tended to be so crowded... TSA needs to make more publicity I think, this has the potential to become a really big show, but then it needs the numbers. I also think that 10 mm is still a rather marginal thing in the Benelux, and you guys would do well to have a few games up, in different styles, to illustrate how it hits the sweet spot for tabletop.