Warhammer Fest: Preparing for War
Ever wonder what it’s like for the Tournament Organizers who prep big events? Well GW breaks it down!
If you’ve never been to a massive Warhammer Tournament and you’re a fan of the game(s) then you really should check it out. There is nothing quite like going to an event with hundreds of fellow gamers and celebrating the hobby we all enjoy. We’ve all heard stories of late night painting sessions to put the final touches on armies or scrambling to finish a display board – but that’s always from the player’s point-of-view. Well have you ever considered what it takes to host one of these events? Work. Lots and lots of work.
It’s not often we hear about the “behind the scenes” of running these massive undertakings but Games Workshop has decided to pull the curtain back just enough to give folks an idea of what they can expect at Warhammer Fest 2017. And it sounds both exhausting and impressive!
“As you might imagine when running five Tournaments at the same time, the amount of ‘getting everything ready’ rivals the Emperor’s preparation for the Great Crusade. The main differences being we aren’t trying to develop a method of mass producing genetic super warriors!
So, as well as getting the event packs spot-on, what does it physically take to put on five Warhammer Fest Tournaments?
Currently we are preparing and planning to…”
- Build 450 70-piece Citadel Woods…
- …which will take 300 hours to build…
- … and 100 hours to paint
- Pack all those with 1000 Warhammer 40,000 scenery pieces, 1000 Age of Sigmar scenery pieces and 500 The Hobbit™ Strategy Battle Game scenery pieces.
- Transport them 49 miles to the Ricoh Arena
- Arrange 350 tables and 700+ chairs
- Unfurl 350 Battle Mats
- Open up 150 Blood Bowl pitches and 300 dugouts
- Print and mount at least 50 certificates
- Polish 15 trophies
“As you can see, instead of attempting to conquer the galaxy (which is no mean feat), we’re getting ready to provide immersive battlefields for you to play on, schedules so that you can see at least a small portion of the other things going on at Warhammer Fest and, of course, we’re preparing some awesome awards for you as well!”
That’s a LOT of work for a weekend of gaming. But it sounds AWESOME for players. So next time you’re at an event (big or small) take a step back and just survey the tables. Just remember that someone had to organize the event, get all that stuff out on the tables, and run the thing. It might have been one person or an entire team of people – but they worked behind the scenes to get the work done so you could play. Oh, and then someone also has to pack all that stuff up, clean-up, and take it BACK to where ever they are storing it!
A small gesture like a “Hey – Thank You for doing what you do” to the event staff really does go a long way is all I’m saying.
If you plan on attending the event GW has also updated some of the tournament info which you can read about HERE.
Get Ready to WAAAGH! May 27th & 28th at Warhammer Fest 2017!
