Friday, the 30th of May. That was the day Yasmin and I went to the UKGE this year, and what an experience it turned out to be! In my previous post, ‘Heading to the EXPO’, I mentioned a few games we were hoping to buy. We managed to get four of them, which is not bad at all. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; this story needs to start right at the beginning. For one of us, that meant a very early start indeed.
Yasmin lifted her head from the pillow around 5 o’clock on Friday morning. She is not used to seeing two 5 o’clocks in a single day, so it was quite a shock to her system. Still, she made it onto the 6:30 train, leaving Liverpool for Birmingham New Street, and she sent me a text to let me know she was on her way.
Meanwhile, I rolled out of bed at 6 o’clock. I was just about to get in the car when I received her text message. I hit the motorways and made good time, arriving at the NEC at 7:45. It turns out this is almost the perfect time to get there. I found a prime parking space—a nice wide one with hatchings down the sides, so the car next to me was a good couple of feet away. It was as close to the halls as possible without booking Express or VIP parking.
Yasmin had to change trains at New Street and was due to arrive at 8:50. I headed to Hall 1 to pick up our tickets. Another good reason to arrive early is that the queues were short and moving quickly, so collecting the tickets took no time at all. I grabbed the lanyards, show programs, and map books on the way out. I decided to walk up to the station to meet her train. The actual EXPO didn’t open its doors until 9, so I had time to kill. While it was tempting to walk back to the car and doze for half an hour, I wasn’t sure exactly how far the train station was, so off I went.
It turned out to be a 5-minute walk through the NEC to Birmingham International train station. I sat down on a bench and read the show guide. Trains arrived every few minutes, and there were a lot of people heading to the EXPO halls. Most of them were already wearing tickets, which, at a guess, meant they were volunteers or exhibitors.
Yasmin arrived exactly on time, and we headed back through the NEC towards the car park. She doesn’t travel light! This time, though, the crowds had assembled before the Hall doors, ready for the grand opening in a few minutes. This meant we had to dodge and slither through small gaps to make our way through.
Once her luggage was safely deposited into the boot of the car, we made our way back again. We took a shortcut through the Express car park, which meant we missed the slow-moving crowd we inevitably get stuck behind when taking the main route.
We decided to start where we did last year: the Bring and Buy. The queue was a little longer than when we joined it last year, but not by much. We thought we would be inside within half an hour. How wrong we were!
You know what it’s like when you are committed? You think about walking away and coming back later, but you have been in the queue so long that it would be a waste of that time to leave. That was exactly us. We queued for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Was it worth it? Well, we did grab a small hoard of games, some at outrageously low prices, so I would say yes, it was worth it.
By the time we climbed out of the Bring and Buy, it was lunch time—at least for those of us who had breakfast at a stupid time in the morning. So, we headed back to the car for our packed lunches and to fill the boot with our small tower of games. That reminds me. This year, they allowed bags into the Bring and Buy area for the first time, provided they had no games in them—checks were carried out. This meant I had a trusty IKEA bag handy for carrying our loot.
After lunch, we began to make our way around the Halls. It was noticeably bigger this year, both in physical size and in the number of people attending. It was super busy, and it was slow going in places where the aisles were narrow. There was a time when the EXPO fell on the first weekend of half-term, meaning that the Friday was a school and work day for most people across the country. However, recently, taking part on the last weekend when a lot of people are on holiday, the crowds have increased by quite a margin. Official figures show 72,000+ attended this year, with 42,000+ unique visitors. That makes it bigger than GEN Con, which had 71,000, at least for now!
A lot of traders had play or demo areas alongside their stalls this year, which spread things out more. This is probably why the show has taken up an extra Hall. I thought this was a great idea, as there were so many games you could sit down and try. Unfortunately for us, attending for just one day meant we had little time to do so if we wanted to get around and look at everything.
As an aside here, I should mention the pin collective. A number of exhibitors participated by designing their own pin badge, and people could collect and trade these over the weekend. Yasmin collects badges and was looking forward to getting her paws on some of these. I started the ball rolling by pre-ordering the starter set when I booked the tickets, which was nice of me.
However, getting hold of the exhibitor’s pins wasn’t easy. In fact, she didn’t get any. The reason for this was that for many of them, you had to take part in a demo at their exhibit. This is great for those who were interested in the games being demonstrated or had the time to sit in on one. Some exhibitors were giving them away; all you had to do was ask. However, all the ones we asked for had run out long ago, though they were being restocked the following day.
It’s a new venture for the EXPO, and I’m sure it will take off and the pins will become a little easier to get hold of. Maybe they could continue giving them away free if you do a demo, but also make them available for a small cost. £2 is a usual cost for a pin, and we would be happy to buy them.
Getting back to the halls, there didn’t seem to be as many tabletop games traders as usual. I mean, those that are selling games or something directly related to the hobby. There were a lot of peripheral stalls, however, those selling T-shirts, pictures, cosplay, mugs, trinkets, and so on, all with game-related branding on them. I do wonder if some of them actually sell enough to make a profit—games-related candle, anyone?
Compared to previously, quite a few of the traders’ stalls were enclosed in some way. Some had temporary walling around them, others did so by the way their racking was set up. While I can understand this in terms of making sure nobody walks off with their stock without paying, it did concentrate the crowds trying to look at their wares. Zatu, for one, was almost solid with people, many of which were just fighting to make their way out. It made it difficult to see what was on the shelves, arduous to actually grab what you wanted, and near impossible to escape.
Chaos Cards, on the other hand, was just as busy, but they had their stalls arranged in a rectangular fashion with games both on the inner and outer racks. Staff were parading between them on constant alert to give assistance and take your money. Guess where we spent more of our time!
The hours ticked by amazingly quickly, and after a quick break for coffee, we were left with a dilemma. Other than one or two small purchases, we were struggling to find the games on our list. Other things had grabbed our attention, but typical of us, they were all big box games that cost the price of a small car. Now, I don’t mind breaking the bank for something I know at least a little bit about, but these were totally new to me. I realised just how much I had fallen out of touch with the current ‘hotness’.
There was the new Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era game, which looked amazing and was an IP we were both into. However, it was only available at the Chip Theory Games stall and was knocking over £200. I wasn’t about to pay that knowing next to nothing about how it played.
Time was ticking, and we had to make a decision. Continue around the parts we were yet to investigate, return to the Bring and Buy, or go back and pick up a few of the games we were interested in that we’d seen on trade stands. Marvel United expansions sprang to mind.
Yasmin loves a bargain and wanted to revisit the Bring and Buy; she’s got a nose for sniffing out interesting games from there. It was decided that we should check out the queue. If it was too long, we’d return to investigate the bits we hadn’t seen. As it was, we queued for about 15 minutes, and it wasn’t so busy inside. We were able to spend longer hunting through the shelves. Of course, we managed to pick up a few goodies, none of which were on our list, and that was about it for us. It was approaching 5 o’clock, and we had the inevitable Friday rush hour on the M6 to look forward to.
So, before I get to the games we bought, what conclusions did I draw from this year’s EXPO? Well, it’s certainly getting bigger, both in floor space and number of attendees. Indeed, this was the first time I’d never managed to get around and look at everything, which was a bit disappointing.
The changes to the format they have made, in terms of a lot of the traders having demo or gaming areas, I thought was a step in the right direction. It did help alleviate the concentration of crowds where there used to be traders in quite close proximity to one another.
We liked the idea of the pin collective; it just needs a little development. Maybe something in the program telling how to get each badge, or making them available to buy as well. They also need to be produced in greater numbers.
I’ve said this before: ‘One day is not enough’. This rings especially true as it expands. I would love to take part in some demos—they had Maladum set up but weren’t demoing it at the time we were there—and to talk to some of the people who had games in development and wanted feedback. There’s so much more to it than just going to buy. Alas, that’s all we seemed to use it for.
When it was smaller, I used to chat to people, admire the many painted miniatures on display, and take photos of new and upcoming games. I didn’t take a single picture this time, as I just don’t like to with all the people around, though Yasmin grabbed a couple.
Something we’ve talked about before is booking a room in one of the local hotels and doing the whole weekend. It’s a nice idea but turns the event into quite an expensive outing. Despite that, I think it is worth considering, as it opens up a lot more for us to do, such as the seminars and the open gaming in the Hilton during the evening, as well as giving us the time to do justice in exploring the halls.
