Britcon 2016 12-14 August 2016

[philqw78]

And i must say its been an eventful list check this time round.

That's an understatement. FWIW I think you made the right call - I would've made the same call but for a different reason.

Gobsmacked

[grahambriggs]

On another point, knowing someone's army isn't enough as an army list not submitted could be re-arranged if needed to suit.

Not saying any of us guys would do that.

Rob

Noooooooo of course not, some might say i have an advantage as being list checker but i told Mr briggs what i will be using at Roll Call and jokingly he said (i Quote) oh good i might pick a ****** army then needless to say it was a army what would properly take mine out with ease . anyway he did not

Andy

You have more faith in my memory than I do mate

[petedalby]

*sigh* I wonder when they are planning to ask me? We might need to ask for a bit of extra time for our games Pete as last year was a nightmare in a couple of rounds.

Noted Graham - we can have a chat before kick-off on how best to do this.

Pete

[dave_r]

And i must say its been an eventful list check this time round.

That's an understatement. FWIW I think you made the right call - I would've made the same call but for a different reason.

Oh - and I just found out I'll be umpiring the early period. Aided and abetted by that nice Mr Briggs.

*sigh* I wonder when they are planning to ask me? We might need to ask for a bit of extra time for our games Pete as last year was a nightmare in a couple of rounds.

Who is the umpire for the late period?

[petedalby]

Who is the umpire for the late period?

I suggested you and David.

[madaxeman]

I believe that Kevin has already notified someone for the later period too, however in any case we'll have all of the FoGAM tables in the same room (the 'less-sweaty' one downstairs) again this year so all tables for both themes are in close proximity.

I think its also only 1 umpire nominated for medieval, but that still gives us 1 umpire per 6 tables. Hopefully after 8 years of tournament play the rules are not quite that contentious!

[petedalby]

Hopefully after 8 years of tournament play the rules are not quite that contentious!

The rules are fine - it's just that some people prefer to ask for an umpire rather than reading the rules first.

[madaxeman]

I'll get you some signs made up with RFTM in extra-large caps...

[petedalby]

I'll get you some signs made up with RFTM in extra-large caps...

RTFM would be better.

[grahambriggs]

I'll get you some signs made up with RFTM in extra-large caps...

RTFM would be better.

My first question when umpiring is "have you looked in the rules". About a third haven't. I suggest a good approach for this comp is to ask experienced players on adjacent tables, and if they don't know call the umpire. For all but the most critical calls anyway.

Another good rule of thumb is "don't mess the umpire about because he's bigger than you"

[philqw78]

That only matters if he can run faster

[titanu]

Latest information from the BHGS:

According to the latest info on the Parkopedia Website the car park takes coins, notes & cards and has a height restriction of 5' 11" (1.80m).

Which is fine as I am only 5'6"

[madaxeman]

Sorry - I meant to clarify that this was a "minimum" requirement....

[titanu]

Sorry - I meant to clarify that this was a "minimum" requirement....

Pooh that's Andy Ellis and I out then

[Robert241167]

Thanks to all involved for a great Britcon weekend as usual.

Thanks to my opponents: Paul, Peter, David, Dave, Lynda and Derek.

Apologies for not managing a game with our overseas visitors Anthony and Jacques.

Rob

[philqw78]

And congratulations Rob, did you win helmet of the year, or is that a different thing?

[navigator]

Great weekend chaps.. thanks to Kevin and Tim.

Well done to Pete D.. and nice to see Romans winning... it shows they can do well when handled by an expert!!

Really good enjoyable comp and I think the smaller tables added to the occasion- making each game a really tough challenge.

Anyhow here is my assessment

Andy Ellis Norse Irish
Not an elephant in sight.. but shame the fallback position is a ‘competition’ army! Never mind the quality feel the width though. Will need some quick victories to keep the pundits happy. Third seed but without knights or elephants this will be more of a test for his tactical abilities.

