My UK games expo 2025

[thedace 9996xp 2]

Hey folks,

My first forum post for a really good while.

Just sharing a few of my thoughts on the UK Games expo this year.

I’ve been attending the UKGE for absolutely years now and always have a great time.

Anything I say that might seem a bit negative are really only minor gripes and only detract a little from what is overall a great experience.

It was 3 days attendance for us again this year, staying just a few miles from the NEC at the Forest of Arden Golf club. This was where we had stayed previously and we would just Uber into the NEC each day. This, between 4 of us worked out cheaper than parking at the NEC plus a few drinks could be had.

Speaking of drinks, We quickly figured out that the cans of Mead were considerably cheaper than the beer available. Therefore Mead was the drink of choice for the weekend 🙂

The first thing that I wanted to do was enter into the Sir Coates Painting Masters, a really cool addition to the Expo this year. I was actually a bit nervous about this as it was the first “in person” painting competition that I’ve entered. The process was simple, give them your minis and they take your details and put your models in a display cabinet. You get a little receipt for collecting your minis after the judging. I entered some minis from the Unmatched Jurassic Park game, namely the T Rex, Dr Sattler and a scratch built destroyed cubicle and toilet (you know the scene). I didn’t win anything but I’m so glad that I entered (people seemed to love the toilet). I’m already planning on what I can enter next year and hopefully I can place next time :). Congrats to Gray Primer Nick on his finalist foot, my friend Ben and everyone that entered as it does take a bit of courage to enter something like that. A little footnote about the painting, Two Thin Coates and Duncan Rhodes did themselves proud this year. A really nicely ran painting competition which some lovely looking trophies. I had the pleasure of chatting to Duncan Rhodes and he was every bit as friendly as he appears online. The paint and take event was a great idea and it looks like people really enjoyed it. I have picked up some Two Thin Coates paints and look forward to trying them out.

Walking the trade halls on the Friday was busy but not too bad, The Saturday was seriously busy and the Sunday was not too bad either. The layout had changed a bit this year but was relatively easy to get used to. Halls 2, 3 and 3a were the main trade halls and hall 4 was mainly open gaming which a few other events such as Painting comp, Lightsabre battles, Card tournaments etc.. One small negative is that the halls were uncomfortably warm on the Friday and Saturday. On the Sunday the air con seemed to have been switched on.

There seemed to be a lot of repetition of very similar stalls selling custom dice etc… But I suppose if you are going to sell them a games Expo is the Place to do it.

Over the weekend I picked up a few small games. Three of these games were from Allplay games https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/53065/allplay  – Sail, Chomp and Lure (all fun little games) I also picked up Kluster which is a really fun magnet placing game.

On the Friday, along with a good friend of mine I demoed a game called The War of the Worlds one more day https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegreatnothinggames/the-war-of-the-worlds-one-more-day This game is based on the HG Wells War of the Worlds and is a solo game but, easily played as a team (perhaps more fun) You take on the role of a character (we played a reporter) trying to survive the Alien invasion while also traveling to complete objectives. It was such good fun and you can tell that the creator, Matthew of The Great Nothing Games has put a lot into this project. I urge people to have a look at it.

The other thing that I got to demo was the Gundam Card game. This was pretty fun with some nice mechanics such as combining pilots and Gundam, shield cards and base cards.

I would describe the demo as a conveyor belt affair, The demonstrators seemed a bit rushed and you were shown the game in groups, at pace. The game was fun and you got a sample deck to try too, so its one I may play again in the future.

My favourite part of the expo was chilling with my friends and playing some games in the Open gaming.

We had a bit of a base camp set up in hall 4 but later on moved to the Hilton Hotels Open gaming due to the hot conditions in the NEC halls.

One of the games I enjoyed the most was Sandwich Masters https://www.bigpunchstudios.com/store/sandwich-masters

A big shout out to all of my friends from Longrest Boardgame Café. https://longrest.co.uk/ You were the best company 🙂

It was also really nice to meet a few of the community members from OTT 🙂

 

 

[sundancer 43441xp 0]

My first forum post for a really good while.

New phone, who dis? 😉

I would describe the demo as a conveyor belt affair

Isn’t that usually the case when conventions are crowded? After all they want as many people as possible try their stuff and get hooked on it. And if you are the one giving the demo explaining rules for the n-th time can get really exhausting XD

It was also really nice to meet a few of the community members from OTT

Did you lick Justin for good luck?

[thedace 9996xp 1]

I suppose it can get tiring for them, especially if it is someone who is being paid to be there as staff as oppose to somebody whose game / passion project it is.

I did see Justin on one of the warmer days. It looked like he was going to melt into a pool of goo. His head was glistening like Poledark’s chest.

[pagan8thParticipant 12953xp 0]

***sounds of retching***

[jeffersonpowers 305xp 0]

I saw your Jurrasic Park contest entry, it was great!

One of mine was on the shelf above for a while, but they moved me to the other case because two of us had done the same game (Senjutsu).

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by  jeffersonpowers.

[limburger 21954xp 0]

Why Uber ?
I thought public transport was an option ?

Any tips and tricks for people planning their first visit to the event ?

[pagan8thParticipant 12953xp 1]

If you’re going to the expo for one day then I’d recommend friday as it seems quieter.

I caught the early train this year and was there by 9:15. The queue for tickets flowed quickly and I was in the expo intelf by 9:30.

Food and drink is expensive, so I take bottles of water and sandwiches.

It’s usually a hot day and you don’t want to carry a coat around, so if you really don’t trust the weather, take a light mack that folds up small.

If you’re travelling by train then you don’t need the coat as you’re under cover all the way from Birmingham International to the Expo.

Download the Expo guide and map before you go and make a note of anything you particularly want to see. Either make a note of the ‘coordinates’ or print the map and highlight the locations. It’s worth it. Navigation can be tricky.

I never bother with the bring and buy. The queues are horrendous.

I’m sure others will have advice if you going for the full event.

[limburger 21954xp 1]

if I’m going it’s got to be the entire weekend, because it’s just too much travel time to do only one day.

current plan is basically : arrive on thursday and then start the return trip on monday.

Food&drinks are always expensive at events like this … 🙁

I’ve seen the ‘bring and buy’ at a local convention. the queues to get in are insane. I’d rather see new things anyway.

[thedace 9996xp 0]

Thanks jeffersonpowers 🙂

Were yours on the little hex mat?

Senjutsu looks a fantastic game. I might pick it up myself.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by  thedace.

[thedace 9996xp 0]

@limburger We were staying in the countryside so a taxi was the easiest option.

I have previously stayed in Birmingham but it was very difficulty to find space on a bus to the NEC.

There are hotels next to the NEC but these are really expensive.

Friday and Sunday are the quieter days, Saturday is very busy so we normally use this day for open gaming.

Don’t demo a game unless you want to. You’d be surprised how quickly the weekend passes by. You don’t want to be wasting time on something that you’re not really interested in.

I agree that, as pagan8th mentions the bring and but just isn’t worth the time.

The open gaming areas in the Hilton were a lot more pleasant than the NEC don’t forget they are there.

Comfy shoes are essential so don’t go wearing your heels Limburger 🙂 Also a nice backpack is handy too.

[jeffersonpowers 305xp 1]

@thedace mine were the ones on the cardboard hex board (not the neoprene mat).

I’ve only had a chance to play a couple of times, but so far I really like it. It’s a good mix of card play and grid movement.

[thedace 9996xp 0]

Oh wow.

You’ve done such a nice job @jeffersonpowers

Card play and grid movement, kind of like the unmatched game where my minis were from.

[jeffersonpowers 305xp 0]

@thedace thank you!

Senjutsu is very similar to Unmatched (which is a favorite of mine), but a bit more granular. Attack cards indicate which hexes your attack targets relative to your position and facing, so the game involves a lot of maneuvering to get into the right spot at the right time. The game allows for deck customization too, as opposed to the fixed decks in Unmatched.

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