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https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk


The UK GE is coming up! So I figured it would be good to get a thread running to see if anyone is going; what we are looking forward too and (after its all said and done) posting any previews, reveals, swag and so forth that we all discover.


Myself I'm considering going this year (first time); still deciding on if I should go on the Friday or Saturday - I'm leaning toward Friday as it might be a tiny bit less busy and the public transport should be more regular as I've got to come by train*




*I don't want to drive 3 hours there and then the same again back; esp after a day walking on hard convention floors; my legs will be done in. That and Birminghams roads are SCARY!

Friday will normally be less busy, Saturday afternoon in the halls can get very crowded and difficult to navigate especially around the more popular stands.

I'll be going with around 6 others with very varied interests, hopefully get one of them to try the new edition of 40k which GW will inevitably be showing off like they did with 10th. Otherwise finding some weird wonderful RPG to bring to the table.

Agreed on the roads, can't stand the driving in Birmingham, always get an airbnb nearby to reduce the driving which helps with the aching legs

I've enjoyed it when i've gone before (there's a more boardgame than wargame focus and i enjoy both) I'm hoping to go, but not sure if i've got the spare cash this year

I'll second Storm Lord in saying the Saturdays are very busy and probably best avoided, especially if you want to take part in any of the demos, participation games etc. Even just browsing and shopping is a struggle

As well as avoiding driving in Birmingham the station at the NEC is nice and close to the entrance (Edit: just to be clear there is still a chunk of walking to do just so i'm not misleading anybody with mobility issues), if you drive you can end up shunted into carparks you need to take a shuttle bus from to get to the show

Whelp got my tickets all booked and I am once again greatly annoyed at the insanity that is booking train tickets*
Now just got to either book a taxi or find a place to park the car all day that won't cost an arm and a leg/be full first thing in the morning.


Starting to make a bit of a list for myself too of things to keep an eye out/check out.

Bad squiddo Games - want to check out the Photo Backdrops they have (and yes I know there is a KS being run right now for even more).

Conquest Last Argument of Kings - actually just want to see what their larger scale models look like in person.

* rant mode:
Set start and end destination and let the system pick a route and it wanted £155 with return. Go through and manually do the SAME route with the SAME times and same train and stops - just station to station and that price came down to £55.

If you're not wanting to spend an arm and a leg, take a packed lunch. Not only will you not have to queue for food and miss time looking at games, it will be far cheaper too.

The conquest models are really impressive in person. Moonstone games so some character minis and I believe normally have some display tables which are worth checking out if you can get close enough to see them

 Storm Lord wrote:
If you're not wanting to spend an arm and a leg, take a packed lunch. Not only will you not have to queue for food and miss time looking at games, it will be far cheaper too.

The conquest models are really impressive in person. Moonstone games so some character minis and I believe normally have some display tables which are worth checking out if you can get close enough to see them

Ahh yes I should add Moonstone - I'm not 100% sold on the models from the photos, but I've heard good things about them from a few people now so they are worth a look in real!


Honestly considering how much it costs to eat out now I'm surprised packlunches/picnics haven't had a huge surge in popularity. I know these days I tend to take food out with me where I can and I might only pick up "fun" food at an event (the fact that a 99flake icecream can now cost easily £5 is scary - esp since I'm sure they've changed the ingredients and they melt into watery liquid super fast now).

 Overread wrote:

 Storm Lord wrote:
If you're not wanting to spend an arm and a leg, take a packed lunch. Not only will you not have to queue for food and miss time looking at games, it will be far cheaper too.

The conquest models are really impressive in person. Moonstone games so some character minis and I believe normally have some display tables which are worth checking out if you can get close enough to see them

Ahh yes I should add Moonstone - I'm not 100% sold on the models from the photos, but I've heard good things about them from a few people now so they are worth a look in real!


Honestly considering how much it costs to eat out now I'm surprised packlunches/picnics haven't had a huge surge in popularity. I know these days I tend to take food out with me where I can and I might only pick up "fun" food at an event (the fact that a 99flake icecream can now cost easily £5 is scary - esp since I'm sure they've changed the ingredients and they melt into watery liquid super fast now).

I get that, part of it is the style they paint the minis in which felt very strange to me when I picked up some goblins from them, but the quality is great and once I painted them up in a similar way to my other goblins was very happy with them.

Yeah it gets me every year seeing how many people are queuing for the food vendors around the NEC, given how much more expensive they are, the ice cream van out the front has a bit of a reputation for being overpriced.

UK Games Expo is always a good event. But as others have said, it does get busy! Friday is typically the quieter of the days, though this doesn't mean it won't be busy. Ticket collecting requires a fair bit of queuing, though the queue does move quite quickly.

I'm not sure, but can anyone confirm: is GW going to be there?

I don't think they were there last year. I don't think they benefit much, given that they are surrounded by other stores that are selling the same products but cheaper.

I am tempted. But it’s a long drive, and id want to do a single day round trip.

There is Loot to be had. Looks like GW does have a stall, which should mean the Event Only Models.

I'm going on the Friday. No idea what to expect, though I'm definitely taking a packed lunch because, frankly, I want to spend my money on better things than burgers!

Hoping to see some MTG and D&D stuff, and looking forward to seeing the new games that are coming out!

Tickets collected
Train station scouted - another carpark app added to the ever growing list
Lunchbox purchased
Camera batteries charged up
List of what stations I'm turning up at and so forth all printed out
Cash collected

I think I'm nearly all ready for a long day of travel and walking!