Call to Arms 2003

- by Paul Goldstone (Club President)

This year’s convention was a success. More than a hundred players attended, confirming Call-to-Arms (CTA) as the country’s second largest annual convention. The usual periods were well represented - Ancients, 40K and Fantasy, but this year really saw Flames of War “come of age”, with 22 participants and a lot of interest from spectators. There were also a number of demo games, and Capital Books and Mack’s Tracks ran busy trade stands. A downside was the relatively poor attendance from the public (though some gamers will say that is a good thing!).

My impression is that people enjoyed themselves and the quality of armies continues to improve. It amazed me how Flames of War, a relatively new period, has reached such high standards of painting so quickly. And 25mm Ancients continues its march to dominance of the more traditional historical periods, and the quality of some 25mm Ancients armies is very high indeed.

Many thanks to the umpires - Mike King, Gareth Ackrill, and Richard Fields, who put in a lot of work to make their competitions go smoothly. Many thanks to Mack’s Tracks and Capital Books for their trade stands. Our sponsors - Battlefront and Games Workshop who provided prizes - GW in particular really came to the party with very generous prizes. Many thanks to Rhys and the other demo gamers. Many thanks to all those gamers who turned up on the Friday evening to set up tables - it made life so much easier for everyone! And finally, many thanks to Peter Dunn, who bore the brunt of the work in organising CTA.

Most importantly, thanks to the participants, who made for a fun weekend.