Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Looks like I'll be moving back to London next year and hoping to take my 40k/Warmachine/DW hobby with me as I go.

I've been to Adepticon in Chicago and NOVA in Washington DC and it is amazing - loads of people all mini-gamers loads of tournaments going on. Is there a equivalent of Adepticon in the UK that does lots of different games like Warmachine/Hordes and Dystopian wars and not just 40k? So not Warhammer world in Nottingham.

Thanks for the input!

Salute is the biggest minis event in the UK, to my knowledge, although the emphasis is on selling wares, not a tournament, per se.

I'd totally like to know to. I'm thinking of taking a trip there about next year... possibly to scope out moving there.

Biggest show is Salute in London - 1 day, mostly for demos, participation games and traders, not a tournament event. It's the one show you should do in the UK.

http://www.salute.co.uk/

For tournament stuff (and I'm not an expert on the tourny scene), check out Derby Worlds and Warfare

http://www.worldwargames.co.uk/

http://www.wargamesassociationreading.co.uk/warfare-competitions-24.html

Honestly, it probably is the Warhammer World's Throne of Skulls events, I haven't really noticed any other major "torney" esque event.

Smogcon is for around 500 people I believe. All games, all the time

Smog con is out of business it seems. Their latest con was cancelled and the site is shut down.

there is no real equivalent of the big US cons that Im aware of (i.e. multiple events, traders, hobby seminars etc). There is however a reasonably vibrant tournament scene (for 40k at least, which is all I play) with the biggest 40k tournament by number of players, being Caledonian Uprising, every January.

GW's Throne of Skulls is not a tournament, if that's what your looking for. It's a gaming weekend, in an awesome location, but IF your looking for competitive play, look elsewhere.

DorianGray wrote:
Smog con is out of business it seems. Their latest con was cancelled and the site is shut down.

Think it was just a website move, they're here now : http://smogcon.com/


At the OP, i'd recommend Salute as mentioned previously and the UK Games Expo: https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/

They're both like 10 times smaller than Gencon, we just don't do conventions like you Yanks i'm afraid !

Never found a "Con" quite like Adepticon or Nova while I lived in Europe but for tournaments in general I used this site to register and travel around Europe to play 40k, http://www.tabletoptournaments.net/be/overview?gid=3

I liked the 40k Gt in the UK but they don't seem to have that event anymore.

DorianGray wrote:
Smog con is out of business it seems. Their latest con was cancelled and the site is shut down.

Seeing as they've sold around 400 tickets for their February event next year and are talking about selling 150 hotel rooms... I don't think it's out of business.

OP - For Warmachine, this is the place to be. They have officially partnered with PP for this event. I can't go as I have to go to bloody Malta for a wedding

There aren't really any big residential conventions like Adepticon organised in a hotel complex. Instead there are many smaller regional shows lasting one or two days. You can pretty much find something going on every weekend if you are into historicals...

http://www.newarkirregulars.org.uk/calendar2015.html#UK

Something to bear in mind is that about 75% of the UK's entire population lives within two to three hours drive or railway journey of London.

The UK games expo would probably the cloest due to its venue and size, it also hosts a number of tournaments, but personally I find Salute to be much better for the toy soldier side of things.

Kings of the North - http://kings-of-the-north.co.uk/

I think everybody has pretty much covered it already, Salute really is the closest equivalent these days.

Large organised tournaments don't seem to be a thing in UK with the exception of Magic The Gathering.

If you're moving to London though there are loads of great places to game who also organise tournaments but they won't be on anything like the scale you see in US.

Vanquish which is down in Bristol is probably one of the best organised events I could recommend however that is 40K.

In terms of clubs H.A.T.E (Hackney Area Tabletop Enthusiasts) is one of the best and runs every week on a Wednesday and runs all systems, tabletop, RPG, board games etc and has a good bar!!

Og games in South West London and Darksphere in central London have gaming areas and run small tournaments.

Warboar which is in Bromley so South East London (ish) also has gaming space but they are soon moving to bigger premises.

So you certainly won't be stuck for things to do but they might be a bit different to things in US. London stores are tiny as it's so expensive so there isn't a huge amount of space.

Agreed with everyone. There's nothing on the scale of NOVA or Adepticon. If you're looking for tournaments, it's usually weekend events, with around 40 people playing. Good places to look are Bristol Vanguard, Firestorm Games Cardiff, the old Maelstrom Games centre near Nottingham, Caledonian Uprising, Spiky Club Reading or Warhammer World. I've used the Unseen Lurker site to great effect. If you're in London, this can be a great excuse to get out of town for the weekend and see some more of the UK.

Salute is the biggest event, but it's definitely more of a trade show - hundreds of manufacturers of all sorts of games, or of weird hobby products, all demoing and selling their wares. It takes up a couple of halls in London's big exhibition centre, Excel.

Otherwise, StraightSilver's list of clubs is spot on. HATE Club in Bethnal Green is one of the best - but with a very non-competitive vibe. Also, The Overlords are out in Barking, East London/Essex and Titan Wargames in North London.

Salute is the biggest one I have ever been to but as others have said it doesn't really have tornies. Really enjoyed it when me and the misses went. My bank account however is still crying.

Do you know what part of london you are moving too?

DorianGray wrote:
Smog con is out of business it seems. Their latest con was cancelled and the site is shut down.

Just to 100% quash this, as the owner/organiser/executor of SmogCon we are 100% fine and well

The website was moved to SmogCon.com as mentioned. We sadly had to curtail our plans to run a second convention this year in Europe as the numbers were not quite strong enough to cover the costs, which was a shame, but the cancellation had no effect on the UK event which remains our number 1 focus.

We are now at 392 tickets sold for 2016, which is growth and all is going well. As mentioned, we are the only PP partner convention at present and the largest WM/H event in Europe. PP and I are currently planning all sorts of exciting things to keep the event something special and certainly unique outside of Gencon/Lock and Load.

In terms of UK events, most have been covered. I can only really speak to WM/H events these days as that's where my passion lies at present, the calender of major events encompasses the following:

Vapnartak
SmogCon
Welsh Open
UK Nationals
WM ETC
Blood and Oil
NorthCon

There are plenty of other tournies and events throughout the year from smaller 8 man events to larger multi day events, but these are the "bigger" names that I can think of.

There is also the UK Games Expo which was once the home of what became the UK Nationals, which continues to host a wide range of events including "con" style WM/H

Salute is almost 100% a trade show, though there are starting to be more efforts to host demo stuff, plus many clubs and gaming groups put on demonstration games, some are participation, some not. I'd love to see it become a multi day gaming event as I find the sales aspect not as attractive as many it seems... but I'm lucky in that I've been to Gencon a few times and seen what a gaming show can possibly be

Year three of Smog was the start of a multi game show, with us hosting Bushido and DropZone commander alongside WM/H, but I chose to return to pure PP after the offer of partnership that was presented to me as it was what I was gunning for at the inception of the event. I would like to create a new event that is more encompassing and wider ranging in terms of systems and products, indeed, I have discussed it with multiple parties, so you never know...

One real issue that I can see with UK events, is the lack of suitable venues and the costs related. We are now on our third venue for Smog, a really nice 4* hotel, but we've hit capacity for what we can offer, so its not suitable for a larger, multi system event. It also costs a fortune... trust me. Salute is held an interesting venue, but its horrendous cost wise. I looked into putting Smog on there, and it would have cost 5 times what we make in ticket price... just to hire, so a definite non starter.

Compared to America, it seems we pay way over the odds, with not enough space to really put on a good show, which is a real shame as I do think there is an opening for either taking the salute model and growing it/adding to it, or else setting up something new that offers a wider range and appeal to grow the numbers. The UK Games Expo is probaly the closest we have at present, and is a pretty fun event (though I haven't been since the venue move away from the Mason's Lodge... now that was a venue).

Oh, and the London clubs I can personally recomend, though they are not the only ones, are Cross Gaming (now in Elepant and Castle ish) and Tanelorn, in Leytonstone. Both play a range of games, including WM/H , though it has taken a back seat at Tanelorn more recently sadly. I'm leaving London soon, and it will be sad to not be able to attend them anymore, but there is only so much of the big smoke you can take.

 carlos13th wrote:


Do you know what part of london you are moving too?

Regent Park / Baker Street

DorianGray wrote:

 carlos13th wrote:


Do you know what part of london you are moving too?

Regent Park / Baker Street

You can get an easy train down to Dark Sphere from there for sure.

Nice part of town too, used to work round the corner and would jog round the park for lunch.

Walking distance to Camden for the nightlife and central London for shopping too, so well placed for non gaming.