Wargame Shows, Antwerp, Belgium This is a terrific show. if you get the opportunity to go then do. Officially I was going as the “support team” to the Edinburgh club, who were laying on a Dux Britanniorum participation game. In fact I’d buggered up my leg – I damaged my knee muscles jumping off the ramparts of Southsea Castle – and so I was hobbling badly that weekend. That made me useless at standing around for hours on end, so my support role was reduced to helping out when some of the A team needed a break.Anyway, the show is a one-day event (Saturday 3rd November), and is held in a great big warehouse (or “hangar”) in Antwerp docks. That’s it up above – the waterfront building that looks like a big concrete railway shed. The entrance is under the front portico facing the camera, and you enter through a converted shipping container, which is a little weird. Inside though, its a perfect haven for us wargamers.The warehouse is large and roomy – or it would be if it wasn’t filled with games, traders and wargamers. It was also pretty smoky, thanks to the barbecue going on in the bar area. Oh yes – there was a fully functioning bar – something every wargame show should have. Thanks to my knee I spent a lot of time there, shooting the breeze with passing gamers.Here’s the Edinburgh club’s wee game again – a Pictish cattle raid set in what is now central Scotland. Derek and Jim (our club’s Stadler and Waldorf) are seen sitting down here, covering for Jack – the third of the organising triumvirate – who was off having a cigarette. For a bit of novelty they dressed the Pictish player up in a kilt for the game, so several Belgians got the chance to become part of Clan MacLean for an hour. The game seemed to be a success, and was a chance to air the Two Fat Lardies’ new Raider supplement for “Lardy Dux”.Here are some of the other games which caught my eye – a Punic Wars naval game in what looked like 1/300 scale, and a 1914 battle (I love the shrapnel air bursts).Near it was a nice-looking Second World War game and a 14th century medieval one.

Below that is the Two Fat Lardies’ demo game of Chain of Command, and a Darkest Africa skirmish.

My second favourite game was this largely static display of the Battle of Quatre Bras (1815), which I could have stared at for hours, and always seen something new to see. it was laid on by Ron Ringrose and Joe Dever, to help publicise their new Mega Wargames book. Apparently Ron modelled and converted many of the vignettes and figures which caught my eye – a mad but marvellous labour of love.

By far my favourite game though, was this one – The attack on Fort George, based around Bernard Cornwall’s novel The Fort, and set in 1779, during the American War of Independence. The game was staged by the Team for Historical Simulations, a German crowd based outside Dusseldorf.It looked incredible, and covered 15 feet by 9 feet, with cut-outs to let the organisers reach all corners of the table. They only had about 600 figures on the table, but what really stood out were the ships – a collection of British, French and American vessels, complete with guns and crews. The organisers even handed out full-colour brochures explaining their game, and saying where they sourced the figures, buildings and fortifications. Rightly, this game won “best in show” – it was probably the best display game I’ve seen in years.I’ve enlarged the picture of this little sloop, to show some of the detail contained in the game. British light infantry have sprung ashore, and while purists will say the sloop couldn’t have manoeuvred herself into that tiny space, or is about to run herself aground, you have to admire the attention to detail. Besides, you can’t expect Germans based in its landlocked industrial heartland to understand the finer points of sailing and seamanship! Next time lads, bring her in bow first to the other side of the quay…Another good thing about Antwerp is the beer. Belgian is a Mecca for beer drinkers, and during the weekend we all drank our fill. We were also lucky enough to meet Sam, a Belgian postie and wargamer who is a regular visitor to this site. He introduced us to his local pub – the Bar Deco – just behind the cathedral – where we all got royally drunk.It’ll be a while before I can face another beer which has been triple brewed by Trappist monks… Here’s Sam below, with the white beard, sitting next to my good pal Chris Henry during our “run ashore” in Antwerp’s historic city centre. I’ll certainly go to Crisis again, despite the damage the show did to my liver…