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UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report:
Part Two
with Anders Johansson, Mick Rood, and Tommy Brown.

Read Part One here...

Mick writes...
It was nearly a year in the planning but the day finally came when Anders from Battlefront UK and I finally arrived at Battlefield Hobbies. Laden down with terrain, armies, exclusive tournament objectives, prize support (all courtesy of Battlefront) and of course, the infamous Reluctant Conscripts' Whiteboard of Doom.

For anyone who’s been to Battlefield Hobbies will know it’s a great gaming venue and big thanks to Nobby, Hammy, Jack and Dan for looking after us from start to finish. They provided all the tabletops and 16 tables’ worth of terrain.

This event was a big step up for the Reluctant Conscripts; given the numbers were far greater than any of our usual events as were the expectation. The response early on was extremely encouraging and level of trust shown was humbling so we wanted to set the bar high. With battle-hardened veterans from all over the globe; France, Germany, Poland, the United States, Finland as well as the UK’s finest, the scene was set for a fantastic competition.

Even better for me, was the fact that I knew who I’d be playing during the course of the weekend and leaving all the hard work to Tommy and Alex. My force consisted of a British Recce Squadron from Road to Rome, a mix, Mid-war and Late-war that I’ve used for years and absolutely love playing with. Win or lose, I knew I would have a great time with my Armoured Car ‘cavalry’ valiantly charging heavy armour.

A ‘couple’ of beers were needed on Friday night to calm the nerves.

UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two
Saturday morning arrived; everything was as ready as we could make it. I had the pleasure of registering the Iron Cross painting entries, just check out the photos! This was pure art, excellent talent and use of imagination.  The visual impact of these pieces was truly amazing and every entrant should be proud of the special touch that they added to the Grand Tournament.

Round One
I was attacking in Breakthrough against Simon Royston’s SS Brigade Westfalen.

Round Two
Defending against Szymon Granat’s Polish Parachute Brigade.

Round Three
Encounter with Laurent Lustiere’s Sredniy Samokhodno-Artillyeriyskiy Polk, a terrifying mix of self-propelled guns,
Matildas and artillery.

Round Four
Dust Up against Matt Haywood’s Legkiy Samokhodno-Artillyeriyskiy Polk, an equally terrifying mix of self-propelled guns, pioneers, flame tanks and artillery.

Round Five
Fighting withdrawal, defending against Gavin Booth’s Panzer Kampfgruppe

UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two

I won’t summarise each game but simply to say they were all brilliant for me and each of my opponents was a true sportsman. The hardest decision for me was which of them who earn Favourite Opponent nomination, in truth, they all deserved it.

My final duty of the weekend and absolute pleasure it was was to hand out the trophies to the winners.

For me, the whole experience was both exhausting and exhilarating. I received great feedback for how well it had all went but also useful feedback where things hadn’t gone quite as planned. I welcomed both because knowing what we had done well and learning lessons from not went so well means the next event will be even better.

My final comment is to say I hope you will have us back as I have no hesitation about doing it all over again. I just need to sleep for a year!

~ Mick.

UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two
UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two

Tommy writes...
This all started in 2015 when we were approached by Battlefront to run the Grand Tournament on their behalf. It was really important to them that the Grand Tournament delivered what the Flames Of War community really deserve and they were keen we both worked together to make that happen. And so began our year-long journey.

Once we had decided on points and the details of the Iron Cross painting competition, it was then that we started to spread the word on the forum and social media. The level of interest was insane; we expected to have one or two players by the end of 2015, instead, we had filled the venue and had to start an alternate list in case someone had to drop at a later date.

As the day drew near we started to nail down player support, terrain, and confirm that everyone knew the list deadlines and the timings for the days. This is when I started to release the rules pack and posted more regular updates. This made the day run that much smoother and allows everyone to relax and enjoy the weekend.

~ Tommy.

UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two

Anders writes...
After a few quite rocky years the Euro Grand Tournament was cancelled in 2015 due to only four people purchasing tickets. It was obvious something needed to be done and it was clear that we needed the community’s support to get the event backtrack. Since other European countries like Germany, Spain and the Netherlands has started to run their own grand tournaments, the Euro name was no longer applicable so the name of the event was changed to the UK Grand Tournament.

We approached the local club the Reluctant Conscripts, who often play at Battlefront’s Thursday night’s gaming evenings and ran three yearly Flames Of War tournaments in a nearby school. Since I was both a member of Reluctant Conscripts myself and regularly attended their tournaments and helped supported their events as part of my job, it felt like a natural fit to have the Reluctant Conscripts organise the UK Grand Tournament on Battlefront’s behalf.

UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two
One crucial element that the Reluctant Conscripts fulfilled with great aplomb was the communication that needs to be done on the forum before the event. There are often a number of questions that need to be addressed and it takes a great deal of dedication and time to stay up to date with the daily goings-on. This where the Reluctant Conscripts guys made the big difference compared to past years; communication and information being very much the key to an event run nowadays.

For the actual event, the tried and tested formula used by the Sturm Uber events worked really well and meant that everybody could focus on the gaming and enjoy themselves.

The UK Grand Tournament took over one really nice thing from the Euro Grand Tournament, the Iron Cross Painting competition. Some very nice pieces were entered into the competition by the Finnish contingent causing everybody else up their game and led to some of the best-painted Flames Of War miniatures I have ever seen. 

I used the tournament as an excuse to paint my Pumas that have been on the shelf for a couple of games. My 13 Pumas (plus two King Tigers) and I had five very enjoyable games despite being smashed in near every way possible.

The 2016 UK Grand Tournament has put this event back on the map and I look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s event!

~ Anders.

UK Grand Tournament 2016 Report: Part Two


Last Updated On Wednesday, November 16, 2016 by Blake at Battlefront