Yesterday I attended "T'Other Partizan" at Newark Showground. Before I post any pictures, I need to see how many of the 104 I took are suitable!
I note several blogs and social media posts have already published photos and gushing praise of the show. I offer a dissenting voice, prompted in part by thinking about the show after reading Graham / Trebian -
https://wargaming4grownups.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-other-partizan-newark-october-2026.html
Rather than clutter his blog with my ramblings, I thought it best to post here.
First a disclaimer or two. I'm well aware of the voluntary effort that goes into the show and any criticism is not intended to reflect on them or their actions. I'm just a paying punter and so have a right to give my view of the experience I paid for. I'm well aware many people regard it as the best thing ever - each to his/ her own- we are all entitled to our opinions.
Before the show I was feeling down and in two minds about going. This perhaps coloured my view. It has to be said I have a love / hate relationship with the show. It's local and prestigious and I should consider myself lucky it exists and I can attend.
Firstly, did I have an awful show? No. Did I have a great stupendous show? No. It was "OK". The positives. I met up with David (https://russetcoatcpt.blogspot.com/) and met Chris for the first time in person (https://horseandmusketgaming.blogspot.com/) it being Chris' first time at the show.
I think this is the highlight for me, meeting people. I had a very brief chat with Aly Morrison (https://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/) but he appeared to be struggling a bit so I kept it brief - he probably didn't know who I was anyway! ☺
But it highlights my first grumbles. There is nowhere to sit and chat, the catering is IMHO awful and it leads to people blocking the lanes between tables or blocking access to the tables themselves. It's my view the venue has been outgrown by all that's included. The gazebo doesn't really help and pushing bits in there just mean they get less footfall as people rush for the show itself.
Attendance seemed down from May but I've heard it was the same or better. The layout and use of space is sub-par. Warlord have a sort of walled ghetto with huge amounts of unused space, yet seemed to have very little trade. Some of the games were huge with little room either side. Dave Thomas' corner seemed about 10 deep and I didn't bother even trying. I have discussed before, how they get away with H&S / Fire regs is beyond me. I hope they have a good evacuation plan and never have to use it.
I don't like big echoing sheds or sports halls and I don't like crowds that you have to fight through. It may be just me, but I found people much more selfish or unaware with very little courtesy on show. I saw a chap in a wheelchair a couple of times who I moved aside for, being completely ignored by people taking up all the aisles.
The games. As is customary, Partzan has always encouraged the big diorama style "demonstration" game - the attendance of MW/ WI etc reinforced this. It was often labelled "showcase" and the games have got bigger and bigger and more spectacular in terms of scenery etc. Now some people love it and think it's the be all and end all of wargaming. Others hate it, claim it doesn't reflect "normal" wargaming or that the games are not played etc. There are the 28mm are king advocates and detractors; there is also an undertone of "elitism" IMHO, especially with the way certain "names" are given sort of "celebrity" status. Never subscribed to that. We are grown men playing with toy soldiers...
Are the games inspiring? Sometimes. Are they impressive works of art in their own right? Undoubtedly some are and generally the skills on display impressive and reflect considerable investment in time and money. But what are they?
Americans don't understand and I have been dragged into all sorts of online arguments about what they are or they are not, especially when I suggested that they were about showing off your skills so people said nice things about them, and that there WAS NOTHING WRONG with that, but it sort of reduced it to a bit of an ego trip.....
Now of course there are prizes and pictures in magazines, on blogs, Facebook and other social media. This just seems to have made it more competitive; you see bigger castles, ships, little vignettes......
The main criticism was that they were not played. That seems to have changed. In fact it was difficult to get close to or see some games, not just bystanders, but players occupying the whole long side of a table, not engaging with the public (exceptions for "celebrities" or course) and in some cases seeming to be quite annoyed if you wanted to take a photo! It was a flashback to the 1970s and 1980s....
By contrast, the participation games seem to be getting smaller and smaller and odder. A lot of these didn't seem to be engaging with the public, but TBH, I found it crowded and didn't spend much time there.
Tradestands - less and less each year. With more withdrawing from the show circuit and more and more retiring, what's the future? I'm not sure I want to see more and more 3d print traders or resellers. Is there a waiting list? No idea, but as they pay it's important to think about - and it has to be worth their while. I note more and more order in advance happening - prudent, but do the postage savings outweigh the other costs? At least they are in your sweaty hands. Is it nice to fight your way to a trader however?
All in all, I cannot help but feel pessimistic with some of what I saw. Does Partizan know what it is? Has it tried to appeal to everyone? There was criticism of the predominance of demo games, so participation were introduced but without reducing the number of demo games. It's simply too crowded IMHO and if the "get in for free" crowd are going to just play games and ignore punters, that's a backward step. Not all are like this but this year it was noticeable how many "hangers on" there were - attracted by free entry perhaps?
If trade does reduce with retirement etc, and if what I saw becomes the norm (crowds, rude inconsiderate people, paying punters being ignored) it may be on a downward spiral. Especially if we are going to become a narcissistic self-absorbed hobby.
Of course I fully expect most will not agree. Fine. This is MHO on my blog. What I would say is, that I think the US have got it right and the UK are just carrying on as they always have. The Americans expect to play and join in games. They don't understand "look but don't touch". OK there are differences, the conventions are longer and over several days; the distances are longer but, aside from cultural differences, I don't know why something similar hasn't developed in the UK. What I do see are more and more are "informal" gatherings put on by friends or acquaintances.
OK, putting my tin hat on and hunkering down in my bunker to await a storm of abuse or silence as I'm ignored! ☺☺☺☺
For the record, It wasn't a bad show and I did enjoy bits, but felt there was something off.
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