Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Nobody here but us chickens?
Gosh. A long post on the Expo, and not one comment. Did my prolonged absence drive away my last remaining reader after all?
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
UK Games Expo, June 2007
OK, there have been no posts from me for three months, now two come along at once! For a couple of weekends this summer, I've been busy demonstrating Heroscape for MB Games. We've done the first UK Games Expo, held in Birmingham on the 2nd and 3rd of June, the Cast Are Dice in Stoke in August, and Beer & Prezels in Burton.
I'd heard that some local chaps were interested in trying to do a "British Essen". It's more properly called "Spiel", but referred to as "Essen" by every gamer in the western hemisphere; it's an annual games show in Germany held each October. It gets about 150,000 visitors over 4 days, and fills an exhibition comlex that is used to hold things like motor shows. Essen has a mix of big publishers, small publishers, retailers and second-hand dealers, all trying to get the public to look at, play, and ultimately buy their games. Fantastic event, and this year's will be the first one that I have missed in a decade.
Anyway, the call had gone out last November to people who where interested in helping out, traders and publishers who wanted space, etc. At that stage nobody knew what sort of event the UK Expo would be, how big or how much involvement they would have from the games industry.
I've been hooked on Heroscape for a couple of years now, and had taken a few sets along to local conventions to show it off, play demonstration and participation games, learning all the while about how best to show the game off (I wasn't a complete beginner at this; for the last 3 or 4 Essens, I have helped out on the Warfrog stand explaining their games to interested foreigners, and Martin's games are much more complicated than Heroscape). So I knew some of what worked, and some of what didn't, and when the Expo organisers said that there would be space for demonstration and partcipation games, I volunteered.
By the time Easter rolled around, it was clear that the Expo was going to be the biggest boardgames event in the UK; a lot of small publishers and traders had booked space, publicity materials had been prepared and sent out, and things were gearing up nicely.
The organisers held a sort of "preview" event at Birmingham's central Library about six weeks before the Expo, and I volunteered for that too. On the day, I found myself up on the top floor, in something of a backwater with some historical miniatures games, while the main event consisted of family games on the first floor. Not a problem, though - I took along two Master Sets, a blue background sheet, knocked up some flyers of my own advertising our presence at the Expo, and set up the Wellspring of Obsession map.
It was pretty well received, with about ten people sitting down to be shown the game (and about 40 flyers being handed out). How well did it work? I showed the game to one chap, who came back wityh his mates a few minutes later - "You've got to try this!" They all enjoyed it - how much was clear when they came over to my table 6 weeks later at the Expo - between them, they had bought FOURTEEN Master Sets between them!
A handy "prequel" event, that - it showed me that there were still some areas where I could improve on my presentation and make the game easier for new players to pick up. So over the next six weeks, I planned, prepared materials, ordered some extra bits and pieces to set off the presentation (including some excellent water mats, custom made by a US-based Heroscape fan), and I was all set.
The table was set up on Friday night. It took me and my helper, David, about two hours to put it together. I was frequently asked "How many sets?", so with hindsight I should have included this info on the flyers I was handing out (though I did remember to give www.heroscapers.com and Hasbro both a plug). The short answer is "Nine Master Sets." The longer answer is that I needed nine sets for all the water and crinkly bits, but in fact my 9 sets fill two large cardboard boxes in my games room and I only took one of those boxes to the Expo. So I only actually need half of the pieces from those nine sets to get the map built.
There was a definate idea behind this map. Firstly, I wanted it to make good use of the 6' by 6' table available to me. Secondly, it had to look stunning, and show off the flexibility of the Heroscape terrain system. Thirdly, I really wanted to play several simultaneous games on the one map (I've tried 4-player games with new players, and I'd rather stick pencils up my nose than go through that again). Fourthly, it needed to include water and elevation, but no levels higher than 10 (to avoid the need to explain the 2-dice height advantage rule, that I still don't really understand myself), and not have too many really big climbs or falls (it's possible to find places on the map where a figure can't climb or would take damage when falling, but they are "off the beaten track" - so that's two other slightly fiddly rules that can be skipped from the explaination). Finally it had to be made from Master Set terrain only, and be played with Master Set figures - this is all that is readily available in the UK, and I really didn't want to have to say to the public "Yeah, I ordered all the really cool stuff from America" - they had to be shown things that are actually in the shops here.
Of course, HasbroUK being what they are, they've since told people that they are discontinuing Heroscape in the UK altogether; I can only hope that this information is inaccurate, as the Expo showed me that people were very interested in the game. Perhaps the UK will follow in the footsteps of Australia, where recently Wizards of the Coast (a Hasbro subsidiary) has announced their commitment to making all the expansion sets available, through local speciality games shops.
Here's another shot of our setup from above. You'll notice that I had printed up flyers (we handed out about a hundred; again, with hindsight it would have been good to get one put in each of the 1200+ goody bags handed to visitors as they arrived at the Expo). We also had laminated rules summary sheets (not that anyone needed them, Heroscape is very straightforward), a banner wrapped around one edge of the table, my dice towers, and pre-selected armies laminated as one card.
The idea behind having pre-selected armies was to help new players get straight into playing the game. Although one of the key strategies in Heroscape is choosing an army of units that work well together (or ones that work well against the units chosen by your opponent), it is much, much easier to hand a complete army to a player and explain his strengths and weaknesses. I've tried the game out on new players having them choose units that "look cool", but it still takes a while to add up all the points.
