UK Games Expo 2023
June 3, 2023 https://blog.arranfrance.com/post/uk-games-expo-23/I just got back from the UK Games Expo and I thought I’d write up what I played, what I bought, and a few thoughts on the expo itself.
UK Game Expo Series
- UK Games Expo 2022
- UK Games Expo 2023
I just got back from the UK Games Expo and I thought I’d write up what I played, what I bought, and a few thoughts on the expo itself.
Last year I stayed for 3 days at the expo, heading home at about lunchtime on the Sunday. This year I only did two days, but was much better prepared for what to expect.
I didn’t do lots of research ahead of time, but I did go in with a list of places I wanted to visit, mainly sourced from emails sent by various individuals and companies I’m subscribed to.
#Games Played
Over the weekend I managed to play:
- Star Wars: The Deck Building Game
- My Favourite Things
- Indiana Jones: Sands of Adventure
- Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
- Codex Naturalis
- Earth
- Splendor Duel
- Star Wars: Shatterpoint
- Orichalcum
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Agricola
- Planet Unknown
- Andor: The Family Fantasy Game
This was significantly more than last year and was a big focus for this year. Being patient, willing to hover around stands, and willing to try something new really paid off.
The big winners for me were Orichalcum, Star Wars: The Deck Building Game, and Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest. Libertalia had been on my radar for a while following an Actualol review and whilst it was good, it wasn’t quite good enough to be worthy of a purchase on the day.
In fact, I didn’t end up buying any of the games played across the weekend.
#Purchases
I ended up purchasing:
- The Book of Gaub, a book of micro-fiction and creepy magic. I’ve had my eye on this for a while as something to take a look at on the YouTube channel.
- Revolver Noir and Hierarchy, two small 2 player Button Shy Wallet Games. These were impulse purchases from the Button Shy “random” box.
- Hoplomachus Remastered, a Chip Theory Games tactical game about battling Gladiators. This had been on my list for a while as a game I thought I’d enjoy, being a big fan of Cloudspire.
- The “Anarchist” beanie hat from the Null Signal Games Netrunner stand (they were all out of Criminal - my preferred runner faction!).
- Seven Golden Coins, a setting generator for TTRPGs. An impulse purchase, I’m keen to compare this to other generation games I have.
- Wok and Roll with The Korean Wave expansion, a roll and write game based on developing Asian food menus. They threw in the promos for the game too! I’d wanted to purchase this for a while but the shipping costs had been too high.
- Salvage Union pre-order (not shown above)
- Delve, a solo map drawing game.
- Tooth and Claw, and Tooth and Claw: Beasts of the Sea. Two small bestiaries which mix science and fantasy
#Thoughts on the Event
For the second year in a row, I found the Bring and Buy to be a little underwhelming. This year, I purchased a lot more RPG content and fewer board games.
I think that’s reflective of my board game collection having reached a critical mass, I don’t really have much room for more!
I almost didn’t go this year, but I definitely think I’d go again next year. Although possibly just for the day in order to minimize the cost of paying for a hotel.