[If line em up and charge is a test of his tactical abilities.. it clearly worked. Good solid performance as expected[/color][/b]
]
John Patrick Post Roman British
Deserves to do well for the romantic choice. Should perform better if it’s using Dave Morrison’s figures! A well painted army that is often underestimated.

Appeared to be enjoying the romance all weekend

Chris Tofalos Later Ptolemaic
Sounds like a lot of pike to me.. no need for romance here just tootle on forward. Sounds like a plan!

Walked away looking extremely weary on Sunday afternoon… too much plodding forward?

Steve Brown Dailami
Never mind the width feel the quality. When Steve was last in Qazvin I suspect the romance of the location and history made this army the perfect choice.

A tough first game for Spatacus and the Dialami quality almost won out… note to Steve.. losing 3 out of 4 generals in two bounds of combat seriously hinders your chances

Christopher Proudfoot dailami
Which brings us to Mr Romance himself. Without his dancing shoes it could be a less exciting weekend than last year. But at least Chris can concentrate on his on table activities with another old favourite of his.

Without his dancing shoes Chris was a thin shadow of himself..not sure concentrating on his gaming made much difference to usual

Marco Baroni Viking
An innovative and exciting choice. You don’t need to be a surgeon to dissect Marco’s chances. Deserves to do well but there is always the fear of a Nordic film noir emerging.

Nordic film noir it is then…

Phillip Jelly Arab Conquest
Can we still talk about arab conquests in this post Blair world? Clearly a superior choice which will be hard to suppress. Has Phil finally got DBM out of his system? This could be his weekend!

Nope!

Steve Murton Norse Irish
I wonder if Steve was thinking he was being innovative and exciting in his army choice? Well it’s the choice of all the big guns so it cant be too bad… even if its not innovative or exciting any more.

Steve took the exciting approach to taking on Spartacus…which made it fun for the massed ranks of public bystanders but not much for the Irish participants. Another tough game played in great spirit

Graham Carroll Palmyrian
Full marks for originality… its nice to see other northern players playing for fun too. Just needs the right match ups and Queen Zenobia could be very amused.

You win some you lose some. Still In contention going into the last game so a solid performance all round.

Chad Pillinger Western Wei to early Tang Chinese
Sounds a bit eastern to me .. will have to check the army lists to see how these interlopers will get on.. all these foreign armies look the same to me. Should play the arab conquest at some point surely?

Di d Chad play the Chinese ? No idea.

Graham Briggs Norse Irish
I’m sure Graham once used to be innovative and exciting in his choice of army and clothing….old habits die hard though. Top seed using figures that used to be new in the 70s. Watch out for the over sized generals too! Bookies favourite and hard to see him being beaten. It’s for him to lose.

Would have won the comp but for Spartacus standing in his way in the last round! Very tough, experience opponent who used all his cunning wiles to eek out a last round draw! Great game though as two foot armies manoeuvred like Albanian steppe light horse looking for an advantage.

Peter Card Early Successor
Solid, dependable but with a hint of flair…. That’s more like it. Deserves to do well with a traditional in period army

Deserved to do well but falling asleep in the Thai restaurant probably didn’t help

Phil Powell Later Macedonian ( floater)
Somewhat predictable for someone so poor at predictions. The perfect army choice for someone who hasn’t been to bed the night before.

Solid, stoic, and almost in contention.. he predicted a better performance overall though

David Morrisson Khazar
Inside every plodding foot soldier there’s a cavalier waiting to burst out and express themselves. There could be a lot of dashing cavalrymen on display here. Not sure which way they will be dashing though?

Some you win… some you lose. Great army choice.. well done

Pete Dalby Late Republican Roman
A world beating army for a world beating general. A match made in heaven. Or is Pete heading to repeat his Britcon disaster of two years’ ago. All those skilled swordsmen tho…. Bring on the Dailami!
Second seed based on his generalship qualities.

Match made in heaven apparently. Congratulations… shame Pete was so far ahead that Spartacus’s slaves couldn’t run fast enough to catch him for a historical winner takes all final !