I'd copied and laminated about two dozen armies made up from Master Set units, and I'd definately do it this way again in future, as it significantly reduces the startup time and complexity at a demo game like this. However, I did make one error - I'd originally planned a quite different map, where Mimring and Grimnak would have been severely hampered, so the armies had been made up without them. Due to the change of map, they would have worked fine, and might have added a bit of extra variety - though it did mean that I could skip explaining about how two-space figures move. So they were on display all day, but never got used.
Alan How (one of Britain's most influential games journalists, and a buyer of far too many new games) came over to the table. I've known Alan for about a decade (my first Essen trip was in a minibus with Alan and others), and he knew of - and lightly mocked - my Heroscape obsession. He then admitted that he'd bought a couple of sets himself, but had never played. Ha, a challenge! "Sit there Alan, and I'll teach you the game." He enjoyed it.
Alan was by no means unique. With the recent price cuts in Heroscape here in the UK, I found several people who had bought the game (sometimes just for the terrain) and had never played. I did my best to remedy the situation in every case.
Some games going on:
You'll have spotted my dice towers in some of the shots, although by Sunday I had abandoned their use (at Beer & Pretzels back in May, the towers were in danger of getting more serious enquiries than the game!).
I also abandoned the use of the "X" marker - although it's an important part of the tactics, allowing players to bluff and misdirect their opponents, for the target audience at the Expo it was a distraction - I simply explained that there were a number of rules like drafting and the "X" that I had omitted but made the full game even better.
Me teaching the game.
One of the three prize winners.
Hasbro UK had kindly donated three Master Sets to be used as prizes (as well as providing two MB Games T-shirts). I was a little disappointed though that Hasbro UK had never contacted me about the Expo despite my efforts to open a dialogue with them via a number of channels. I know that they aren't interested in marketing direct to the public (though how the Hasbro webshop fits with this philosophy I don't know), but these events do have an effect. Quite apart from the MINIMUM 14 sets sold as a result of my library visit, having over a thousand people see the big Heroscape setup can't help but boost the game's recognition factor - and consumers prove over and over that they like to buy products that they recognise (otherwise advertising would be a waste of time). A moot point, though, if the UK is not going to be receiving any more Heroscape.
At the Expo, I was the closest thing that there was to an "official" Hasbro presence, which was a real shame (and somewhat frustrating - they had sent the T-shirt & games to the Expo organisers, but didn't do anything else - for all they knew, I could have been some nutcase with bad teeth and a surly attitude who could have done no good at all). Hasbro Germany take up a reasonable slice of floorspace at Essen each year - why not do the same at the Expo?
They weren't the only big names to stay away - there was no Wizards of the Coast (OK, technically part of Hasbro too), no Ravensburger (though they are better known for puzzles instead of games here), and no Games Workshop either. Shame on you, guys, and hopefully you will all be there next year. Wizkids showed up though.
Finally, a pic of me with my partner, Jan. I couldn't have made it through the whole weekend without her - she did a fair chunk of the demonstrations and explanations (indeed, I'd almost lost my voice by Saturday evening, so without her help there might not have been any Heroscape on Sunday). It helps that she shares my love of Heroscape.
I'd heard that some local chaps were interested in trying to do a "British Essen". It's more properly called "Spiel", but referred to as "Essen" by every gamer in the western hemisphere; it's an annual games show in Germany held each October. It gets about 150,000 visitors over 4 days, and fills an exhibition comlex that is used to hold things like motor shows. Essen has a mix of big publishers, small publishers, retailers and second-hand dealers, all trying to get the public to look at, play, and ultimately buy their games. Fantastic event, and this year's will be the first one that I have missed in a decade.
Anyway, the call had gone out last November to people who where interested in helping out, traders and publishers who wanted space, etc. At that stage nobody knew what sort of event the UK Expo would be, how big or how much involvement they would have from the games industry.
I've been hooked on Heroscape for a couple of years now, and had taken a few sets along to local conventions to show it off, play demonstration and participation games, learning all the while about how best to show the game off (I wasn't a complete beginner at this; for the last 3 or 4 Essens, I have helped out on the Warfrog stand explaining their games to interested foreigners, and Martin's games are much more complicated than Heroscape). So I knew some of what worked, and some of what didn't, and when the Expo organisers said that there would be space for demonstration and partcipation games, I volunteered.
By the time Easter rolled around, it was clear that the Expo was going to be the biggest boardgames event in the UK; a lot of small publishers and traders had booked space, publicity materials had been prepared and sent out, and things were gearing up nicely.
The organisers held a sort of "preview" event at Birmingham's central Library about six weeks before the Expo, and I volunteered for that too. On the day, I found myself up on the top floor, in something of a backwater with some historical miniatures games, while the main event consisted of family games on the first floor. Not a problem, though - I took along two Master Sets, a blue background sheet, knocked up some flyers of my own advertising our presence at the Expo, and set up the Wellspring of Obsession map.
It was pretty well received, with about ten people sitting down to be shown the game (and about 40 flyers being handed out). How well did it work? I showed the game to one chap, who came back wityh his mates a few minutes later - "You've got to try this!" They all enjoyed it - how much was clear when they came over to my table 6 weeks later at the Expo - between them, they had bought FOURTEEN Master Sets between them!
