Well, it is that time of year once again. On Friday, May 30th, I will be jumping in my car and driving to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham for the UK Games EXPO. Meanwhile, Yasmin will be getting on a train in Liverpool and racing me down there to try to arrive first. There is no chance of that happening, though!

Things are a little bit different for us this year. Over the last year, I have hardly played any games at all, although it was not because I did not want to. Yasmin managed to get a few games in with her friends at university, but overall, it has been a very quiet time for gaming.

Also, other than listening to a few gaming podcasts while walking the dog, I have kind of lost touch with what is going on in the hobby. I have little idea about what new games are out there, what is in the current BoardGameGeek top 10, or even what the latest character releases are for Marvel: Crisis Protocol, and that is a game we used to play a lot.

So, this year we will be heading into it mostly blind. We will enjoy looking at what the latest ‘hotness’ is and talk about games as we come across them.

I say ‘mostly blind’ because I just could not help myself while writing this. I did manage to dig out last year’s list of games we wanted. I did a quick bit of research on these to remind myself what is what and narrowed it down to just a few. The only problem with doing this was that other things started catching my eye, so I added them to the list and did a little more research. You know where I am going with this!

Anyway, the list grew to over 50 games and I thought I had better stop, reassess, and reduce it down to something more attainable. I did that, and then had to do it again, as I still had nearly thirty games on there.

Here is my current list of what we will be looking out for.

• Any Nemesis expansions or standalones.

We really enjoy Nemesis, though only a handful of games has been played so far. Anything that adds to it is a good thing.

• Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth.

A quick two-player game that I think Yasmin would enjoy. As it is relatively cheap, it will not matter if we only get it to the table when she drops by from university.

• Hadrian’s Wall.

A complex ‘Roll and Write’ without the roll! I am not usually a fan of Roll and Writes, but this looks interesting and I can play it on my own.

• Tapestry.

We have been eyeing this one up for a while now and I cannot really say why we have not grabbed it before.

• Andromeda’s Edge.

I heard them talking about this on The Secret Cabal podcast and I think it would be a good fit for the two of us, as there are a lot of mechanisms in there that we like. It is another one I can play solo.

• Unmatched Adventures.

We are both big fans of the Unmatched series, so it makes sense to give this one a try. All heroes are compatible with either game and, once again, it can be played solo.

• Vampire the Masquerade: Chapters.

There is always a game we take a risk on. Last year it was Skyrim, which worked out okay, and this is this year’s risk. It is a big ‘RPG without a GM’ in a box, and it has Vampires! It was not great when it first came out, as it had a lot of rule and story continuity issues. These have largely been addressed with updates and the release of an App that deals with the story issues. Yasmin loves horror, especially vampires, and you can pick this up at a fraction of its original cost, so it is worth a punt if we see it.

• Elden Ring.

Another video game adaptation after Skyrim last year, and one that would put a smile on Yasmin’s face. She is hoping it would prove easier than the video game!

• Maladum.

I almost grabbed this last year, as it looks great, but I did not know much about the game. I still do not know a lot about it, but last time they were demoing it and, as there have been more releases this year in the series, I reckon they will be doing so again. I aim to find out!

So, there is our pre-UKGE list and I am sure we shall come back with something totally different. But, ‘Why do you need all these games when we are not playing much at the moment?’ I hear you cry.

Come on, if you are a gamer yourself you know the reason why. Don’t you?

For the non-gamers, who for some reason are reading this post, it is to scratch the itch. Owning a game means you are halfway to playing it. You just need to find the right moment to savour the experience. Okay, that may not come along for a year or two in some cases, and the collection continues to grow, but you know, deep down, one day, you will have played them all! Possibly. Maybe. Probably not.

It is not all about buying, though. There is a lot to see and do, starting before you enter the halls with the Living History Village. Here, we find Vikings and, I believe new to this year, Romans, who will be demonstrating weapons by hitting each other with them and re-enacting what life in those times was all about.

Awards will be given, seminars will take place, playtesting will be tested, there is open gaming, cosplay, tournaments, special guests, giveaways, painting competitions, demos, and, new to this year, the pin collective.

I mention the pin collective because Yasmin collects pin badges and has a pretty good collection already. She will be looking to add to that and knowing her, will try to collect all on offer at the EXPO. I have secretly pre-ordered the pin-collective starter pack to collect when there. Let’s see if she reads this!

So, lots to see and do whilst there and we are very much looking forward to it. The following day, we intend to dedicate to playing games, both what we got whilst there and a few of favourites currently in the collection. It is promising to be a great weekend, though the Sunday will be spent delivering Yasmin back to Liverpool Uni and returning with a load of her clutter as she prepares to move out for the summer.

Hopefully, I will write about our exploits next week. Until then, if anyone else is going to be there, then I wish you a great and fun packed time, and give a shout out in the comments. Also, if anyone has any thoughts about the games on our list or something else you feel we should be looking out for, then again, pop it in the comments, thanks, and till next time.