The games

The highlight of any convention for me is the people, but you’re probably not here for that. You want to know about the games, right? This year was a mix of new and old games for me, and here they are. Note that some of these will be getting full reviews in the not-too-distant future, so these synopses will be kinda short.

Castle Combo

The first game was a good recent one. Castle Combo is a cute, easy-to-explain tableau builder. Claim a total of 9 cards from the market in the middle of the table, each of which has a scoring condition. The aim is to get as many of those scoring conditions to depend on the other cards in your tableau. In an ideal world that’s 9 chances to score. It’s quick, the iconography is great, and there’s a surprisingly wide decision space for a game of nine limited turns. Good stuff.

Courtisans

Another quick and easy game we played at the bar, and one of my favourite small games this year. So much so that I played it multiple times over the weekend. There are six suits of cards in play. On your turn you play one to your own area, one to any other player, and one to the queen’s table in the middle. Essentially you’re trying to influence which suits are esteemed and which have fallen from grace, bumping the score for you and hindering your opponents. Quick with gorgeous cards, good times.

Lords of Vegas

The venerable Lords of Vegas is still relevant, moreso now than recently thanks to the crowdfunded reprint. I took it along and played it with three others, and we had an absolute blast. Laughing, groaning, cheering and absolute involvement from everyone. You get surprisingly attached to your little cardboard casinos, and there are few things in board games as satisfying as having a single die involved in rerolling a huge casino and winning ownership of it. A modern classic and no mistake.

Cascadero

I’ve already sung the praises of Cascadero. You can read my review right here. I love introducing new players to it because the concept of the game is so simple, but it offers so much choice in what becomes a cross between a network-builder and a race. More Knizia genius, but not the last of the weekend…

Shackleton Base

I have a full review of this coming soon, so I won’t dwell too long. I taught this to three new players and everyone had a great time. The shared map you build on combined with multi-use astronauts is great, and while it feels a lot like a traditional Euro game, the area control is so interestingly done, using intercepting lines and checking for dominance. It’s really, really good, and I’ll expand on why soon.

Flip 7

This was new to me, and I’d heard a lot of good things, so I actually bought this from Games Lore’s stand at the convention before I played it. I even fell foul of FOMO from time to time. It’s a really simple push-your-luck game. the deck has one 1-value card, two 2s, three 3s etc etc. Your turn is as simple as stick or twist, knowing that being dealt a second card matching one you already have means you bust. Get to 200 points and you win. That simple premise with some modifier and action cards makes for a really quick, enjoyable example of pure push-your-luck.

The Great Library

This one was a bit special. Vital Lacerda is one of my favourite designers (check out my reviews of The Gallerist and On Mars). Last year he brought a prototype of Speakeasy, and this year it was Great Library. Set around the fabled great library at Alexandria, it’s a heavy, cleverly-integrated euro game which uses time as a resource. Despite managing to dig myself into a hole, I had a great time with the game and can’t wait to see what the final game looks like with Ian O’Tooles artwork on it. Big thanks to the man himself for taking the time to teach us the game.

7 Empires

I love Mac Gerdts’ games, so seeing his name on the front of a PD Verlag box was very exciting. 7 Empires looks like Imperial, but is very definitely its own game. It’s another of those games where nobody directly controls any one empire directly (although they do at times), and you’re trying to influence what the map looks like when the game ends, and how much of a stake you have in each of them. Despite playing at two players we really enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to trying it with more people.

Arcs

You already know how much I like Arcs if you read my review. I got the chance to play with three experienced players for the first time, and we had a blast. It was the usual chaos which came down to all three ambitions being declared for trophies in the final act. Cue a lot of space fisticuffs and despite losing (handy hint: if you swoop in with a massive fleet, make sure you get to act first in the next round…), I had a great time and made some new friends. Good times.

Hegemony

Hoo boy, it’d been a long time since I played this, so I was glad to be given The State to play as. We had a new player so there was a long teach, which meant we met at 2pm and put the game away at 8pm. Five hours of game flew by though, and it was fantastic. It’s such a shame that the theme and explaining of the game can seem too dry to so many people that they’ll deny themselves the chance to play an extraordinary game.

Pixies

Pixies was a surprise to me. Another 3×3 card tableau builder in a tiny box. The scoring options are really interesting and it gives you turns where you have to choose between benefitting yourself and denying someone else what they want. It’s cute, it’s clever, and I’ll definitely be looking for a copy for my convention bag.

Cities

Cities is another game about making a 3×3 grid in front of yourself. This one is about creating a little bit of a city in front of yourself, choose the tiles which represent the buildings, parks, and water, then adding little plastic houses and other decorations to increase their scoring potential. It does the little things correctly, making you choose between which row you want to pick from first, knowing someone else is bound to jump on the think you want on a different row. I really like the way you pick up an extra end-of-game scoring card in every round too. My second-favourite surprise of the convention.

Rebirth

Finishing things up with the second Knizia game of the weekend, and my favourite new game – Rebirth. This one got its hooks into me instantly. Placing farms and buildings one at a time, trying to make long chains while messing with the other players’ chains. Majority control of castles offers more opportunities for scoring, building next to cathedrals gives you more personal scoring objectives, etc. And that’s just on the Scotland side of the board, let alone Ireland on the other side. It’s a winner and I’ll be picking up a copy as soon as I get the chance.

The people

As much as I love playing games for hours, days at a time, it’s the people that make a convention what it is, and GridCon is the perfect example of this. I’m fortunate in that I’ve been to the last four in a row, so when I head to Taunton in November it’s to catch up with old friends and to make new ones. Getting a hug from a friend from hundreds or even thousands of miles away who you haven’t seen for a year is special.

I caught up with people I play games with on BGA and talk to every day on Slack from the USA, Sweden, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands, Malta and more besides, as well as those closer to home. The sense of belonging to a community is something I think many people need in their lives, and I’m very fortunate to have that in spades.

I laughed, yawned, groaned and cheered with friends. I sat and ate breakfast in a post-slumber stupor with people I barely knew. I chilled at the bar with like-minded people who just wanted to be around people like them, and it was wonderful. It’s the perfect antidote to the way everyday life can grind you down without you even realising it’s happening.

I want to say thanks to lots of different people. To (and I’m going to forget names here, so forgive me) Chris, Bob, Mark L, Krissie, Brett, Tobias, Andy, Mike, Joe, Ian, Matt, Mak, Alex, Glenn, Mark B, Neil, Albert, Paul, Lee, David, Willem, Mark M, JP, Rob, Becky, Kerley, Adrian, Ayden, Scott, Elaine, Marton and the many others who chatted or played games with me over the weekend.