A handy "prequel" event, that - it showed me that there were still some areas where I could improve on my presentation and make the game easier for new players to pick up. So over the next six weeks, I planned, prepared materials, ordered some extra bits and pieces to set off the presentation (including some excellent water mats, custom made by a US-based Heroscape fan), and I was all set.
The table was set up on Friday night. It took me and my helper, David, about two hours to put it together. I was frequently asked "How many sets?", so with hindsight I should have included this info on the flyers I was handing out (though I did remember to give www.heroscapers.com and Hasbro both a plug). The short answer is "Nine Master Sets." The longer answer is that I needed nine sets for all the water and crinkly bits, but in fact my 9 sets fill two large cardboard boxes in my games room and I only took one of those boxes to the Expo. So I only actually need half of the pieces from those nine sets to get the map built.
There was a definate idea behind this map. Firstly, I wanted it to make good use of the 6' by 6' table available to me. Secondly, it had to look stunning, and show off the flexibility of the Heroscape terrain system. Thirdly, I really wanted to play several simultaneous games on the one map (I've tried 4-player games with new players, and I'd rather stick pencils up my nose than go through that again). Fourthly, it needed to include water and elevation, but no levels higher than 10 (to avoid the need to explain the 2-dice height advantage rule, that I still don't really understand myself), and not have too many really big climbs or falls (it's possible to find places on the map where a figure can't climb or would take damage when falling, but they are "off the beaten track" - so that's two other slightly fiddly rules that can be skipped from the explaination). Finally it had to be made from Master Set terrain only, and be played with Master Set figures - this is all that is readily available in the UK, and I really didn't want to have to say to the public "Yeah, I ordered all the really cool stuff from America" - they had to be shown things that are actually in the shops here.
Of course, HasbroUK being what they are, they've since told people that they are discontinuing Heroscape in the UK altogether; I can only hope that this information is inaccurate, as the Expo showed me that people were very interested in the game. Perhaps the UK will follow in the footsteps of Australia, where recently Wizards of the Coast (a Hasbro subsidiary) has announced their commitment to making all the expansion sets available, through local speciality games shops.
Here's another shot of our setup from above. You'll notice that I had printed up flyers (we handed out about a hundred; again, with hindsight it would have been good to get one put in each of the 1200+ goody bags handed to visitors as they arrived at the Expo). We also had laminated rules summary sheets (not that anyone needed them, Heroscape is very straightforward), a banner wrapped around one edge of the table, my dice towers, and pre-selected armies laminated as one card.
The idea behind having pre-selected armies was to help new players get straight into playing the game. Although one of the key strategies in Heroscape is choosing an army of units that work well together (or ones that work well against the units chosen by your opponent), it is much, much easier to hand a complete army to a player and explain his strengths and weaknesses. I've tried the game out on new players having them choose units that "look cool", but it still takes a while to add up all the points.
I'd copied and laminated about two dozen armies made up from Master Set units, and I'd definately do it this way again in future, as it significantly reduces the startup time and complexity at a demo game like this. However, I did make one error - I'd originally planned a quite different map, where Mimring and Grimnak would have been severely hampered, so the armies had been made up without them. Due to the change of map, they would have worked fine, and might have added a bit of extra variety - though it did mean that I could skip explaining about how two-space figures move. So they were on display all day, but never got used.
Alan How (one of Britain's most influential games journalists, and a buyer of far too many new games) came over to the table. I've known Alan for about a decade (my first Essen trip was in a minibus with Alan and others), and he knew of - and lightly mocked - my Heroscape obsession. He then admitted that he'd bought a couple of sets himself, but had never played. Ha, a challenge! "Sit there Alan, and I'll teach you the game." He enjoyed it.
Alan was by no means unique. With the recent price cuts in Heroscape here in the UK, I found several people who had bought the game (sometimes just for the terrain) and had never played. I did my best to remedy the situation in every case.
Some games going on:
You'll have spotted my dice towers in some of the shots, although by Sunday I had abandoned their use (at Beer & Pretzels back in May, the towers were in danger of getting more serious enquiries than the game!).
I also abandoned the use of the "X" marker - although it's an important part of the tactics, allowing players to bluff and misdirect their opponents, for the target audience at the Expo it was a distraction - I simply explained that there were a number of rules like drafting and the "X" that I had omitted but made the full game even better.
Me teaching the game.
One of the three prize winners.
Hasbro UK had kindly donated three Master Sets to be used as prizes (as well as providing two MB Games T-shirts). I was a little disappointed though that Hasbro UK had never contacted me about the Expo despite my efforts to open a dialogue with them via a number of channels. I know that they aren't interested in marketing direct to the public (though how the Hasbro webshop fits with this philosophy I don't know), but these events do have an effect. Quite apart from the MINIMUM 14 sets sold as a result of my library visit, having over a thousand people see the big Heroscape setup can't help but boost the game's recognition factor - and consumers prove over and over that they like to buy products that they recognise (otherwise advertising would be a waste of time). A moot point, though, if the UK is not going to be receiving any more Heroscape.
At the Expo, I was the closest thing that there was to an "official" Hasbro presence, which was a real shame (and somewhat frustrating - they had sent the T-shirt & games to the Expo organisers, but didn't do anything else - for all they knew, I could have been some nutcase with bad teeth and a surly attitude who could have done no good at all). Hasbro Germany take up a reasonable slice of floorspace at Essen each year - why not do the same at the Expo?
