RogerBW's Blog

UK Games Expo is coming up again. I've been going to it since 2009, when it was in the Masonic Hall (now I think demolished) and very much smaller, and I think I have some potentially useful suggestions on how to get the most out of it.

• Ideally, go with or arrange to meet a friend or two. "Bare is brotherless back," as Grettir the Strong put it; and if Grettir was worried about going places alone, you'd better worry too. (Thanks to Jim MacDonald for that phrasing.) More seriously, if you're hoping to lure people into games, it's easier if there are two of you already, and if that fails you can at least play something while you're waiting.

• Interact with the actual Expo structure as little as possible. The Bring and Buy is a great idea, but you may have an hour's queue to drop stuff off, and if you want to buy you're just wandering around an unsorted morass of games hoping to spot something that appeals. (There's an on-line list, but even if you find something there you still need to search the tables for it.) Similarly, role-playing sessions can be great but are often in a hot noisy room.

• Instead, start the days in the halls, following a friend's principle of accepting every game demo you're offered. When that's tired you out, go over to the Hilton and get into a game in the open gaming areas.

• You should probably assemble a checklist of things to look at in the halls rather than wandering aimlessly. These days it's fewer boxshifters and more publishers or "back our kickstarter" tables, which I regard as a good thing; even so, some of the vendors clearly aren't aware that boardgameprices is a thing and there's only so much premium you can charge for "play it right now" as opposed to "order it now, play it when I get home".

• Sleeping on site is horribly expensive. Commuting in for the day is not a terrible option, either by car or by train. Indeed, going for just one or two days isn't a bad idea. Avoid Saturday if you have the option, as it's the busiest day. I used to sleep at the Ibis in Coventry, from which it's only about a fifteen minute drive; last year I went and this year I shall return to the Arden, which is the other side of the airport station about fifteen minutes' walk away, but being outside the NEC exclusivity zone is rather cheaper.

• (If you're me) spend about half your time demoing for a publisher you like. Broadly, the big guys pay better but give you much less freedom; e.g. Asmodée will demand you work every hour the halls are open, because they assume that anyone willing to work for them must be like them, hate games and only do it for the money. (I assume.)

• Stay clear of the food and drink vendors in the NEC, and the Hilton's restaurants (where a few years ago their catering manager admitted to me that they simply weren't set up to provide food to people who were paying for it with their own money rather than on expenses). The food trucks (usually one or two near the NEC down by the lake, the rest in the Hilton's parking area) are still expensive but at least you'll get what you paid for. Bring water; the NEC has about two fountains for umpty thousand people and last year one of them wasn't working. If you want a sit-down meal, the places in Resorts World are a bit less of a rip-off (Pizza Express, Five Guys, etc.) If you're car-mobile, go west down the A45 towards Birmingham.