Thank you to Paul and Vicky for organising the event down to the nth degree every year, and to the team of volunteers who help the whole thing run as smooth as a crokinole board. To everyone who chipped into the raffle and helped raise nearly £7,000 for charity. To the hotel staff who were always helpful, happy and patient despite the onslaught of hungry and thirsty nerds.

If you’ve never been to a convention before, find yourself a smaller play-focused con like GridCon and experience first-hand what it is to be accepted and welcomed into this wonderful hobby.

Same time, next year everybody?

The post GridCon 5 (2024) Convention Report appeared first on Punchboard.

If you’ve no idea what the UKGE is, you can read about past events in my write-ups for 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively. It’s the biggest games convention in the UK and the third biggest in the world I’m reliably informed that actually there other shows across France and other countries that are plenty bigger too. I need to do some more research! It means that despite the show taking place in three massive halls, it gets busy. Really busy. But that’s a part of the charm.

I’ve said it a lot of times before but it bears repeating. There’s something special about being surrounded by thousands of like-minded people. It gives you a buzz that stays with you for days. If ever you feel your love for the hobby getting stale, head to a convention. It’s like drinking an elixir of gaming rejuvenation.

Ringing the changes

For the most part, every UKGE is the same, but when you’ve been a few times you start to notice small changes. The Shop and Drop, for example, is usually my first port of call. It’s a stand where you can rent a storage box for the day to pick up and drop off anything you’re carrying so you don’t have to lug it around all day. However, when I went to the point in Hall 3 first thing but it wasn’t even setup ready to go. Not a great start, but later while I was wandering the halls I realised that there was another Shop and Drop in Hall 1 too. This was great to see and helped keep the crowds more manageable.

There were some notable absentees from the exhibitors this year. Publishers such as Queen Games and Games Workshop had big stands in the past, but neither was there. Instead, though, there seemed to be more independent publishers than I remember in the past. More gaming-adjacent stalls selling dice, 3D-printed dragons, journals, clothing, bags, and even replica weapons. I spoke to two vendors who were selling cosplay masks and weapons who had never been to the UKGE before but saw enough business to want to come back again.

Ticketing and the Bring and Buy were different too. Collecting tickets seemed quicker and easier than in the past. Especially as a member of the press, I got ushered straight to the front which felt cheeky, but welcome after five hours in the car. I heard stories from some people who had to queue for the best part of an hour on Saturday morning, but if you turn up on the busiest day of the show, you’ve got to expect to queue.

The Bring and Buy saw a big change which limited the number of items any one person could list, fix minimum prices, and prevent price changes during the show. Some people said there seemed to be fewer games in there, but those who added games to the sale experienced a much smaller queue thanks to people not being able to abuse the system by bringing literally hundreds of games in to sell.

On the whole things are improving little-by-little, year-on-year, and it’s a good thing too, because it’s only getting bigger. 39,306 individual people attended, making for 65,281 total visitors over the weekend. That’s incredible.

My time at the show

After picking Paul from Gaming Rules! up on the way, I got to my hotel in time for a quick shower before heading over to the halls. A quick curry at Wetherspoons and a pint of Leffe later and it was off to the press preview. It seemed like there were more stalls than usual and it was a great chance to say hello to people I didn’t know and to catch up with those I do. From there it was over to open gaming to meet up with my extended board game family and play some games.

Friday was another whirlwind of people, stands, and meetings. The buzz around the halls was electric all day and all night. Even though there was barely space to sit and play in Open Gaming until later in the evening, it was great. I was especially pleased as Stefan from Feuerland Spiele came across from Germany for the show and brought a prototype of the new Uwe Rosenberg game, Black Forest, with him. Part Glass Road, part Nusfjord, part something new, it’s a great game with a ton of things to think about. I’m already looking forward to playing it again, and very grateful to Stefan and Paul for the chance to play.

Over the course of the day, I racked up 18,000 steps, and didn’t my feet just know it! It was worth it though. Despite feeling exhausted I couldn’t get to sleep for love nor money that night as my brain tried to process the sensory overload from the previous 14 hours.

Saturday is usually my final day at the expo, and this year was the same. There’s only so much I can take when it’s busy, and Saturday was even busier than Friday, which was already crazy. In some parts of the halls, you could barely move at times, which leads to some frustration for some visitors. People grow tired and impatient, and a few people I know who were demonstrating for various publishers told me about some rude visitors they had. Those people are greatly in the minority, thankfully, and on the whole, the atmosphere is brilliant. There were lots of people with various mobility problems, or pushing prams, and people were considerate enough to help them get from point A to point B.

By mid-afternoon, I was done. Another 17,000 steps on the soles of my feet, a dehydration headache (despite constantly drinking water) and arms and shoulders complaining due to carrying far too many boxes, I made my way back to my car. Four-and-a-half hours later with another 260 miles on my poor car’s odometer, I was home and unwinding. Happy, enthused, and desperate to play more games already.

Thank you

Adding a quick edit here: I can’t believe I forgot to mention Flavien and the crew from Hachette Boardgames UK. He’s the most unmissable person at these shows. Je suis désolé Flav.

I won’t come close to thanking everyone who made my weekend what it was, but I’ll try. Thanks to Paul for the company in the car and the invite to play Black Forest. To Mark, Jill, Clare, Hilmar, Mak, John, Peter, Ben and the rest of the Gaming Rules! crew who chatted and played games with me. To JP, Davey, Tambo, Becky, Kerley, Adrian, Rob (seriously, how many of you are there…?) and whoever else I’ve forgotten from the Whose Turn is it Anyway podcast team for laughs and the invite to a dirty hot dog. To Iain and Oliver of Brainwaves and Rich from their Discord server for the company at breakfast and on the walk to and from the halls. To Tim Clare, whose writing exercises I was doing earlier this year, for playing games with me, introducing me to new ones, and being great company. To Chris, Chris, Jess, Gavin, Devon, Dorka, Ola, Dave, Mark, Sophie, and the countless other publishers and designers who talked to me about everything from their games to the state of American politics. The games are cool, but the people make UKGE what it is.

And of course, a massive thank you to everyone who helped organise and run the expo, the volunteers on the stalls, and the NEC staff for keeping things running.

See you all next year!

The post UK Games Expo 2024 Convention Report appeared first on Punchboard.

Enjoy.