They weren't the only big names to stay away - there was no Wizards of the Coast (OK, technically part of Hasbro too), no Ravensburger (though they are better known for puzzles instead of games here), and no Games Workshop either. Shame on you, guys, and hopefully you will all be there next year. Wizkids showed up though.
Finally, a pic of me with my partner, Jan. I couldn't have made it through the whole weekend without her - she did a fair chunk of the demonstrations and explanations (indeed, I'd almost lost my voice by Saturday evening, so without her help there might not have been any Heroscape on Sunday). It helps that she shares my love of Heroscape.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Okay, then, if I must ...
My reader* has delivered a gentle reminder that this blog has not been updated in a while. Well, in my defence I did say that it would only ever be an occasionaly thing, when the fancy takes me.
* unlike Terry Wogan's single "listener", I genuinely believe that I have only the one reader.
So to rectify the situation, here's a brief summary of what I've been doing this week. Or at least the interesting part of the week when I wasn't working for a living.
Lauren wanted a climbing frame for her birthday (which was at the start of August). Now I'm not the sort of chap to wander down to Argos with fifty pounds in my pocket for some tubular steel rubbish, when a few hours' research on the 'net will allow me to spend a whole order of magnitude more.
Very quickly, it seemed that wooden was the way to go. Especially in the "spend unfeasibly large amounts of money" stakes - if you're insistent upon emptying the bank account really quickly there can be no better route. Of course, I justified it to myself on the grounds that we'd not really had much of a family holiday this summer, and a good quality climbing frame would be used by not only Lauren but sprog number 2 (due at the start of October).
After looking at a great many climbing frames (far more than can possibly be healthy), I decided on a Jungle Gym Cabin with optional Monkey Bars (from which two swings can be hung) and a Rock Module (a sort of climbing wall for tots).
I bought it from http://www.activegarden.co.uk/ - based mostly on the fact that they had everything in stock, answered my emails promptly, and looked to be bona fide experts on the subject of climbing frames.
The kit arrives in a series of brightly packaged boxes (containing accessories, nuts, bolts, drill bits and instructions), the slide, and a whole lot of wood. Although the wood was already pressure-treated (to stand up to the rigours of being outside 24/7), we decided to paint everything before - or sometimes during - assembly. Partly to give it extra longevity, partly to make it blend in with our fence, and mostly because it looks good.
The main tower is supposed to take two people two days to assemble. Well, we spent all of the Bank Holiday weekend building it and then some - Friday evening, all day Saturday (starting at 9am, an ungodly hour for a weekend), all day Sunday, much of Monday, several hours during the week of an evening, and some of a second Saturday.
But Lauren thinks that the results are well worth it.
post scriptum: the next camera that I buy simply MUST have some guidelines in the viewfinder. I seem to have real trouble keeping the horizon horizontal :(
* unlike Terry Wogan's single "listener", I genuinely believe that I have only the one reader.
So to rectify the situation, here's a brief summary of what I've been doing this week. Or at least the interesting part of the week when I wasn't working for a living.
Lauren wanted a climbing frame for her birthday (which was at the start of August). Now I'm not the sort of chap to wander down to Argos with fifty pounds in my pocket for some tubular steel rubbish, when a few hours' research on the 'net will allow me to spend a whole order of magnitude more.
Very quickly, it seemed that wooden was the way to go. Especially in the "spend unfeasibly large amounts of money" stakes - if you're insistent upon emptying the bank account really quickly there can be no better route. Of course, I justified it to myself on the grounds that we'd not really had much of a family holiday this summer, and a good quality climbing frame would be used by not only Lauren but sprog number 2 (due at the start of October).
After looking at a great many climbing frames (far more than can possibly be healthy), I decided on a Jungle Gym Cabin with optional Monkey Bars (from which two swings can be hung) and a Rock Module (a sort of climbing wall for tots).
I bought it from http://www.activegarden.co.uk/ - based mostly on the fact that they had everything in stock, answered my emails promptly, and looked to be bona fide experts on the subject of climbing frames.
The kit arrives in a series of brightly packaged boxes (containing accessories, nuts, bolts, drill bits and instructions), the slide, and a whole lot of wood. Although the wood was already pressure-treated (to stand up to the rigours of being outside 24/7), we decided to paint everything before - or sometimes during - assembly. Partly to give it extra longevity, partly to make it blend in with our fence, and mostly because it looks good.
The main tower is supposed to take two people two days to assemble. Well, we spent all of the Bank Holiday weekend building it and then some - Friday evening, all day Saturday (starting at 9am, an ungodly hour for a weekend), all day Sunday, much of Monday, several hours during the week of an evening, and some of a second Saturday.
But Lauren thinks that the results are well worth it.
post scriptum: the next camera that I buy simply MUST have some guidelines in the viewfinder. I seem to have real trouble keeping the horizon horizontal :(
Thursday, May 17, 2007
UK Games Expo
OK, in an attempt to kick some life into the UK boardgames industry, two chaps have organised the first UK Games Expo on the 2nd and 3rd of June. That's just a fortnight away.
http://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk
I've mentioned before that I'll be there, running a demonstration and particiption game of Heroscape.
I've seen too many wargames shows where someone's idea of a "demonstration" game was to have lots of pretty things for the public to look at, but get too close to the action and they'd just growl at you. Almost as bad are the "participation" games where you have to give up three hours of your day to play something ill-thought out, untested, and where the organiser just tells you exactly what to do turn-by-turn anyway.
