Just over a week has passed since UK Games Expo and as I get back into my normal routine, it’s time to reflect on the event. This isn’t going to be a review of the event as such but more of what I got up to and what I did or didn’t enjoy.
Friday
Normally I would get the train but this year I was joined by Mike who kindly drove down to the NEC. We set off around 6:30am which was a lot better than the 5:30 start I normally have and we got there in plenty of time even with the heavier traffic we expected around Birmingham. The queue for picking up tickets was constantly moving and we got ours fairly quick and after a quick toilet and coffee break we headed to Hall Four.
The first of the demos we had was for Viking Raiders. A simple card drafting game that gave Dominion vibes and was very enjoyable. We were joined by a random guy, which is normal at these events to have a game. We were shown how to play by the team behind the game and as we all enjoyed playing the game, we all picked up a copy.
After making our way through the halls we saw games that we thought might be good to play and were debating whether it was worth picking up more miniature based games that we might not get to play often (looking at you Horus Heresy). I picked up a few bits from my wish list like SETI, Masters of the Universe Battleground minis and the latest expansion for Heat from various places but could not find some of the things I wanted yet. It was getting close to lunchtime by this point so we grabbed some food from one of the food places in Hall One. As you’d expect, the food is always expensive at a convention but I grabbed a hot dog which was £9 so not too bad. We rested a bit and looked at what we had picked up and talked about what we were going to do next then headed back into the halls for more fun.
In the afternoon, we found the Thunderworks Games stand and I wanted to look at Dawn of Ulos as it had been on my list of games to get for a while. It just so happened the designer, Jason Lentz, was there and offered to teach us how to play. It was a great experience being taught by the person that designed the game and of course I bought it and got it signed too. After more wandering around we ended up at the TT Combat stand and started looking at the new Dropzone Commander spin off, Operation Artemis. We were offered a demo and learnt the basics of the game. It was tempting to preorder but I thought waiting for it to release and see what else is coming out before buying it. With three demos done, lots of things acquired and the day drawing to a close we grabbed a Subway (an Expo tradition of mine) before setting off home.
Friday’s Haul
Heat: Tunnel Vision
SETI
Dawn of Ulos
Masters of the Universe Battlegrounds expansions
One Card Dungeon
Terracotta Army
Founders of Teotihuacan
Mandala Stones
Viking Raiders
Tacta
Saturday
The day started a little later with Ben picking me up at 7am and this year he brought two of his daughters Mia and Eve with him. We got there just before 9am, picked up tickets and headed to the Lorcana stand where the girls wanted to pick up their promos. We left them to it and headed to Star Wars Unlimited to have a “demo” and pick up out show exclusive promo card. Ben beat me using the Boba Fett starter against the Han Solo starter but it was very close. We stayed in Hall Three and checked out everything on offer before looking for the stand where the Pandemic designer, Matt Leacock, was and got him to sign my copy of Pandemic.
Next on the agenda was finding the stand for Traitors Aboard, a pirate deduction game for a demo. We had fun playing the game with two other people even if Ben ended the game early making the pirates lose. We both bought the game and acquired a pirate hat each and wore them for the majority of the day. Everywhere we went for the rest of the day we were asked where we had got the hats. I think we should’ve been on commission for giving people directions to the stand. It was then time to find the stand for the Gundam TCG and when we did the queue was huge so decided to give it a miss and head for some lunch and a break.
After lunch, it was time to find some bargains and some other bits we wanted to do. I picked up the Automa expansion for Terraforming Mars, the new mini version of Azul: Summer Pavilion and Star Trek: Captain’s Chair. I had been trying to find Fate of the Fellowship all weekend but it was one of those elusive games like Dune: Imperium was a couple of years ago so I missed out on it. There was one final stop at the Archon Studio stand where I picked up more Masters of the Universe miniatures and Heroes of Might and Magic III. I picked up a few more smaller bits and there were some other things I wanted to get but the bags were getting full and the money was running low so they can wait for a while. Ben picked up a few bits he wanted and we met up with his daughters and headed back to the car. We left a little earlier to avoid the queues of car park traffic and getting out of Birmingham. The journey back was uneventful this year as we didn’t break down although we laughed as we saw someone else that did and said thankfully that’s not us again.
Saturday’s Haul
Star Trek: Captains Chair
Azul Summer Pavilion Mini
Traitors Aboard
Cabanga
Terraforming Mars: Automa
Barbecubes
Arkham Horror playmats
Earth: Abundance
Heroes of Might and Magic III
Masters of the Universe Battlegrounds expansions
Rebel Scum RPG
Runequest RPG Starter Set
General thoughts!
As always the Friday wasn’t as busy as the Saturday except for one seller, Zatu Games which was extremely busy! Zatu always has some great bargains which I pick up every year but this is the first year I haven got anything from them as I felt there wasn’t enough time to look round. I felt pressured to keep moving and not have a chance to look at anything I could potentially buy and this was the same on both days. The overall feel of the event was bigger thanks to the addition of another hall and there was generally more space to walk around. The choice of food places were as good as usual but I did take plenty of drinks and snacks to avoid overpaying for things. Some of the developers had smaller stands this year and not much of a presence it it was also good to see some developers that had not been to UKGE before.
I didn’t spend as much as I did in previous years (a whopping £200 less than last year) but I did manage to get a lot of things on the list I had written before I went. Some of the things on the list weren’t available or I couldn’t find them which led me to getting other games but some were too expensive. I’m already planning next year’s trip and have the time booked off. I will get my tickets early for next year and may have a slightly bigger budget than previous years to pick up some bigger games and expansions. Of course, I will get random purchases after demos as always and hopefully not miss out on next year’s big game like I did this year.
What’s next?
I have been planning my trip to Essen in October where I will pick up a few new games but it all depends on shipping and how much I can carry. There may also be a possible detour to the Dungeons and Flagons Board Game Festival and/or Airecon NW both in Manchester in August. In the meantime, it’s time for building and painting the new miniatures and getting the new games to the table!
Tabletop Tales 