Jump to:

The Expo Review

My time at UKGE

UKGE: The Convention

I suspected this year would be a big one, and I was right. Unique attendees went up to 32K this year from 25K last year. That’s an insane number of people, all descending on three halls to buy, sell, talk about, and play games. If it sounds like that number of people would make things very busy, then you’re right. At times certain areas of the halls were absolutely rammed with people. I’m thinking of places like the main thoroughfare between halls one and two, just past the top of the stairs. A combination of a lot of people, retailers with a lot of browsers taking up aisle space, and people walking around with enormous board game backpacks didn’t help.

Seriously folks, If you’re wearing one of these, remember that when you turn side-on to traffic to dig through bargains, you turn into a heavy, swinging saloon door. For the second year in a row, I saw a kid obliterated by a bag. Not good times for them.

Other than those minor gripes, the rest of the show was pretty awesome. There was such a good buzz around the place all of the time, right from the time the doors opened at 9am on Friday. I visited my friend at the Ravensburger stand and asked about the big queue that had already formed, only to find out it was for Lorcana, the new Disney CCG. Mark my words, Lorcana is going to be HUGE. To put that statement into context, I understand that the queue was hours long at times, and this was a queue just to play the game. You couldn’t buy it, it hasn’t been released yet. Disney, in true Disney fashion, is going to make an absolute killing with Lorcana.

Welcoming

One of the things I love to see at board game conventions is how welcoming a hobby it is. UKGE, despite its size, still manages to keep that feeling alive. I saw people of all ages, genders, races, and abilities all over the halls the entire time, and all having a good time. People in wheelchairs were given space to move through the aisles, even when it was crowded.

My favourite moment from the weekend was on the first morning of the expo. I stayed near the airport, which is a short monorail ride away, followed by a walk over the concourse between the railway station and the NEC. For the whole of my journey, I was surrounded by people from all walks of life who were chatting and visibly excited. Seeing grown men dressed in all manner of geeky clothes as excited as kids on Christmas morning was a timely reminder of just how important events like these are. Opportunities to be this way dwindle as the years go by when we become responsible adults. Being able to relax, let down your receding hairline, and just be yourself is heaven-sent.

I was especially pleased to see this on the display boards on the walk over from the train station. It’s exactly the sort of message we should all support. Well done, NEC.

The expected…

All of the things the UKGE is known for were present. The Bring and Buy was huge again, and so were the queues, both to check games in and to get in and browse. I know some people go to conventions especially for the bring and buys, and that’s great, just make sure you take the time to see the rest of the show.

The open gaming area was kitted out in its usual yellow livery courtesy of Game Toppers play mats, and once again there was plenty of space to just sit and play games, whether that’s with old friends or new ones. I like the way the food trucks are in the corner of hall three, where open gaming is. It means you can grab a bite to eat and a drink while you take some respite from the craziness of the main show floor. One word of advice I’d give to everyone attending is to make sure you take a water bottle with you. It gets very hot in there, and the NEC has free refill stations. Just don’t be a dummy and leave your bottle – which you brought especially – in your car in the car park. I’d hate to be that person, right?

There was a huge range of vendors, from the wall-of-games retailers like Chaos Cards, Games Lore, Firestorm Cards, and others, right down to the one-man bands making jewellery and accessories. As tempting as it is to just blow all your money on the latest hotness, I urge you to walk around and look. Really look. Talk to the people behind their stands, because there’s some great stuff waiting to be discovered. I found a stand selling prints of gorgeous hand-drawn anime-inspired posters which made for a great gift for my son.

UKGE runs tons of events during the days and evenings, but I can’t really comment on them, as I don’t go to them. My time is divided between meetings with publishers, catching up with friends, and playing games. I only wish I had more of it.

…and the unexpected

I was caught by surprise by a few things this year. Firstly by Dungeons & Dragons, who I don’t even remember having a presence before. They had a huge area with really impressive displays and umpteen tables where people could have taster sessions in the RPG phenomenon. I didn’t play myself, but I spoke to others who did, and the feedback was really positive. Friendly, welcoming DMs who knew their audience and helped make RPGs more accessible for newcomers. Kudos, D&D.

Another thing that not only surprised me but also sent waves of nostalgia crashing over me, was Tomy’s stand. We had a Screwball Scramble game when I was a kid, and Tomy were running a Screwball Scramble championship over the weekend.

The biggest surprise of all was one particular serendipitous moment. I was meeting with Mighty Boards, talking about one of their games. The designer of that game just happened to be sitting next to us. While we were talking, somebody I work with – who had made the trip to Birmingham without me knowing – walked past and said hello. The designer of the game who had flown in from Malta, who was sitting next to us, just happened to be an old friend of my work colleague, and they used to work together!

It’s a small world indeed.

My UK Games Expo

It was another whirlwind for me. After picking-up Paul (Grogan, of Gaming Rules!) from his house on the way, I got to my hotel late in the afternoon, and barely had time for a quick freshen-up before I was out the door again. Thursday evenings at UKGE are when the Press get a preview show, when we can go in and talk to the various publishers and designers before the madness of the convention starts the following morning. It was great to catch up with people I hadn’t seen for a year, including Joe and Maddie from Cogito Ergo Meeple, whose Solar 175 I covered here some time back. The rest of the night involved a few overpriced beers and some games with my friends from the Gaming Rules! Slack server, also joined by Branislav and his friend, from the Nithrania Youtube channel.

Friday for me was a mixture of meetings and browsing. I met up with Pandasaurus who were back at the Expo after a long Hiatus, Mighty Boards, Dave from Paverson Games (I covered their game, Distilled, here), Wise Wizard Games, and finally I met with OIa again, from Board&Dice. I really enjoy these meetings. Sometimes it’s just good to put a name to a face, and other times you learn things about really exciting projects and games for the coming year or two. If you run a board game channel, podcast, or blog, I highly recommend making these meetings. It gives you some really valuable insight into the other side of the industry.

I was pretty restrained when it came to shopping this year. I’m lucky in that I got to take a few review copies of games home with me, but even so, I’d normally spend whatever money I take with me. This time though, I didn’t. I treated myself to a copy of Pax Pamir 2nd Edition (I was hoping to bump into Cole Wehrle, the designer, but missed him) and a copy of Next Station: London, but that’s it. I know – check me out. The very model of restraint.

Look mum, I’m famous

On a personal level, I’m very proud of the fact I had a pitch for an article in the expo’s programme accepted, and it was great to see it in print at the show. If you went, and if you have a copy of the programme, you can turn to pages 24 & 25 to read my piece about worker-placement in games.

I’m not a fan of people with egos, or show-offs, but in the same breath, I’m told that there’s nothing wrong in having pride in something you’ve made. Here’s the something I made.

Thank yous

Massive thanks to so many people who make the UKGE what it is. From all of the staff at the NEC, the organisers and volunteers of UKGE itself, through to the friendly staff at the hotel. This is especially true of the people who helped make memories with me. Paul for the company in the car on the way up and the game on Saturday evening. My new friends Branislav and Peter from Slovakia. J P, Becky and the rest of the crew from Who’s Turn Is It Anyway podcast (go listen to it, it’s good, I promise). A very special thanks to my extended Gaming Rules! Slack family – John, John, Mak, Peter, Clare, Ben, Jonny, Graham, Leanne, Mark, and the ever-shy-and-retiring Jill. If I missed you on the list, it’s nothing personal, I just have a memory like a sieve.

I’ll see you all next year, if not before at Gridcon in November.

The post UK Games Expo 2023 – Convention Report appeared first on Punchboard.

Heading to Harrogate in March should mean trees coming into leaf, with crocuses and daffodils adding colour like an embroidered carpet throughout the town. Not this year though. It was all white. There was snow – lots of snow. Still, the intrepid tabletop community weren’t about to let something as trivial as sub-zero temperatures, dangerous travelling conditions, or the risk of slipping over stop them. (For the record, I slipped and fell just once, which is a win in my books).

Harrogate Convention Centre was teeming with people, and despite the huge numbers of people, it didn’t feel crowded. That was thanks to the Airecon crew who rented much bigger areas of the centre to run the convention this year. Even then, it still felt pretty full on Saturday, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it grow again in 2024, if money and Mark’s (the founder of Airecon) stress levels allow.

Come and play

Airecon is a play-focused convention, which means it caters to the likes of you and me: people who want to meet up with like-minded people and play games. It’s in contrast to something like UK Games Expo (you can read my previous reports for UKGE here and here) or Essen Spiel, which have open gaming areas but are set up for vendors first and foremost. Last year’s Airecon (which I wrote about here) had a retail and publisher presence, but it was pretty small. This year the exhibition space was much bigger and felt more like one of the halls at UKGE. 

The purists among you might want to turn their nose up at the growth of places to spend your money, but I’m actually in favour of it, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the additional income from exhibitors means Airecon can afford to occupy as much of the building as it did, and allows it to cater to increased numbers of attendees. Secondly, and maybe most importantly from an attendee’s point of view, the exhibitors were in a completely separate hall from the rest of the convention. If you wanted to you could spend the whole weekend at Airecon and not step foot inside the exhibition hall once. If it continues to grow, I hope the convention keeps this feeling of separation, because it helps Airecon to feel like it has in the past. It’s that spirit and feeling of a gathering of people who just want to play games which makes Airecon what it is.

Airecon isn’t just about playing or buying games. They also run a ton of events. I didn’t attend many, but I did take part in the board game pub quiz again, which was great. Despite having had quite a few drinks between us, our team – Full Fact Hunts (sorry Mark!) – came 4th out of 30+ teams, which was great. Mark runs a great quiz, and we had an absolute hoot. I watched some of the giant Just One game which seemed to be getting a lot of laughs, not to mention the Jolly Boat show, the charity raffle, the Park Run, beer tasting, or the morning meetup for coffee and breakfast. It’s fair to say there’s plenty to be doing at any given moment.

Personal highlights

I had a great time at the convention. On Thursday evening after heading out for a beer and pizza with Iain from The Giant Brain, I nipped over to the hall to collect my pass, only to bump into a certain Mr Rodney Smith, who many of you may know as the face of Watch It Played on YouTube. I went back to the bar with him and Matthew Jude from the same channel (among other things), where we had a couple of beers, waxed lyrical about what makes a good wargame rulebook, and shared our mutual admiration of The Players Aid (go and check them out, Grant and Alexander are great).

It kept snowing overnight, which meant my genius idea backfired on me. I took a large, rolling suitcase with me to transport my games, thinking the rollers would help me. Clever, right? Not so. The snow was so deep that the rollers never touched the tarmac, and I used my case as a makeshift snowplough as I trudged through the streets, dragging it behind me.

You’re welcome, residents of Harrogate.

Once in the halls, I met up with my extended, adopted family of people from the Gaming Rules! Slack server, who I tend to spend time with at every convention. I pretty much just played games all day, which was amazing. I played (and won at!) The Great Wall, which was very good, Yokohama, Ominoes, No Thanks, Scout, Gorilla Marketing, and Can’t Stop.

Saturday was when I took some time out to go and speak to people in the exhibitors’ hall, which was really good. I met a load of new people, including, but not limited to – Andrew from Yay Games, Tristan from Hall or Nothing, Tim from Critical Kit Ltd, and Tony from Meeple Design. Along with them, I managed to bump into old friends too: Tom from Trolls & Rerolls, Laurie from SDR, Paul from Patriot Games, Flavien from Hachette Boardgames UK, and Nicky at Kosmos Games,  I could have spent much longer talking to more people in that hall, but that’s the sort of thing I prefer to do at UK Games Expo. Airecon is for playing games for me.

For the rest of that day I played a few games, including Atiwa, Cuba Libre, and frustratingly a game I can’t tell you much about! I booked in a few months ago for a demo of a new game by David Turczi (Tawantinsuyu) and Simone Luciani (Barrage). I’m not allowed to show you photos of it, I’m not allowed to tell you what it’s called – it’s all very hush-hush.  What I can tell you is that it feels like someone made a game using 60% Brass, 20% Barrage, and 20% Concordia. I can tell you it won’t get crowdfunded. I can tell you it’s coming from a big publisher. I can tell you you should be able to pick it up at Essen this year. I’m very excited to play it again, and I can believe it might already be my game of the year.

Thank yous & final thoughts

There are so many people I want to thank, I’m bound to miss some of them. With that in mind, THANK YOU to:

Mark, Ben, and everyone who set up and ran Airecon, from the organisers to the stewards and everyone in between. From the planning to the execution, without each and every one of you, we wouldn’t have the Airecon we all love.

Rodney, Matthew, and Paula from Watch it Played for taking the time out of their crazy schedules to share a drink and a laugh with me.

Dina from Dina Said So, who not only pushes new indie studios my way, but also brought me Moomin fudge from Finland. MOOMIN FUDGE!

Iain from The Giant Brain, who I’ve known for ages, but met for the first time. We had fun playing games and setting the world to rights over Norwegian breakfasts. Gavin and Sara-Jayne were very welcome additions to our games too, so thank you all.

Last, and in no possible way least, thank you to Mak, Jill, Mark, Bob, Neil, the other Bob, and everyone else from my Gaming Rules! Slack extended family. You guys make conventions for me, and there’s no other group I’d rather play games and drink beer with.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating – if you’re on the fence about going to a convention, or you’re nervous about going, Airecon is a fantastic place to start. There’s no denying that it is very busy, and from the outside, it can seem intimidating. However, in all my years of attending events in different places, for different hobbies, there is nothing that compares to the friendliness you’ll find at an event like Airecon. No matter which demographic you fall into, you’ll be made to feel welcome, and I’ll wager you a bratwurst from the food trucks that you leave with more friends than you arrived with. Even for someone like me who lives a long way away, the 16 hours on trains and 800 miles of travel to get there and back is more than worth it.

See you all next year.

The post Airecon 2023 Convention Report appeared first on Punchboard.

GridCon is an annual board game convention held in the South-West of the UK. It just so happens that I a) live a couple of hours down the road from it, and b) am a Patreon supporter of the organiser, Paul Grogan, so there was no way I wasn’t going back this year.

When it comes to conventions there are two main types. Some of them have a very heavy commercial presence. There are sponsors wherever you look, and halls of vendors, designers, and publishers showing and selling their wares. Think of events like UK Games Expo (my report of this year’s is here), Essen Spiel, GenCon, PAXU.

On the flip side, you have the ‘play’ style conventions. These conventions are all about playing the games you already own. Most have a much higher proportion of open gaming spaces – tables where you can just rock-up with your games, and play to your heart’s content. These are usually smaller events, such as BayCon, KCon, and AireCon (here’s another write-up of this year’s event).

GridCon sits firmly in the latter. There’s only one retailer in attendance (Games Lore), and even then they only had one table in the corner of one of the rooms. If you want to spend money, your best bet is the bring-and-buy.

My time at GridCon 3

Thursday

I had been eagerly looking forward to GridCon all year. Paul runs Gaming Rules!, a YouTube channel which specialises in how-to-play tutorial videos for board games. As a Patreon supporter of his, I have access to the supporters’ Slack server, where I chat daily, and where I’ve made quite a few good friends. GridCon is a chance for lots of us to get together in person, so the excitement has been building there for months now.

After a detour on the way up to help Paul and Vicky (Paul’s partner) cart some boxes over to the venue, and after checking into my Airbnb home for the weekend, I headed to the hotel hosting the convention and caught up with old friends, including Mark and Andrew who’d travelled all the way over from Malta just for the event. It’s worth mentioning early, and I’ll almost certainly repeat myself, but the most pleasure I get from a convention is the time spent with good people. It’s incredibly good for my mental health, and I’m sure it does the same for others.

We shared a few beers, hugs and laughs, then settled in for a multiple-hour game of Food Chain Magnate. It was my first time playing one of Splotter’s games in person, but it certainly won’t be my last. What I remember of it was very good: cutthroat, tactical, and a surprisingly light ruleset for what is a heavy game. Tiredness (and maybe beer and cider) got the better of me, and I headed back to my room, ready for the start of GridCon proper.

Friday

On Friday morning I treated myself to that most extravagant of breakfasts – a Subway from the petrol station – and arrived to see a packed hotel bar, full of eager and excited board game fans. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first convention, or your fiftieth, the feeling of anticipation combined with excitement doesn’t fade. It’s a special feeling.

After the doors opened at 9am, the rest of the day was a bit of a blur. I got in a game of Scout before a scheduled teach + play of Unconscious Mind, which was excellent. Keep an eye out for that one, which is on Kickstarter at the time of writing. From there, straight over to a game of Pingyao: First Chinese Banks which I organised. By that point, it was late in the afternoon, and what I should have done is take a break for some food and rest. Instead, I agreed to a four-player game of Beyond The Sun, which was great.

Now, while it’s not exactly a hardship to be away from home, playing games for a few days, by the time the sun goes down, you can feel pretty spent. Your brain gets frazzled, and you’ll probably want to stretch your legs and move around. I just wanted something to eat, a cold beer, and an hour not thinking – which is exactly got. The food at the Holiday Inn which hosted the con was tasty and hot, even if it did take a long time to order sometimes.

From there I just milled around with friends, chatted, caught-up with people, and then had a game of Hadrian’s Wall (review here, the best flip-and-write game available). There’s a lovely feeling towards the end of the night at a convention like this, where the buzz of the day quietens and those with the stamina to keep going, retire to the bar and restaurant area to play quietly under lamps. It’s times like this where the sense of belonging really hits hard.

Saturday

First thing on Saturday morning, I’d booked out one of the ‘Hot games’ on offer, fresh from Essen. As soon as I saw Uwe Rosenberg had a new game out, I knew I had to try it, and Atiwa did not disappoint. I won’t go into too much detail, because I fully expect to be reviewing it before took long. Let’s just say that even after a single play, I think it might be my game of the year.

Thanks to a 6:30 am start to the day (I watched the England women’s Rugby Union team take on New Zealand in the world cup final – so close, girls!) I was already fading, so I headed off to the restaurant to grab some food and a coffee, and to watch the huge game of Dark Ages going on in there. They’d commandeered three or four tables to set it all up – a truly epic undertaking.

After that came the game I was looking forward to most all weekend, a four-player game of Cuba Libre. I’ve reviewed other COIN games here before (Gandhi and All Bridges Burning), and Cuba Libre is another example of how good they can be. Part of my excitement was for the game, the other part because I knew I was going to play with friends from Slack, including Peter, and George, who flew in from Greece for the weekend!

Sadly, my GridCon came to an end after four hours of trying to control Cuba. It was time for me to say my goodbyes, get in my car, and drive home. I get so exhausted at these gatherings that I need a full day to recharge before going back to work, and I had to work on Monday. I can get a bit emotional when good things end and I have to say goodbye to friends, not knowing the next time I’ll see them, so apologies to anyone I missed, or if I seemed like I was rushing off.

In review

I sit here writing this on Sunday, the day after my GridCon came to an end. There’s a really funny feeling that lingers for a day or two after a good convention – and this was a great convention. Your brain feels fuzzy, your heart feels full, and it’s an all-around life-affirming thing. A good convention is incredibly good for your mental health, as long as you can mitigate any triggers for you before going. If you suffer from social anxiety for example, then it’s handy to get there ahead of time and watch the place slowly fill up around you, instead of opening the door and walking in on a couple of hundred attendees.

I had a truly wonderful time. Not because of the games I played, the place I played in, or even the people there. It sounds trite, but it truly is an example of something being greater than the sum of its parts. I mean, I’ve not even touched on things like the ridiculous pile of games donated to the charity raffle, which itself raised thousands of pounds. Nor did I talk about world-famous designer Vital Lacerda coming along to teach his new game to a select group of people, and he was only one of many designers in attendance. I didn’t mention the well-stocked games library, all available to play for free, or the chances to play huge new games, months before others will get a chance to.

Even without including all of that, it was still an outstanding time. It was (for me) three days of good people having good times. If you have never been to a games convention before, and you’re on the fence about it, please go, and go to one like GridCon. Go to something local, focused on the games. Every single person was made to feel as welcome as if they were family, regardless of their skin colour, age, ability, nationality, beliefs, gender or orientation. It’s a big, incredibly diverse group of people, stepping outside of the demands of real life for a few days, for a break they all deserve.

Long may it continue.

Special thanks

I just want to name-check some people who helped make it as special as it was for me. First and foremost I want to thank Paul & Vicky, who organised and ran the event. There’s a crazy amount of time and energy that goes into it, and it really showed. Without them, there’d be no GridCon to go to. The staff at the Holiday Inn were amazing too, very patient, friendly, and accommodating. They still managed a smile even when there was a big queue at the bar, and when they ran out of glasses and drinks! What can I say – we know how to have a good time.

I want to thank my friends, new and old, who spent some time with me. These include, but are not limited to: Andrew and Mark, who made the trip from Malta, along with George who flew in from Greece, and had to miss a game to work from his hotel room. Mark P, Jill, Peter, John(s), Mark L, Lee, Alex, Natalie, Leanne, Ian, Emma, Scott, Paul R, Paul M, JP, Ian, Monique, Tom, Matt, Márton, Jonathan, Tim, Luke, Rick, Bob, Becky, Vic, Carl, Joe, Maddie, and anyone else whose name I’ve forgotten. Also to Lyndsey and Piran the Beagle, my hosts for my stay.

It was nourishment for the heart, mind, and soul. For now, I feel sated, but already I can’t wait to see my chosen extended family again.

The post GridCon 3 (2022) Convention Report appeared first on Punchboard.

Don’t worry, I’m not suddenly a masochist, it’s just the fallout after a wonderful trip away to the UK Games Expo. If you’re wondering what the UKGE is, it’s a huge show at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, devoted to tabletop games of all kinds. Set over three days and three huge halls, it’s something you have to experience for yourself, but I’ll do my best to let you know how it was from my point of view.

Thursday – travel and the Press Preview

Armed with too many games, I set off on the 4.5 hour drive on Thursday morning, making a small detour in Devon to pick up my friend, and the man behind Gaming Rules!, Paul Grogan. As good as Spotify and Audible are, there’s no substitute for games conversation, so the remaining hours flew by, and I found myself at my base of operations, the Premier Inn on-site.

Forewarned is forearmed, so this year I made sure I have comfy shoes, plenty of spare clothes, and painkillers! If you’re like me and want to see and do everything, be prepared to put in a lot of miles on your feet. My phone reckons I clocked up over 38,000 steps over the two days total I spent on the show floor. My feet think it was twice that, and the hotel shower got used a lot. The NEC is huge.

On the Thursday evening before each UKGE, they put on a Press Preview event, where media folks like yours truly can meet the exhibitors and get a sneak peek at what’s going to be on show. It was much busier than last year’s, understandably, and it was great to catch up with old friends, and meet some I’ve never met before. I chatted to Ayden on the Dranda Games table and had a look at their two new games – Isle of Trains and Pioneer Rails. Both look great, and I’ll have a preview written for the former, soon.

It was great to meet Tom of Trolls ‘n’ Rerolls, the folks behind Amulet of Thrayax, Andy of Savania Games, who made a storming success of his game Cosmic Voyage, Chris from Unfringed who created Zuuli, and the guys behind The Old King’s Crown, which I look forward to covering later in the year. I saw so many interesting new games, talked to loads of people, and then sat down to play some games with my friends from the Gaming Rules! community, including the excellent Gutenberg (review coming soon).

Friday – many meetings, many miles

Friday is the first day that the UKGE is open to the public, so after making the most of the Premier Inn buffet breakfast (one of my favourite things) I took a wander down to the halls and was greeted by a sea of fellow games enthusiasts. The whole of the concourse around halls 1, 2, and 3 were absolutely heaving with people. It’s safe to say people were ready for a proper convention.

Friday consisted of a lot of meetings. Many of the publishers exhibiting at the show send out emails to the registered Press, inviting them to book meetings. I did exactly that, and spent the majority of the day pinging around the halls like a ball bearing in a Pachinko machine, meeting people from different publishers. The highlights for me were:

• Floodgate Games. I had a great chat with Ian, and we talked a lot about their recent hit, Decorum, which looks great. Co-op, hidden information house decorating.
• Asmodee. I was lucky enough to grab some time with Asmodee’s PR company, where we chatted about all things board game in the UK, and got introduced to a series of family games from a new designer. More on that in the not-too-distant future.
• Portal Games. I took the monorail out to a hotel near the airport to meet with Joanna from Portal, who, on seeing how hot and tired I was, bought me a pint! Thanks Joanna! We spent an hour playing Eleven, their new mixture of football manager and mid-heavy euro. I really liked this one, I hope I get a chance to share a review soon.
• Board&Dice. Board&Dice are one of my favourite publishers, so it was so lovely to finally meet Ola in person, after talking by email for so long. I took a look at two new games, Terracotta Army, and Power Core: Call of Cthulhu. I’ve not got too much to say about them yet, other than Terracotta Army looks very at home in the same stable as the T-series of games like Tawantinsuyu, and that Power Core will almost certainly be a hit with duelling card game fans,
• Lucky Duck Games. I’ve chatted to Bree from Lucky Duck plenty in the past, so meeting face-to-face was great. We had a look at their upcoming Sherlock game, which ties in with the BBC series. I was really pleased to see that they’re also now selling the X-Trayz board game organisers, from GameTrayz. GameTrayz make seriously good inserts for games like PARKS and Euphoria, and these little holders are just as good.

Finally, I sat down and played a demo game of Old London Bridge, from Queen Games. I hope to be able to review this one before too long, because it fills a nice niche. It’s fast enough and easy enough to learn to be considered ‘filler’, but it’s got so much more game in it than most fillers. I really enjoyed it.

I was really pleased to bump into another Andy too, this time from Cloudrunner Games, the studio behind Book Of Skulls – Slayers Of Eragoth, a game I recently previewed. We had a good chat and he bought me another beer! You might be noticing a trend here…

After that, the evening was mine. I found some friends and sat down with games like Long Shot: The Dice Game, Yogi, Moonrakers, and then a really good game of Iki too. The siren’s call of sleep was too strong though, so I sloped off back to the hotel to let my aching feet rest, and have a hot shower to wash the day’s grime away.

Saturday – catching-up, spending money, heading home

I wanted to get home by Saturday night, so as to have a day of normality at home before getting back to work on Monday. On Saturday morning I headed for my last two meetings of the show. The first was with Simon at Dranda Games. We talked more about the design of their two new train games (mentioned above), and both are honestly looking great. Both Kickstarters will launch before the year is out.

After that, I headed over to the CGE stand to meet with Eleni. As well as content creation for CGE, she’s also the face of Cardboard Rhino, a great YouTube channel that you ought to check out. We talked about lots of things, and she showed me Starship Captains, a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi game that owes a lot to Star Trek. I think it’s going to be a big hit. You heard it here first.

Then there was just time left to spend the rest of my spending money, and catch up with a few people I hadn’t been able to. It’s always great to see Ellie from The Dark Imp, and while I sat and chatted to her in the Playtest Zone, I was able to say hello to one of my favourite designers, Matt Dunstan. He has a hand in so many games at the moment, it’s impossible to ignore his contribution. If you want to see what I mean, head to the home of Postmark Games and spend a couple of quid on their game, Voyages. A cracking print-at-home, roll-and-write that he and Rory Muldoon created.

Finally, it was time for a last coffee with friends, before hitting the road for the four-and-a-half hour drive home.

The wrap-up

I’m home now, and already missing being at the convention. Spending three days on a constant high of being surrounded by board game love, leads to a serious comedown. Is it busy? Yes. Is it tiring? Very. Is it expensive? Probably, depending on where you stay and how much you buy. The most important question, however, should be “Is it worth it?”, and the answer is a resounding yes.

People from every demographic you can imagine are everywhere. It doesn’t matter what your gender, ability, age, race, religion is – everyone is welcome and included. Everywhere you looked, people were smiling and laughing, and just enjoying being back around people with the same interests. I saw older people catching up after years apart, families with very young children playing together, and everything in-between. It was wonderful.

It is busy, it is noisy, and it is overwhelming if you’ve never been to anything like it. But for those willing to step outside of their comfort zone, the rewards can be enormous. I’ve read loads of posts from people who attended for one day as a test, who are adamant they want to go back for the full three days. Universally it seems, people felt happy, welcomed, supported where needed, and safe.

The next UK Games Expo is from Friday 2nd June until Sunday 4th June 2023. I hope I’ll see you there.

Thanks

I want to thank everyone who took the time to meet me and talk to me. I want to thank the designers and publishers I’ve worked with over the last couple of years, for their support, friendship, and kind words. It’s been a pleasure watching people come from prototype to successful final game, and having them tell you that you helped that happen, is very moving.

I especially want to thank Paul for his company on the drive, and the friends I was able to play and talk with. In no particular order, thank you Mark P, Bob, Jill, Peter, Leanne, Neil, Gavin, Hilmar, Mark C, and all the people I’ve undoubtedly forgotten (I’m really tired!).

This hobby, and the people in it, are fricking awesome.

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In the last year I’ve been lucky enough to attend three different board game conventions: The UK Games Expo (read my report here), GridCon, and most recently, AireCon (read my report here). Each was a very different experience, from the commercial craziness of UKGE, through to the play-focused intimacy of GridCon. What they all have in common though, is being surrounded by like-minded people.

My next turn

During a bit of downtime at AireCon, I grabbed some food, and sat at the edge of the Open Gaming area. As I looked around the hall, it dawned on me. A room filled with hundreds of people playing games, all with one thing in common. Nobody there was worrying about ‘real life’ while they were playing. Almost universally, people of all kinds were laughing and talking to new friends, old friends, or planning their next turn.

Anyone who’s ever undertaken any kind of CBT for depression and anxiety knows the value of mindfulness. The idea of only concentrating on the here and now, not worrying or dwelling on the thoughts spiraling in your head. Focusing on your next turn in a board game does exactly that. I watched as scores of people, young and old, had their heads down, normal life forgotten. All that matters in that moment is ‘my next turn’, and that reprieve from your own mind can be priceless. Between planning your turn and talking to others, there’s simply very little time to continue your internal monologue.

We’re very lucky and very privileged to be able to play games, talk about them on the internet, and have the time, money, and possibility of going to a convention. And while I, and a lot of my readers, don’t have to worry about day-to-day survival, modern life is tough. The financial and social burdens we bring upon ourselves are exhausting. Having a few days to yourself at one of these events is a holiday, it’s like leaving the motorway of life for some respite in a service station, before rejoining the rat race.

Birds of a feather

That’s not to say that all of the people at a board game convention are the same – far from it. The people I’ve met and played games with are the most diverse bunch I’ve ever met. As it happens, that’s one of the first big mental health benefits to be taken from attending a convention. To take-in the sheer diversity in the building, and to realise that everyone – regardless of social background, race, belief, gender, or disability – belongs in that space.

I come from a very rural part of the UK. When I was growing up there weren’t many opportunities for people who’d label themselves as geeks, to come together to share a niche interest. It’s something which can feel very isolating. Although it’s easier to find a sense of community with the internet, there’s a lot to be said for actually meeting people in the flesh.

It’s very easy to carry anxiety and worry from your childhood and teenage years in later life. That little voice in your head that says “What if nobody likes me? What if I don’t fit in? What if I panic?” needs very little reinforcement at times. If you do have it within you to attend something, however small, the rewards can have such a huge impact on you. Despite being nervous each time I’ve gone away to a convention, every time I’ve left I’ve felt happy, energised, enthusiastic, and counting the days until the next time I get to see my new friends again.

Too much, too soon

What if this all sounds great, but you just don’t have it in you to attend something at the moment? We’ve just gone through two years of lockdowns, isolation, sickness and death, thanks to Covid-19. It’s no wonder that more and more people are suffering from anxiety and depression. People I’ve known my whole life have been affected for the first time, so its impact cannot be overstated.

Going to a convention for the first time can feel pretty intimidating, especially when you’ve no idea what to expect. I had an anxiety spike when I turned up at UKGE, despite having been to other conventions in the past for martial arts. For some people, that’s a bridge too far, and I’d recommend attending a small, local event first before heading to something like UKGE. That said, AireCon had a fantastic area called Roll Through It which was quiet, away from the crowds, and allowed people to deal with things at their pace.

If that still sounds too much, I understand. If you truly do wish to feel like a part of a community, and want to make those first steps towards meeting people and experiencing the buzz of a games convention, there are a few things you can do to work towards it. Joining an online community is a great idea. Find a content creator you enjoy, and see if they have any community options for you to join.

From personal experience, I can vouch for the people in the Board Game Trading & Chat UK Facebook group, but the place which has really helped me find a community is the Slack server that comes as part of my Patreon subscription for Paul Grogan and his Gaming Rules! channel. Everyone is different, and it’s important to say that my experience might not mirror yours, but it’s a good place to start if you ask me.

Last orders

So in summary, if you’ve taken up this hobby over the last couple of years, and are wondering why anyone would want to travel halfway across the country to sit and play games with strangers for a few days, just give it a chance. The pandemic has taken a lot out of a lot of people, and with the world on the cusp of returning to a new normal, if you feel up to trying, I heartily recommend attending a convention.

Please, feel free to add links to your favourite conventions in the comments, and I’ll edit this post to add them in. As well as the links above, I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t recommend heading along to the Punchboard Discord Server, where you can hang out in a very relaxed environment, with some very wonderful people.

Also, please remember that I’m not a mental health professional. I’m just a nerdy chap who’s had a lifetime of on-off depression and anxiety, difficulty making friends, and this post is based on my personal experiences. If you’re in the UK and would like more help with your mental health, the NHS is a great place to start.

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My convention experience so far (for board games at least) has been the behemoth that is the UK Games Expo, and the smaller, friendlier GridCon. People had told me that AireCon sits somewhere between the two, so I was keen to find out what it was like. I also knew plenty of designers, publishers, and online friends who were going to be attending, which helped swing the decision to go.

I loaded the car with games, more games, and some other things which are apparently necessary, like clothes and toiletries. After eight hours in the car, and a disastrous stop at Bridgwater service station (where I managed to fall, take the skin off my palms, crack a rib, and hurt my shoulder), I was ‘up North’. Before we get to the convention, I want to take a moment to mention how beautiful Harrogate is. Make sure you plan in some time to take a walk around the town.

“I suffer from anxiety. Is AireCon for me?”

Plenty of people were – understandably – anxious about attending, what would be for many, their first big convention. Lockdown drew a lot of new players into the hobby, and turning up to a strange show, with thousands of strangers in attendance, is a daunting prospect. I wasn’t too worried, but I had the benefit of previous experience, and knowing a few people who would be there.

I think the first thing that really struck me about AireCon, and this includes the build-up, as well as the event itself, is how welcoming it is. Emails before the big day outlined what was expected, where people can go, and what help and support was on-hand. It was all evident from the moment we walked in. Friendly staff and volunteers were at the door, welcoming attendees, disabled access was everywhere, including priority tables in the open gaming areas.

The long conservatory was flooded with natural light, and some quieter space to play games, while still being close enough to feel the buzz from the main hall. If all of that sounds like it’s still too much, AireCon did two especially nice things. Firstly, upstairs they have quiet gaming areas, which can be a welcome reprieve from the noise downstairs. Secondly, and best of all, is the Roll Through It area. There’s a friendly team of volunteers who take the time to make sure you feel welcome, and will even play some games with you if you don’t feel ready to face strangers yet.

Games, games, games

I went with the intention of playing lots of games, and I wasn’t disappointed. I met up with some people I know from the Gaming Rules! community, and we camped out on some tables for the entire weekend. I’ve had to go back through my photos to remember which games I played, and I think it was: Dinosaur Island: Rawr and Write, Watergate, A War of Whispers, Echidna Shuffle, Almadi, Libertalia x 2, Brian Boru, Snowdonia, and Anomia. There are some great titles in there, and reviews of at least two of them on the way.

Along with playing, I spent a lot of time walking and talking. Rodney and his crew from Watch It Played made the long trip across the Atlantic to come to the show, and I managed to grab both he and Paula from Things Get Dicey for a chat and photo ops. Both were very humble and only too happy to stay and talk. It was just another thing which helped make the event feel comfortable and inviting.

I also got to meet some people I’ve been interacting with over the last two years, which was fantastic. I bumped into Lawrie from SDR Studios (I previewed Earth Rising for them last year), Joe and Maddie of Cogito Ergo Meeple (Solar 175 preview here), the ever-present Bez, Flavien and Cyprien of Hachette UK and FunnyFox respectively (distributors and publishers of Almadi), Will from PSC Games, Ellie Dix of The Dark Imp, and the guys behind The Detective Society.

That’s before even mentioning the legends I played with all weekend. Scott, Mark, Jill, Peter, Bob and the rest of the Gaming Rules! crew, thank you. A big hello also to Craig of Meeples of the North Kingdom, who I first met up with last year at UKGE, and played games with again this time around.

Final thoughts

If your idea of a good convention is one where the emphasis is on playing games, AireCon is fantastic. Everyone, from staff to other attendees, was so friendly and welcoming. If you’re worried about coming along on your own, don’t be, there are always plenty of people happy to invite someone new to their table. The sales stands were good, and I love that the vast majority of the space in the halls is given to people, and the games they play, not just businesses looking to make a buck.

The catering – by way of a variety of food trucks – was great, and it was never too difficult to get a drink or a snack. The games library was well-stocked, and free! Okay, there’s a £10 deposit, but you get that back. Upstairs, the bring and buy was fantastic, and I’ll admit I grabbed a couple of bargains I hadn’t intended to. With so much of the weekend’s proceedings going towards charity, including a cut of the bring and buy sales, I can justify my new-to-me games to myself.

I’m equal parts surprised and delighted that the AireCon crew have managed to expand so much in such a short space of time, but without losing the feeling of friendliness that pervades the weekend. Everyone there is just happy to be with likeminded people who just want to take a day or two out from the stresses and worries of life, and enjoy something approaching normal, after a torrid couple of years.

I had an amazing time, and I’ll be back. If you’re on the fence about coming, or nervous of attending, I urge you have a look at their beginner’s guide, and to come along. If you live closer than I do, then definitely go and check it out. It’s a celebration of all that is wonderful about out hobby, and the people who share it.

See you next year, AireCon!

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