Thankfully Heroscape lends itself to both the people who want to just look, and the people who want to get stuck in but can only spare an hour.
Now I've been taking Heroscape to several local cons and events over the last 12 months, including Beer & Pretzels last week, and the reaction has always been very positive. In the meantime, I think I've managed to pick up a few ideas and avoid a few pitfalls in ways to get people to play and enjoy the game in the confines of a public event. I know for a fact that my efforts have managed to sell more than a few games (though you're never going to empty all the local Argos stores on the back of one public event).
Anyway, my preparation for the Expo is largely done (though I'd love Hasbro to wake up and contact me about the event, given that it is their product I'm showing off). I've accumulated a rather daft NINE sets of Heroscape, and designed a map that will allow several games to be played at once (as well as providing what I hope is something of a "wow" factor). Various bits and bobs have been purchased or prepared to make the whole thing look as porfessional as possible, because professional-looking is often approachable in the minds of the public - I've seen how they react at Europe's biggest games show (Essen, 150,000 attendees, which usually includes me trying to demonstrate something) to organised exhibitors, and how the same public shuffle past anyone who looks like a clueless amateur.
The centrepiece to make Heroscape look good will be the map itself. As I say, nine sets have gone into this; all the necessary pieces are all boxed up in my games room, to help with a smooth setup on the day, and there are just a couple of small details to iron out (one being how we're going to allocate the copies that Hasbro have promised to send as prizes).
Anyway, here's the map:
Although I had a last-minute idea of getting some new dice towers together and trying to sell a few at the Expo, that's not going to happen. I contacted three firms that do acrylic cutting for a quote at the start of the week, and so far none have got back to me with numbers, let alone enough detail to put me in a position to place an order for the components. I'm still hoping to make some more, but there won't be any for sale at the Expo.
http://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk
I've mentioned before that I'll be there, running a demonstration and particiption game of Heroscape.
I've seen too many wargames shows where someone's idea of a "demonstration" game was to have lots of pretty things for the public to look at, but get too close to the action and they'd just growl at you. Almost as bad are the "participation" games where you have to give up three hours of your day to play something ill-thought out, untested, and where the organiser just tells you exactly what to do turn-by-turn anyway.
Thankfully Heroscape lends itself to both the people who want to just look, and the people who want to get stuck in but can only spare an hour.
Now I've been taking Heroscape to several local cons and events over the last 12 months, including Beer & Pretzels last week, and the reaction has always been very positive. In the meantime, I think I've managed to pick up a few ideas and avoid a few pitfalls in ways to get people to play and enjoy the game in the confines of a public event. I know for a fact that my efforts have managed to sell more than a few games (though you're never going to empty all the local Argos stores on the back of one public event).
Anyway, my preparation for the Expo is largely done (though I'd love Hasbro to wake up and contact me about the event, given that it is their product I'm showing off). I've accumulated a rather daft NINE sets of Heroscape, and designed a map that will allow several games to be played at once (as well as providing what I hope is something of a "wow" factor). Various bits and bobs have been purchased or prepared to make the whole thing look as porfessional as possible, because professional-looking is often approachable in the minds of the public - I've seen how they react at Europe's biggest games show (Essen, 150,000 attendees, which usually includes me trying to demonstrate something) to organised exhibitors, and how the same public shuffle past anyone who looks like a clueless amateur.
The centrepiece to make Heroscape look good will be the map itself. As I say, nine sets have gone into this; all the necessary pieces are all boxed up in my games room, to help with a smooth setup on the day, and there are just a couple of small details to iron out (one being how we're going to allocate the copies that Hasbro have promised to send as prizes).
Anyway, here's the map:
Although I had a last-minute idea of getting some new dice towers together and trying to sell a few at the Expo, that's not going to happen. I contacted three firms that do acrylic cutting for a quote at the start of the week, and so far none have got back to me with numbers, let alone enough detail to put me in a position to place an order for the components. I'm still hoping to make some more, but there won't be any for sale at the Expo.
Open Letter to David Cameron
I was going to blog about boardgames, but I think that this is rather more important.
Dave - I hope you don't mind my calling you Dave, it seems like everyone else does), I simply must take issue with your latest policy change.
Had I been a party member, I would be cancelling my membership (it seems like every time that I have got close to signing up over the last 20 years, the Conservative Party has gone ahead and doone something stupid to push me away again). Had you announced this policy change a fortnight ago, you wouldn't have received my vote in the local elections.
Of what do I speak? Your new stance on selective education and grammar schools in particular.
I think that I would be categorised as "middle class"; University-educated, professional career et cetera. And a product of the grammar school system (at a time when it was under fierce attack from Labour-run local councils). Although my parents can never agree as to which "class" they belong to, one of my grandfathers was a postman, the other a milkman; as the first member of the family to go to University, the first to obtain a degree, the first to achieve a professional position, I might be considered an example of social mobility at work.
Now perhaps that might have been achieved if I had not gone to a state-funded grammar school. But going to such a school guaranteed that it was probable, and not merely possible.
One of the striking features of the school that I attended was that it is exactly the sort of institution that permits - nay, encourages - eductional opportunities for all. It is non-fee paying. It is located in the inner city of a large metropolitan area. It has a very wide cross-section of pupils from all different backgrounds. To illustrate the last point, I was considered "posh" at school because my family owned their own home in the right part of the city.
