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Report. UK Games Expo
By ALAN HOW
days (in reality there were 39,306 visi- tors, but many of them came with perma- nent tickets on two or three days, so they were counted again each day). The show is easy to navigate inside and well served
by transport links with a hub airport just a monorail journey away, in addition to major roads and plenty of hotels nearby. The size of the stands reflects their usage from main sponsors to start ups. There are retailers, distributors, publishers, and new designers and of course new games.
There was steady growth of the event until Covid interrupted things but it has picked up again in recent years and is larger than ever. It compares in scale with events outside the very largest ones, such as Essen SPIEL, which is easily the best known and largest of all.
Comparisons with Essen SPIEL are in- evitable, but while the German based event focuses on board games, the UK one has a broader range. If you want board games to be your focus then Es- sen SPIEL is the event to target. But that also attracts more competition and so it may be more difficult to get noticed. So, there are many small game publish- ers launching at UKGE, which is an ideal place to stimulate interest. As you walk around the show, there are small family and mid weight games being launched and at good prices, so if you want to support a fledgling designer/publisher
They say that all roads lead to Rome, but in Birmingham in late May they lead to the
National Exhibition Centre—home to the UK Games Expo. The event is now in its 17th year and is described as the UK’s largest Hobby Games show. The “hobby” description explains the breadth of the event that the Expo covers. There is open gaming, tournaments, demos, as well as lectures and many other aspects of tabletop gaming.
E
coming through the doors is like a dam bursting. By contrast UKGE has a steady stream of people arriving and there are very few top-level games being launched at the show. It’s not what UKGE is about.
Tabletop gaming is the focus in two of the large halls with bring and buy as well as open gaming the key features of the third hall. So popular was the bring and buy that each person is now limited to 20 items! But the overall approach is to make it a great day for families as the range of activities appeals to all ages. It’s clear that this is the philosophy of the show and it achieves it.
The interest in the UKGE is remarkable: 65,281 visitors were counted over three
ssen Spiel has a flood of new board
games and the surge of people
The Kingdom Plays
Photos: How, UKGE