The future of wargaming shows...

[Holly]

As we move from phase 1 of the COVID crisis to phase 2 and seeing the beginning of a semblance of life returning to 'normal', what is the prognosis for Wargaming Shows both in the short term and medium term? For myself I am going to be pessimistic and saw that the Salute type shows for the rest of 2020 just arent going to be possible. Smaller shows even less likely as social distancing will put paid to village hall affairs unless people can adapt and oblige with the one in one out rule. Maybe 2021 will be a reset year. Not sure and we are in uncharted territory. I hope for the best but fear for the worst....

[Justin Swanton]

I suspect - if economies hold together - that we will see the golden age of the Internet, where online tournaments and group gaming will substitute for shows and become the way forward. (this of course has nothing to do my making Optio a very pretty PC game that is so easy to play...)

[Holly]

online tournaments are the future and I have to say that Optio is proving to be very doable online.....

[Jim Webster]

I suspect that we could see more online games because people have tried them and they work.
Not sure about 'online shows'
I know people who run online book fairs but I could never see the point

[Erpingham]

I'm not a great goer to shows, for various reasons.  But it hadn't occured to me that they were primarily about taking part in competitions.  A great deal is about shopping, it seems to me, plus looking at pretty games and, for some, trying a bit of participation gaming.  Given we can shop online, there need to be lots of other aspects to make the financial and time costs of in-person interaction worth it.  I suspect these are the bits that will be most impacted by social distancing, which will make it hard to open up again soon.  If you think about, shows tend to be very crowded, with narrow walkways and crowds around tables and stalls.

[Baldie]

I guess they will be like pubs.
In theory we can have wide spaces, limited numbers etc but eventually people will mingle.

One bar, one set of toilets, que for vendors.
Bring and buy not allowed?

No way to stop you mixing realistically so I cant see em happening till we get a cure.

[Holly]

sadly I wont be visiting any in the near future even when they are allowed. I normally go for the merchandise (kid in a sweet shop effect)

[Tim]

...

No way to stop you mixing realistically so I cant see em happening till we get a cure.

I was back working in my office today. First time I have had a day working in London for 12 weeks. People were, to me, surprisingly blasé about the whole social distancing thing. I think I was the only person on the train wearing a face-mask. I suspect people will go to shows as soon as they are allowed.

As for cure, from everything I have read and from speaking to medical researchers, there has never been an effective cure or vaccination against any Covid strain and the researchers have been searching for one for decades, so don’t hold your breath.

[Holly]

As for cure, from everything I have read and from speaking to medical researchers, there has never been an effective cure or vaccination against any Covid strain and the researchers have been searching for one for decades, so don’t hold your breath.

well if in a lift.....do hold your breath 

[Jim Webster]

sadly I wont be visiting any in the near future even when they are allowed. I normally go for the merchandise (kid in a sweet shop effect)

I'm the same, I'm the other kid in the sweetshop, so I try and go to two or three a year. Not sure I'll get to any this year even if open

[Jim Webster]

...

No way to stop you mixing realistically so I cant see em happening till we get a cure.

I was back working in my office today. First time I have had a day working in London for 12 weeks. People were, to me, surprisingly blasé about the whole social distancing thing. I think I was the only person on the train wearing a face-mask. I suspect people will go to shows as soon as they are allowed.

As for cure, from everything I have read and from speaking to medical researchers, there has never been an effective cure or vaccination against any Covid strain and the researchers have been searching for one for decades, so don’t hold your breath.

Judging by the way various forums are growing quieter, people are going back to work.
I've noticed that round here (I'm the one who now does the shopping) that very very few people wear masks (1% perhaps) but people are pretty good about social distancing.

The trouble is having (probably) had it (because of course back at the end of March you were only tested if you were hospitalised) I'm probably more casual that some. The world of constant handwashing and sanitiser seems infinitely far away. But then as a friend of mine commented, "Jim, with your job it's almost more important to wash before going to the toilet than afterwards 

So whether I go to a show or not depends not on health risks than how bizarre the regulations are. For example, travelling two hundred miles to queue for two or more hours, socially distanced in a carpark, with an hour to go round the show before you're kicked to to let others in, doesn't really appeal.

[Holly]

true....

the rise and rise of the internet beckons.....

[Denis Grey]

The wargaming shows here in the UK are slowly being brought out of the cryogenic deep-freeze.

I saw an announcement from Magister Militum over the weekend which said they would only be attending one or two shows a year in future - presumably SALUTE and A. N. Other.  At the other end of the scale, Bad Squiddo Games, which is a one-woman - or, more precisely, a one-Dice Bag Lady - operation will also be cutting back on their (her) attendance at shows.

I wonder whether this is a trend which is likely to be repeated by others or whether it simply creates space for new enterprises to attend and - hopefully - flourish.

[Dave Knight]

There may be a slow start but things will soon get back to normal.  I have a table booked for Hammerhead at the end of July so that will be the first test.

Here in Scotland face mask wearing is pretty common but social distancing only really applies when queueing.

My work is still being pretty cagey.  I did 411 days working from home but am now going in 1 day a week. 

[Jim Webster]

Purely out of interest, any idea how much a trader's table costs at a show nowadays?