Yet you want to throw this away, in favour of promoting a model of education that isn't working despite it's place at the heart of the Labour Government's education policy.
You're crackers.
If there is a problem that too many of the "middle classes" are able to shoehorn their offspring into selective grammar schools, then it is a problem that can and should be tackled by promoting the aspirations of the less well-off; it should be done by providing them with the positive assistance that you fear the middle classes can buy for their children, by providing the extra tuition and extra-currular activities (that you fear weigh so heavily in favour of the worng sort of people getting into the schools) at inner city junior schools, by targetting funding and assistance at the level where it is most likely to promote a commitment to educational achievement and success. You don't solve the perceived problem by doing away with the schools themselves.
I presume, by the way, that when you point to perceived problems in the schools' intake, you are excluding all the fee-paying grammar schools. Because although the Conservative Party has had some very able leaders to have come from modest backgrounds, helped along by the grammar school system, I understand that your own educational experiences were somewhat different. You are, are you not, a product of a school system that is completely closed to the less well-off, that has for decades (if not centuries) been seen as positively reinforcing barriers to social mobility.
In fact, by not encouraging state-run grammar schools you are destined to pile injustice on top of injustice in the educational system. Parents with the means - and the drive - to influence their offspring's choice of secondary school can easily side-step the failing inner city schools by moving house - something that the housing market has reflected for many years. You don't "fix" that by denying the less well-off entry into the best schools, schools where it is ability and not wealth or catchment area which determines who can attend and who cannot.
Instead, tackle WHY some families don't put their children forward for such places; look at providing the means for the child to achieve DESPITE parental antipathy. Because for the United Kingdom to succeed in this century it will need to get the very best from its citizens, promoting ability and hard work. The grammar school system has always done that.
As it is, you may be right to identify a problem (though it is not one I recognise from my own experiences); your solution is to throw the baby out with the bath water, when it would be far more efficient to just shake the water up a bit.
If I get a response, I will post it here.
Dave - I hope you don't mind my calling you Dave, it seems like everyone else does), I simply must take issue with your latest policy change.
Had I been a party member, I would be cancelling my membership (it seems like every time that I have got close to signing up over the last 20 years, the Conservative Party has gone ahead and doone something stupid to push me away again). Had you announced this policy change a fortnight ago, you wouldn't have received my vote in the local elections.
Of what do I speak? Your new stance on selective education and grammar schools in particular.
I think that I would be categorised as "middle class"; University-educated, professional career et cetera. And a product of the grammar school system (at a time when it was under fierce attack from Labour-run local councils). Although my parents can never agree as to which "class" they belong to, one of my grandfathers was a postman, the other a milkman; as the first member of the family to go to University, the first to obtain a degree, the first to achieve a professional position, I might be considered an example of social mobility at work.
Now perhaps that might have been achieved if I had not gone to a state-funded grammar school. But going to such a school guaranteed that it was probable, and not merely possible.
One of the striking features of the school that I attended was that it is exactly the sort of institution that permits - nay, encourages - eductional opportunities for all. It is non-fee paying. It is located in the inner city of a large metropolitan area. It has a very wide cross-section of pupils from all different backgrounds. To illustrate the last point, I was considered "posh" at school because my family owned their own home in the right part of the city.
Yet you want to throw this away, in favour of promoting a model of education that isn't working despite it's place at the heart of the Labour Government's education policy.
You're crackers.
If there is a problem that too many of the "middle classes" are able to shoehorn their offspring into selective grammar schools, then it is a problem that can and should be tackled by promoting the aspirations of the less well-off; it should be done by providing them with the positive assistance that you fear the middle classes can buy for their children, by providing the extra tuition and extra-currular activities (that you fear weigh so heavily in favour of the worng sort of people getting into the schools) at inner city junior schools, by targetting funding and assistance at the level where it is most likely to promote a commitment to educational achievement and success. You don't solve the perceived problem by doing away with the schools themselves.
I presume, by the way, that when you point to perceived problems in the schools' intake, you are excluding all the fee-paying grammar schools. Because although the Conservative Party has had some very able leaders to have come from modest backgrounds, helped along by the grammar school system, I understand that your own educational experiences were somewhat different. You are, are you not, a product of a school system that is completely closed to the less well-off, that has for decades (if not centuries) been seen as positively reinforcing barriers to social mobility.
In fact, by not encouraging state-run grammar schools you are destined to pile injustice on top of injustice in the educational system. Parents with the means - and the drive - to influence their offspring's choice of secondary school can easily side-step the failing inner city schools by moving house - something that the housing market has reflected for many years. You don't "fix" that by denying the less well-off entry into the best schools, schools where it is ability and not wealth or catchment area which determines who can attend and who cannot.
Instead, tackle WHY some families don't put their children forward for such places; look at providing the means for the child to achieve DESPITE parental antipathy. Because for the United Kingdom to succeed in this century it will need to get the very best from its citizens, promoting ability and hard work. The grammar school system has always done that.
As it is, you may be right to identify a problem (though it is not one I recognise from my own experiences); your solution is to throw the baby out with the bath water, when it would be far more efficient to just shake the water up a bit.
If I get a response, I will post it here.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
After this weekend's Beer & Pretzels (which I'll blog about later this week), I've thought about sorte=ing out another batch of dice towers. They were getting more attention than anything else at the weekend. So, I've put some enquiries out to see if anyone can supply and cut the components at a decent price. If anyone wants one, drop me a line.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A total lack of activity?
