“Beachhead" Showcase 2025

"It feels like this exciting weekend sneaks up on us every year."

Seeing as this "ninth annual Beachhead event" was my first wargaming show of the new year, I found myself surprisingly excited as I drove down to the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) in Dorset. I'd actually missed the previous one, and had therefore largely forgotten my past disappointment with its lack of new vendors. Indeed, this time round I already knew some of the stores that were going to be attending, and was very eager to reacquaint myself with "Athena Miniatures" excellent range of Apocalypse Survivors.

What I hadn't forgotten though was the tabletop games expo's entry fee, especially as I paid for my ticket in advance, so I was quite keen to ensure that I obtained significantly more 'value for money' with this trip than I had twenty-four months earlier. Sadly, I must confess that I did not; albeit I did manage to stick around for more than a couple of hours - which is twice as long as I did last time.

A few of the Exhibition/Participation Games in the Main Hall

To be fair, the problem I encountered this time round though wasn't really the lack of 'fresh-faced' manufacturers trying to tempt me with their new wares. But rather surprisingly, a distinct lack of vendors full stop. According to their website, Beachhead didn't even house fifty vendors - a third less than that at Warfare 2024, so after approximately thirty minutes of walking around I'd actually toured the entire Main Hall, and began pouring through the colourful event guide looking for a non-existent second sales area.

Now obviously there is so much more to "Beachhead" these days than its vendor room, with the weekend also containing boardgames, tournaments, demonstration/participation games, workshops, card games and role-playing. In fact, its organiser Pete Valinski waxes quite lyrically about how the event has evolved "from a wargaming show into the tabletop extravaganza" I experienced, and I think therein lies the problem. I'm no longer its target audience, as I'm simply not interested in the majority of the services it now offers.

The stalls of Shiver by "Parable Games" and Zoontalis: Battle Royale by "Dice Heads"

However, having got the 'doom and gloom' out of my system, I'm pleased to say that there were still a number of things I did enjoy at the show - most notably picking up some more 28mm metal Post Apocalyptic Survivors, British Armed Forces and Russian NBC Troopers from John Caboche's aforementioned "Athena Miniatures". I've already been slowly painting up a number of this range's hand-sculpted figures since first encountering the company late last year, so it took quite a bit of will-power not to go completely mad and purchase the remaining figure sets I don't currently own.

Likewise, I was rather enthused when I suddenly spotted the fantastic looking Dead Man's Hand figures Butch And Sundance by "Great Escape Games". This pair of 28mm metal gunslingers completely caught me off-guard, and as a huge fan of George Roy Hill's 1969 American Western film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", they went straight into my 'shopping trolley'. Now admittedly, I've yet to buy the skirmish game which sees "bands of tough and wily Cowboys, stoic Lawmen, ruthless Outlaws and crazy Desperados fight for fame and respect in the Old West." But as these figures come with their statistic cards supplied, I thought they roguish outlaws would make a nice starter for ten if I do.

Some of the fully-painted "Age Of Sigmar" armies on display in the Tournament Area

My last purchase was definitely not what I was expecting, and was an owl-shaped incense burner from the "Into The Realm" Candle Company. This vendor appeared completely 'out of the blue' amidst a rather 'odd' collection of different entrepreneurs selling everything from canvas artwork through to Pokemon collectible cards, and caught my eye due to their creativeness in cleverly naming their wax melts to fit in with Fantasy RPG locations. Nonetheless, it was a somewhat strange place to find a craft stall, and frankly summed up how eclectic the range of goods for sale were at Beachhead overall...

“Beachhead" Showcase 2023

The Main Floor and Solent Hall (Wargames Tournaments) 

Having not visited the Bournemouth International Centre in Dorset for a few years I was rather looking forward to once again attending "one of the South Coast's top convention centres" this past Saturday, and managed to find both a parking space near the event, as well as a local eatery serving breakfast, before its doors had even opened, In the past, the venue has always 'thrown up' some new range of miniatures by an aspiring entrepreneur I've 'bought big into' or seduced me to finally purchase a game/genre I've previously managed to keep at arms bay.

Unfortunately, this simply wasn't the case this time round, and I left the show wondering whether I would be willing to pay another tenner for a similar experience again. In fact, this seemingly sudden standard cost of entry is really putting me off shows, as I was only there for just over an hour, and surprisingly walked away with nothing but a handful of manufacturer's advertising leaflets and flyers. That's not value for money in my books.

"Shiver" by "Parable Games" and "Zoontalis: Battle Royale" by "Dice Heads"

I think one of the main problems was that "Beachhead" didn't really offer me anything that I couldn't purchase with far less hassle over the internet. The usual trading suspects were somewhat out in force in the shape of "Warlord Games", "Blotz", "Great Escape Games", "Peter Pig", "TT Combat" and "Grubby Tanks". Whilst the second-hand dealers were charging an absolute fortune for many of their wares - most notably the old(er) boxed sets by "Games Workshop", which were (perhaps unsurprisingly) priced in the hundreds of pounds. Furthermore, I'd suggest the event's huge array of wargames tournaments (in both the Solent Hall and the Bourne Lounge) were perhaps its biggest draw, and such competitive play isn't for me. 

Having said all that though, there were a few notable attendees who definitely caught my attention, and quite possibly in less frugal financial times may well have had me opening my wallet. Foremost of these was the "roleplaying in the strange and unknown" rule-set entitled "Shiver" by "Parable Games". This horror game definitely intrigued me with its mix of spooky shenanigans, excellent artwork and dedicated dice mechanics. However, as I already own numerous versions/expansions of "7TV" by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" I didn't feel I wanted to fork out another large wodge of dosh on a core game book which brings "their favourite scary movies, spooky television shows, and horror stories to life". I was sorely tempted though...

Some of the demonstration games laid out on the Main Floor

Furthermore, I discovered "Zoontalis: Battle Royale" by "Dice Heads", which on face value struck me as being a much more fantasy-based variant of "Burrows & Badgers" by "Oathsworn Miniatures". I was initially going to pass this particular vendor by, seeing as I already own an embarrassingly large amount of metal and resin anthropomorphic animals. But then I spotted some of the larger figures, and was told that the figures can be obtained as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from the company's 3D print subscription service on "MyMiniFactory". This offer also includes free access to the various models' Character Statistic Cards, the game's Rulebook and some starter scenarios - another highly tempting future prospect...

Lastly, I was rather taken by some of the numerous display and demonstration games dotted throughout the main floor area. Two particular tables offered an awesome-looking "Hit The Beach - Bougainville" island hopping battle by the US Third Marine Division and the Thirty-Seventh Infantry Division against the Japanese Fifty-Forth Infantry Battalion. I actually spent quite a while talking to one of the informative gents running the game, and was surprised to hear how tea leaves had proved a prominent ingredient in the models' basing. Splendid stuff.