Hammerhead 2026

 As I'm managing to miss both Partisan and COW this year due to various family things, I thought I should at least go along to Hammerhead.

The show was VERY well attended (although it never looks it in the photos). I got there around 10:15 and the queue was back to car park, and I gather from chatting to people it was still like that an hour later. First one of the year in the Newark region I guess.

As I wasn't running a game, I had a run around the traders to pick some stuff up. Then a wander around the games to see what was happening, and bumped into various people I knew while doing so.

There seemed to be fewer fantasy games that in recent years, but there was a different mix of traders to Partisan, so it hasn't quite become Partisan III. Anyway, here are a few games which caught my eye. 

A massive Star Wars game by Forest Outlaws, which was very well attended by participants.

And the inevitable Kallistra game - American War of Independance this time. A lovely setup.

Reveille presented this amazing Lego Alamo game.

The figures were just lovely. And made of Lego...

And a fabulous Dads Army game. 'The Seagull has Landed'.

Snorkers! A newish set of WW2 naval rules.

The Italians and French clash in a hypothetical 1940 engagement. Dunquerke is closest to the camera. Lovely 3D prints, which seem to be taking over the world of naval gaming. 

And on the next table my old mate Kev was running a Russo-Japanese naval game. Nice sea mat.

Peters Paperboys presented this astonishing paper WW2 game. Look closely, everything is made of paper, even all the trees. I once made a card model tank, and once was quite enough, so well done for putting this together.

Huntingdon and Diastrict Gamers put on a Crossfire game. Hooray! Nice to see Crossfire out in public.

A lovely Minas Tirith game by the Boondock Saynts.

Battlegroup Northag with some WW3 action.

And a fantastic Stingray game from the South London Warlords.

Complete with authentic hats.

And really lovely models. Funny, I have dim recollections of playing a Stingray game at Salute many decades ago when it was at Kensington Town Hall.

The DBA competition was in full swing.

The armies all look vaguely Bronze Age.

Arab Israeli Wars grand tactical game under development.

Ramilles in 6mm using some sort of gridded rule system.

Lovely stuff, but I couldn't tell who was putting it on or what rules they were using.

Tyneside wargames Club put on the spectacular Operation Barbarossa game covering the entire eastern Front in 1941! I guess each element is a Corps?

The whole of Russia west of the Urals. Blimey.

I did actually play a game - Wakefield Wargamers 'A Moonless Night in WW2'. This is a quick decision game - you lead a troop of Commandos to attack and destroy a German gun battery. You need to decide whether to split up or go in one group, and have a choice of movement routes (point to point).

Here my brave chaps are working as two groups, bypassing the German occupied town. The round counters get turned over and bad (or good) things can happen, depending how alert the Germans are. My blokes in the river found a motorboat, which lets them bypass some of the German presence at the bridge, while the other group sneaked past the German town which is stacked high with counters.

Forming up for the assault. You have ot take the guns by 0430 to get back to the evac point in time. Having got there, you roll against how many men you have left to achieve success. I played it twice and won both times, but only at the very last minute. I lost a lot of men on the first effort, running into German patrols and getting lost in the woods. The second run was more sucessful.

Finally, I bought a few bits and pieces. I failed to get any Woodland Scenics Blended Turf or red/white German turret numbers, but I did get both a Roman Temple and a lovely Star Fort from Brigade Models. I also added to my Hexon holdings with some mountains - a pair of double hex pre flocked ones, and eight unflocked single hex ones. I'll do some of them as snow, and the others as general purpose arid/temperate.

I had a good look at the Table Sale, which is hugely popular and narrowly managed to avoid an AWI complete pair of armies shopping accident in 15mm (priced at well below lead cost, unlike the inflated figures on the traders stands). I really can't start doing the eighteenth century in 15mm, I just can't. 

It was also great to catch up with people and have a chat. A good day out.