OK, so it's been over a month since my last post, so both of my readers have probably got bored and wandered off now.
It's hard to remember all the completely inconsequential stuff I've done recently. A fair bit of Ebay activity (because I've set myself the task of selling stuff before buying new any new toys this year; so far it's worked well). Some gaming. Nothing exciting.
"Some gaming" started with Baycon at the start of the month, at the close of which I came home with the bits to playtest a new board game. As it's not my project, it's also not my place to talk about it, butthe game is heading for a commercial release later this year or early next. I really enjoy it, but the gamers up at Spirit Games in Burton (where I go most Wednesday evenings to play a game or two) have started backing away when I put the box on the table. The good news is that the game - and the rulebook - are almost finished now, with just some final polish needed on both. Then it's off to the publishers, for them to arrange artwork and components.
I also managed to wheedle myself a copy of Risk Express - one of the first in the UK. Now I know that it's been released in Germany, but Hasbro UK don't have the best record when it comes to picking up games published by Hasbro in the US or Europe. Hopefully the Risk name will ensure that not only will they import the game, but that it will be on the shelves in Argos, WH Smiths et cetera. It's a good little dice game - much more appealing than something like Yahtzee. Risk Express reminds me a lot of another great dice game published a couple of years ago, called Pickomino. Unfortunately the long distribution chain (with everyone taking a cut) meant that whilst it could be bought in Germany for about a fiver, in the UK it was very hard to track down (specialist games shops only) and sold for £20! If Risk Express sells at the same price point as Yahtzee, you're looking at a very reasonable £8 for a more substantial game.
As well as spending time helping out with the rulebook for the playtest game, the other thing that has occupied my spare time this month has been Heroscape, and particularly planning and preparing for the first UK Games Expo. I'll blog something about Heroscape (with pictures) after the Expo itself; for now, it's enough to know that it is probably my favourite game of all time (and I've played more of them than is than my fair share).
The Games Expo is going to be held in Birmingham in three weeks' time, on the 2nd-3rd of June. http://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/
The UK boardgames scene is quite small at the moment - maybe a dozen or so specialist shops, very few quality boardgames in the High Street, and a few events that usually pull in 100-200 people. That compares poorly to Germany, where good quality boardgames can sell tens of thousands of copies, and a big hit will clear half a million in a year (Settlers of Catan is the best-known German boardgame export - they's sold 11 million Catan-based games, and there's now a version available for download on the Xbox 360). Germany's main boardgame event is the annual Spiel fair in Essen - for 4 days, the industry takes over an area the size of a Motor Show at the Essen exhibition centre, and approximately 150,000 visitors go through the doors.
The Expo is an attempt to bring a smimilar sort of event to the UK. What has made Spiel so good in the past is the mixture of publishers, inventors, retailers and members of the public who attend. Events in the UK always appeal to a certain sort of person (usually someone who is carrying a few extra pounds, sports a beard or a ponytail, and thinks that cardboard counters are cool); Spiel is very different, with an emphasis on family games and participation. Of coure, it's easy to see why there's been so much success on the continent when you see how much better the games actually are; a quick flick through the Argos catalogue reveals that here in the UK the mass-market games publishers have little to shout about. But there's been a growing appreciation of what can be achieved by new publishers and distributors, and they've been bullied into coming to Birmingham next month to show off their wares. Hopefully the very low entry price will encourage lots of bored families to take a look at what is on offer.
Of course, if it is to succeed, the Expo needs to follow the German model in getting people to actually sit down and play games (rather than following the wargames show tradition, of having people wander around, looking at all the pretty displays). It is only by engaging with the public, by showing them what they have been missing when they first see something like Settlers Of Catan, that things can move on from year after year of Monopoly re-issues, Connect 4 and Risk.
To that end, I volunteered a while back to host a game of Heroscape. Now it's something of an exception - a game designed for the mass market, that is readily available in the UK (OK, it's absent from the current Argos catalogue, but it was in the 2005 and 2006 Autumn/Winter books), which is actually a very good game. How do I define very good? Well, it needs to have lots of meaningful decisions, some (but not too much) luck, lots of interaction between the players, and plenty of variety (in any given game of Monopoly there are probably 5 important decisions made; in a game of Heroscape, you probably make 5 every turn).
In terms of having a participation game for the public, it is important that the game looks good, that it be relatively simple to explain, it should look somewhat familiar, and it must look fun. Heroscape ticks all the boxes - and it's visual appeal is particularly high. We tried it out on the public a couple of times last year, have largely ironed out the kinks in the way in which we explain the game and get people playing, and the reaction has been universally positive (it helps that although the game is simple enough for children, there's enough depth for adults to sink their teeth into).
So I've been planning and thinking about how to show Heroscape to people at the Expo - we had a small trial run at the Birmingham Central Library the week before last http://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/library.htm I think what we've got planned should be good fun, as well as having a certain "wow" factor. It's a shame that its left to individuals to publicise good games when they come along, though - Hasbro in the USA has marketed Heroscape much more aggressively, as a result of which it is widely available - and pretty popular.
If you're in Birmingham on the 2nd or the 3rd, do make sure that you pop by and say hi. I'll be the looney next to a table full of robots, vikings, paratroopers and samurai, trying to stop the dragons and elves from taking over the world.