Tony Parkin Ancient Spanish
Another great fun choice which puts the more ‘established’ players to shame and deserves to do well. Not one seen often on the competition tables so I will need to have a root through the army lists. I presume they fight better than the 1810 version.

Apparently not!

David Putt Kyrenean Greek
Solid, dependable and a world of pain for many opponents. But can he keep all those plates spinning in the air at the same time?

Some fell some stayed on apparently

Martyn Simpson Dailami
Yawwwwwwwn. I will enjoy all those civil wars in the first round. Martyn risks boom or bust but perhaps his list is different from the others.

Needs to add flair to his safety first approach. We played a tight tactical game…needs to learn how to rush out of terrain with his medium foot and fling his troops onto the pilum of the heavy impact foot awaiting them.

Paul Johnston Spartucus(slave Revolt)
A bold, almost original, and refreshing choice. Deserves to do well, if only for his down to earth attitude. It will be interesting to see if Paul can make a silk purse from this sow’s ear.

If I hear ‘I am Spartacus one’ more time …..!

Dino Monticoli Dailami
Dino is calling on all his years’ of experience with his almost world beating army. He will need his full powers of concentration to nurse his army to victory. Still it’s a more fun army than his Tibetans.

Used all his powers to engineer a top table clash of the titans with Pete in the last round. Dino’s troop headed straight for the hospital…well done for the great overall performance

Graham Roberts Italian Ostrogoth
Yea, top marks for a fun choice. Deserves to ride over all those ‘competition’ armies. Will be watching with interest.

Straggling with 2 out of 3 units of a flank march certainly added to the fun!

Paul Longmore Seleucid
Inside every MAWS competition player there is a fun character waiting to emerge. Paul is almost there… solid, dependable army with a hint of fun… has he taken the exciting option with all the toys or has the ‘safety first’ route been taken?

Safety first won a deserved podium finish…now to add more fun?? Great result congratulations. Nice to see a pike army do well

David Bannister Tibetan
Hello hello hello.Oh dear. Deploy, dismount, deploy again. Could be a long weekend for his opponents. Shame that Dave the free spirit mongol has reverted to another plodding safe option… but I could be wrong? Might be an outside bet…although don’t ask him to talk you through Tibetan military history.

Crash and burned in the last round…despite riding straight over my slaves in an earlier round. Can always keep the distinction of knowing he killed Spartacus with a lance to the rear end during a pursuit. Good tough army though.

Brian Espie
Played much like his beloved Liverpool… with flair and style.. but ended up second in our game… seemed to enjoy rolling ones and twos too much for his own good during our game.. enabling my mob to roll over his armoured medium foot! Another tough fun opponent

[MLB]

[

Marco Baroni Viking
An innovative and exciting choice. You don’t need to be a surgeon to dissect Marco’s chances. Deserves to do well but there is always the fear of a Nordic film noir emerging.

Nordic film noir it is then…

I was really pleased with the performance of my Nordic pedestrians, I was expecting a bottom 3 finish based on the army rankings!!! I was also pleased to pack them away, hopefully for a long , long time.

Good weekend tho.

[petedalby]

Another superb Britcon weekend - special thanks to Tim & Kevin and everyone else involved in the organisation - as in previous years it all ran extremely smoothly.

I had 6 cracking games vs Brian, David, Phil, Graham, Andy & Dino - thanks gentlemen. I could easily have lost my games vs the Tibetans and Norse-Irish but for some fortunate dice. Thanks also to all of the other players in the Ancient pool for keeping the umpire calls to a minimum - it was really appreciated.

Just the need the date for next year please Tim?

[ChrisTofalos]

Walked away looking extremely weary on Sunday afternoon… too much plodding forward?

Nope! I was my age (69!) and very 'iffy' legs/feet that were the problems. After being caught out by a successful first move flank march in my first game and missing the second because the said iffy legs/feet gave out, my pikemen did, at least, finish with four straight wins. And apparently, they're going to get kitted out with Nike spikes in V3, which should make their plodding forward somewhat easier (if not mine!)

Great comp, though. Well done to the organisers for a very efficient long weekend's work...