Anyway, to the games. Let’s start by going over the games I listed in my previous post.
Any Nemesis expansions – Picked up the Void Seeders expansion from the Bring and Buy. Brand new still sealed! Adds a new race to go against. One that works on insanity and mind control – should be interesting.
Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth – One of the few games we bought brand new, and we managed a couple of games on Saturday. Look out for my first thoughts.
Hadrian’s Wall – Didn’t come across this anywhere, alas.
Tapestry – A game we both would have liked to get our hands on, but we only saw it for sale in one place, and it was going for far too much at over £70. I can get it off the internet for a lot less.
Andromeda’s Edge – Didn’t see it anywhere, and then I was standing next to a guy who asked the very nice lady at Chaos Cards if they had it anywhere. After a quick look at their records, she said it may be in their stock pile and turned to go and look. At which point I jumped in and said if they had, please bring two! Indeed, two copies appeared, and we were both very happy.
Unmatched Adventures – Another Bring and Buy purchase at a great price, and it was the Kickstarter version as well. That, it turned out, didn’t include much extra other than foil cards—not that it mattered. We also managed a game or two; the first lasted a few minutes as we were swiftly handed our backsides! First thoughts coming soon.
Vampire the Masquerade: Chapters – Didn’t come across this one at all. I was hoping we might find it in the Bring and Buy. It has a reputation of not being the easiest of games to get along with, as I’ve mentioned before, and thought it might end up here. Yasmin is chomping at the bit for this because it’s Vampires; a Christmas pressie maybe?
Elden Ring – This was everywhere, or at least the bigger of the three standalone versions was. It was also overpriced compared to current internet prices. I wanted one of the smaller versions, so as to get a feel for the game before spending the big bucks. In the end, we opted out and will give it more thought.
Maladum – I’m constantly drawn to this game, and I think if we hadn’t revisited the Bring and Buy at the end, then I’d have circled back round and picked up a copy, even though I could get it slightly cheaper online. It looks fabulous set up. The terrain is cardboard but looks very well done indeed. I really should pay more attention to how the game actually plays, though, before I get a copy—maybe next year?
So much for a list then, though four out of nine isn’t too bad I suppose. However, here’s the rest of our haul.
Arcadia Quest: Inferno – This caught my eye as we were trawling through the racks of the Bring and Buy the second time around. I’ve heard a lot about Arcadia Quest in general, especially on podcasts, but never played it myself. Everything I’ve heard has been very positive, and it’s the kind of game we like. Big box Fantasy Dungeon Crawler kind of thing. Gorgeous minis, and it came with a plastic container for holding all the tokens—bargain!
Evolution: Climate – Another Bring and Buy find. I have played the original Evolution before, and it is a great game. This version adds the climate change mechanic, which I have heard makes it even better. It was in excellent condition and very cheap.
Star Trek: Expeditions – A game by the same designer as Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, which I am a big fan of. It’s a cooperative game where you play as the crew of the Enterprise. It was sitting on the shelf looking lonely, so I picked it up.
Final Girl – We have been wanting to try this for a while. It is a solo horror game where you try to survive a slasher movie. We found a copy with a couple of feature film boxes. It looks very thematic and tense.
Amun-Re – This is a classic Reiner Knizia game. It’s an auction and farming game set in ancient Egypt. I have never played it, but I love his designs. It was a bit of a wildcard purchase, but the price was right.
Sea & Air – A game about shipping lines and trade routes. It looked interesting and had nice components. We thought we would give it a try as it was different from our usual fantasy themes.
Heroes of Land, Air & Sea – This is a big area control game with miniatures. It is quite expensive usually, so finding it in the Bring and Buy was a surprise. It is a heavy game, but we look forward to trying it out.
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game – We found a bundle with some expansions. We already have the base game, but getting more villains and heroes for a low price was too good to pass up.
So, that was our day at the UK Games Expo 2025. It was tiring, crowded, and expensive, but ultimately very rewarding. We got some great games, and the atmosphere was fantastic. We are already looking forward to next year, though we might just book a hotel for the weekend this time.