I'll make sure that I do a proper blog post - with pictures - when we're done.
It's hard to remember all the completely inconsequential stuff I've done recently. A fair bit of Ebay activity (because I've set myself the task of selling stuff before buying new any new toys this year; so far it's worked well). Some gaming. Nothing exciting.
"Some gaming" started with Baycon at the start of the month, at the close of which I came home with the bits to playtest a new board game. As it's not my project, it's also not my place to talk about it, butthe game is heading for a commercial release later this year or early next. I really enjoy it, but the gamers up at Spirit Games in Burton (where I go most Wednesday evenings to play a game or two) have started backing away when I put the box on the table. The good news is that the game - and the rulebook - are almost finished now, with just some final polish needed on both. Then it's off to the publishers, for them to arrange artwork and components.
I also managed to wheedle myself a copy of Risk Express - one of the first in the UK. Now I know that it's been released in Germany, but Hasbro UK don't have the best record when it comes to picking up games published by Hasbro in the US or Europe. Hopefully the Risk name will ensure that not only will they import the game, but that it will be on the shelves in Argos, WH Smiths et cetera. It's a good little dice game - much more appealing than something like Yahtzee. Risk Express reminds me a lot of another great dice game published a couple of years ago, called Pickomino. Unfortunately the long distribution chain (with everyone taking a cut) meant that whilst it could be bought in Germany for about a fiver, in the UK it was very hard to track down (specialist games shops only) and sold for £20! If Risk Express sells at the same price point as Yahtzee, you're looking at a very reasonable £8 for a more substantial game.
As well as spending time helping out with the rulebook for the playtest game, the other thing that has occupied my spare time this month has been Heroscape, and particularly planning and preparing for the first UK Games Expo. I'll blog something about Heroscape (with pictures) after the Expo itself; for now, it's enough to know that it is probably my favourite game of all time (and I've played more of them than is than my fair share).
The Games Expo is going to be held in Birmingham in three weeks' time, on the 2nd-3rd of June. http://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/
The UK boardgames scene is quite small at the moment - maybe a dozen or so specialist shops, very few quality boardgames in the High Street, and a few events that usually pull in 100-200 people. That compares poorly to Germany, where good quality boardgames can sell tens of thousands of copies, and a big hit will clear half a million in a year (Settlers of Catan is the best-known German boardgame export - they's sold 11 million Catan-based games, and there's now a version available for download on the Xbox 360). Germany's main boardgame event is the annual Spiel fair in Essen - for 4 days, the industry takes over an area the size of a Motor Show at the Essen exhibition centre, and approximately 150,000 visitors go through the doors.
The Expo is an attempt to bring a smimilar sort of event to the UK. What has made Spiel so good in the past is the mixture of publishers, inventors, retailers and members of the public who attend. Events in the UK always appeal to a certain sort of person (usually someone who is carrying a few extra pounds, sports a beard or a ponytail, and thinks that cardboard counters are cool); Spiel is very different, with an emphasis on family games and participation. Of coure, it's easy to see why there's been so much success on the continent when you see how much better the games actually are; a quick flick through the Argos catalogue reveals that here in the UK the mass-market games publishers have little to shout about. But there's been a growing appreciation of what can be achieved by new publishers and distributors, and they've been bullied into coming to Birmingham next month to show off their wares. Hopefully the very low entry price will encourage lots of bored families to take a look at what is on offer.
Of course, if it is to succeed, the Expo needs to follow the German model in getting people to actually sit down and play games (rather than following the wargames show tradition, of having people wander around, looking at all the pretty displays). It is only by engaging with the public, by showing them what they have been missing when they first see something like Settlers Of Catan, that things can move on from year after year of Monopoly re-issues, Connect 4 and Risk.
To that end, I volunteered a while back to host a game of Heroscape. Now it's something of an exception - a game designed for the mass market, that is readily available in the UK (OK, it's absent from the current Argos catalogue, but it was in the 2005 and 2006 Autumn/Winter books), which is actually a very good game. How do I define very good? Well, it needs to have lots of meaningful decisions, some (but not too much) luck, lots of interaction between the players, and plenty of variety (in any given game of Monopoly there are probably 5 important decisions made; in a game of Heroscape, you probably make 5 every turn).
In terms of having a participation game for the public, it is important that the game looks good, that it be relatively simple to explain, it should look somewhat familiar, and it must look fun. Heroscape ticks all the boxes - and it's visual appeal is particularly high. We tried it out on the public a couple of times last year, have largely ironed out the kinks in the way in which we explain the game and get people playing, and the reaction has been universally positive (it helps that although the game is simple enough for children, there's enough depth for adults to sink their teeth into).
So I've been planning and thinking about how to show Heroscape to people at the Expo - we had a small trial run at the Birmingham Central Library the week before last http://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/library.htm I think what we've got planned should be good fun, as well as having a certain "wow" factor. It's a shame that its left to individuals to publicise good games when they come along, though - Hasbro in the USA has marketed Heroscape much more aggressively, as a result of which it is widely available - and pretty popular.
If you're in Birmingham on the 2nd or the 3rd, do make sure that you pop by and say hi. I'll be the looney next to a table full of robots, vikings, paratroopers and samurai, trying to stop the dragons and elves from taking over the world.
I'll make sure that I do a proper blog post - with pictures - when we're done.
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