Another year has gone by in a flash and it’s time again for me to start another convention season. Well, I say “season”, but that’s exaggerating it. I’m actually only attending two board game shows this year. I just can’t afford to fly everywhere and spend time away from home. So I chose two events that I really enjoyed last year and that won’t cost me the world. The first of these is, of course, UK Games Expo 2024.
I’ve not done one of these look-aheads in a while. It’s impossible to write about everything I’m going to do and all the people I’m going to see. I would still be here hours later. However, having to leave out people and companies is also not great. So if I don’t mention you in this article, it doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten you.
With that in mind, here goes…
Friends… Old and New
One of the things I’m most excited about for UK Games Expo 2024 is meeting up with friends, be they people I’ve not seen since last year or even longer ago, people who I’m yet to meet in person or people whom I don’t know I’m going to meet yet. The social aspect of the event is one of the huge draws for me.
So I’m planning to actually play games over the three nights I’m in Birmingham. I arrive Thursday evening and leave Sunday afternoon. So while Thursday evening might be a bit of a quieter session to allow me to relax after my journey, I can’t wait to play something beefier the other evenings. In fact, there is already a particular game I’m really excited about and that I’m hoping to get played one evening with people I’ve met via social media. Fingers crossed…
The other side of the same coin is that I’m demoing again for Asmodee. I’ll be on stand 1-892 at the back of hall 1 all day Friday and Saturday. The Get Started With Board Games stand will have a number of lighter games available and I’ll be there to help you learn and play Splendor, Splendor Duel or Jaipur. I can’t wait to see people play these games, whether they’re new to them or have had them for a long time. It’s always nice when people enjoy a game and come away excited.
Of course, I’ve also got a long list of people I want to catch up with, but I won’t list them here. I’m just going to forget someone. However, I’ll be using my free time to say hello to as many of them as I possibly can – or come over and see me at the Asmodee stand, of course.
Publishers
My other big goal for UK Games Expo 2024 is meeting with publishers, of course. I’m trying to continue the trend of receiving review copies to allow me to run the blog without a huge outlay every year. I’ve already made some appointments to discuss upcoming games and current releases and also get a few demos. Those are all planned for Sunday, because I need to be able to focus and not try and squeeze in time during my demoing lunch break.
Again, I don’t want to list all the companies I’m going to see, but I do want to point out a handful that I’m really excited about.
Hachette is on stand 2-614 with their Akropolis expansion Athena, which I’m really looking forward to finding out more about. I also want to ask them about Faraway and Cartaventura: D-Day.
Kosmos and Devir are also on my list. They are on stand 1-602 and I want to take a look at a number of their games, if I can: Sand, Dragonkeepers, Salton Sea, Cities and White Castle.
Czech Games Edition‘s SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence also looks very interesting. So I’ll definitely be popping by stand 2-538 to take a look.
I also want to see what Hegemonic Project Games‘ World Order is all about. I love their game Hegemony, even though it’s long, which means I’ve not been able to play it enough for review yet. So I’ll be visiting them on stand 2-402 to find out more.
Lirius Games is there too on stand 2-876. I can’t wait to see how Timeless Journies has developed since I saw it at Berlin Brettspiel Con last year.
There are many more names on my list, but these are some of the ones I wanted to highlight.
Good Times Ahead
So, as you can see, there is a lot packed into three and a half short days, but I can’t wait. If you’re going too, please do reach out or at least say hello when you see me. Maybe we can even find the time to play a game. Either way, whatever you do, if you’re going to UK Games Expo 2024, have fun, stay hydrated and play games. See you there…
Useful Links
- UK Games Expo: https://www.
ukgamesexpo. co. uk/ - Asmodee: https://www.
asmodee. co. uk/ - Splendor review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2020/ 07/ 25/ splendor-saturday-review/ - Jaipur review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2020/ 02/ 29/ jaipur-saturday-review/ - Hachette: https://www.
hachette. co. uk/ - Akropolis review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2023/ 09/ 09/ akropolis-saturday-review/ - Kosmos: https://www.
thamesandkosmos. co. uk/ - Devir: https://devirgames.
com/ - Czech Games Edition: https://czechgames.
com/ - Hegemonic Project Games: https://hegemonicproject.
com/ - Lirius Games: https://liriusgames.
com/ en-uk - Berlin Brettspiel Con review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2023/ 07/ 22/ berlin-brettspiel-con-2023-saturday-review/
Audio Version
Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.
Royalty Free Music: https://www.bensound.com
License code: ACUS489FQQZVP6UD
Playlist
These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this topic discussion article: