By this time next week, another UK Games Expo will be over, and we’ll all be awaiting the next one whilst resting our feet and throats, all hopefully with a plethora of new games.
It seems that each year there is more and more for us gamers to feast upon, and this year I’ll be…shall we say more active, not only am I hitting up the Playtest Zone for three hours playing my game Bad Pets, but I’ll also be press, so they will be reports a plenty post expo. Before we start counting all chicks though, these are the analogous eggs I’m keen to get involved with.
Alley Cat Games (Stand B1):
Lab Wars and Cauldron Master will both hopefully be there for anyone that missed out on the Kickstarter, they’ll also be demoing their next game Dice Hospital which is all over social media and for good reason – it looks ace!
Mayfair Games (Stand B2):
Don’t really need an introduction, but thanks to Tom Heath’s Geeklist, Barenpark jumped onto my radar –so I’ll have to now check it out, although this, for me could very well be an insta-purchase. Let’s face it, bears are cool
City of Games (Stand C3):
Frank West’s game: The City of Kings funded a couple of months ago now to the tune of £283, 371. Pre-Orders are still available but he’ll be there with a couple of demo games of this going on in all its glory.
Monolith Board Games (Stand C26):
Three words for you:
Batman
The
Boardgame.
PlayFusion Ltd (Stand D3):
Lightseekers is another Kickstarter that I missed last year and it looks awesome: an amalgamation of a computer, RPG, Comics, Action Figures and CCGs – with Augmented Reality! No, I’m not kidding. Companion apps are one thing, but this game could be breaking seriously new ground and is worth watching. Just check out the link and watch the campaign video.
Entropic Games (Stand D13):
This is the where and how my Kickstarter compulsion began, Mr Gary Wareham has apparently a lot to answer for in my house according to my Better-Half. Oligarchy the dystopian card game will there to play and purchase so I’ll be there hopefully taking down an Oligarch or two with my Religious/Gaia deck!
Hall or Nothing (Stand D14):
1066, Tears to Many Mothers will be reviewed and demoed ahead of the Kickstarter campaign which starts just after the expo (I think, you'll have to ask Tristain to be sure), and the gorgeous, Gloom of Kilforth will be there for sale and demo; which is great news for me since I wasn’t part of the Kickstarter scene in August 2015 – as I understand there isn’t a planned retail release so if this game looks evenly mildly interesting get to stand D14 ASAP on Friday morning (I’ll see you there) – alternatively you can make a late pledge, it just doesn’t sound as dramatic.
One Free Elephant (Stand D20):
ORE-SOME! Will there to play and buy if you missed their Kickstarter from earlier this year, and they will also be demoing Carcosa, the Cthulu(ish) themed tile placement game. Not one for the kids –trust me – but a game I’m looking forward to checking out.
Wreck And Ruin (Stand D22):
Mark, of Wreck-And-Ruin-Fame, will be hosting demos of his game Wreck and Ruin, a diesel-punk, post-apocalyptic game full of car chases and destruction which he is aiming to release into the Kickstarter wild early September. I’ve heard great things about Mark and his game from some very reliable sources so he is certainly one to watch.
Inside the Box Boardgames (Stand E7):
My love for this not-quite-so-little-anymore-UK-indie company should really go without saying, but their giant stand this year (96 square flippin’ metres) will be a must for anyone attending. The massively successful Kickstarters: Statecraft and Sub Terra games will, of course, be present along with a tease of their next game Newspeak. Not only that, but there will also be “immersive” versions of both going on too.
The Walrus Games (Stand E16):
Everdark was a stand-out game last year, and Ed has gone on to make some great leaps and bounds with the game over the last year. His Kickstarter campaign is set to begin on Friday 2nd June at the start of the expo, keep an eye out for those early bird specials (that may or may not be part of the campaign) and go and see Ed as soon as you can – I tried to last year and his stand had a queue, all day every day.
Braincrack Games (Stand G7):
These guys will be showing off Mined Out which funded earlier this year, and maybe even a little bit of Farsight which will be finishing its Kickstarter campaign in the next few days. Lewis Shaw is a personal hero of mine so I’ll certainly be popping to see him (he’s the guy responsible for the Board Meetings logo)
Temp Worker Assassins (Stand H8):
This game made it through to the Wyvern’s Lair last year and had a very successful Kickstarter campaign which I stupidly missed, but David Newton will be bringing along a few games to play and sell with a special promo card made especially for the expo.
Inspiring Games (Stand H19):
Legends Untold will be there to play with the all new artwork and they’ll also be showing off their next project Lord of the Horde, and fingers crossed they may even bring along Beastie – and if they don’t I’ll be writing a very strongly worded letter to Kevin Young. Very strongly worded.
Badcat Games (J19):
ElemenZ will launch on Kickstarter just before the expo so there will be a great chance to get a hands-on of the demo before pledging to their campaign. It looks like a fun dice management game with some cool art, so I'll be swinging by to have a closer look.
NSKN Games (Stand K11):
Strawberry Ninja and Pyramid of the Sun look absolutely delightful, and I know Jésus is interested in Shadowascape and Mistfall, so we'll be checking this stand over with care.
Grublin Games (Stand T12):
Perfect Crime will be available for demo which sounds utterly brilliant and will bring me one step closer to being in Ocean's Fourteen (at least in my imagination)
Peculiarity Uk:
Robbie Munn will be showcasing his game at the expo: Summoner’s Isle, which I’ve been playing over the last few weeks – preview to follow in the next couple of days – but the short story is that it looks wonderful, it plays brilliantly and is a lot of fun. You'll find Robbie with Wotan on the Double Decker bus with his first game War of the 9 realms which I didn't have time to play last year so I'll be getting on board (oh dear) for that one.
Playtest Zone:
Beardy Bros – Ravage is live on Kickstarter right now and looks to be a truly brilliant dungeon crawler with and Orc-ish twist. If you are undecided about this game you’ll be able to at least see it – I’m expecting this game to packed all weekend long (Designer Iain Scofiled will also be at the Modiphius Entertainment stand H5 with Ravage too if you miss him in the Playtest Zone).
Gobblin Goblins is also a game I want to have a playtest of as it sound like a good fun family game Saturday 10-1
Bad Pets - that's right, my game, will be there too. Pop into the Playtest Zone on Friday between 11-1 to grab a game.
Master of Olympus - from my Richard will at the Playtest Zone too
I'm also going to try and check out a few seminars too.
Of course, I've not mention loads of games, designers, companies stands etc. These are just a choice few that I'm really, super excited about.
What is going to be the first stand you check out?
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