UK Games Expo 2025

Expo is big. Like, really big. I mean, you might think that Dragonmeet is big but that's just peanuts compared to Expo. Figuring that what we really wanted was a chance to play games with friends, eat curry and socialise, the very lovely Dave Paterson (aka Bagpuss Grognard) proposed that we rent somewhere nearby and have our own Expo fringe event instead. 

Thus it was we turned up at Ackers Adventure Centre which is more used to dealing with groups of youngsters wanting to go canoeing and climbing and the like. The accommodation was a little spartan, consisting of small bedrooms with cramped bunkbeds, but on the plus side there were two large social areas with enough room to set out tables and play games, where the adventure was strictly dice based. The site itself was a little oasis hidden behind spiked fences and barbed wire, sandwiched between the A45 and a railway line, with its own little bit of canal, resident geese and a nice view of the Veolea incinerator in the distance.

Friday afternoon saw me playing Golden Heroes for the first time, one of the original old school superhero RPGs from back in the day. Characters are generated with powers being randomly rolled for on a table, with the challenge being to construct a back story that made sense of them. I ended up with animal senses, quick reactions and claws, and invented the persona of Billy Smith, a cub reporter for the Bradford Telegraph and Argus who had been bitten by a wild cat with glowing eyes, and was determined to use his powers to FIGHT CRIME!. The scenario was set in an alt history 1920s Britain, with much biffing of goons, a spot of investigation and a showdown with a villainous cult at the end. Crikey!

Friday night saw a visit to a curry house (conveniently we were near Birmingham's famous Balti Triangle), with onion bhajis the size of ostrich eggs and naan breads like duvets. Yum! 

We returned to Stalag Luft Small Heath, and sat out on the balcony with a beer or two before heading off to bed. It wasn't the most restful night's sleep I've ever had with the bunk bed feeling quite claustrophobic, but at least the shower in the morning was hot and a nice cup of coffee woke me up.

Saturday morning's game was Ronin, another Borg-alike game, and highly enjoyable. As I was playing Miuyki the Poet I took notes in haiku form:

Mighty heroes clash

Dice clatter on the table

Theatre of the mind

The frozen country

Kage Nō Shima under

Permanent eclipse 

Aiko the willow

Dancing through the crimson snow

Backstabbing bandits

Takeshi the monk

Inspiring peasants with the 

Power of Sake

After many trials

We finally see the face of

Akuma Saizo

So close, defeated

By the hostile dice gods

Total Party Kill

Saturday afternoon saw me running Tales of the Old West, with another run through the scenario Patience is a Virtue. I've played this once as a player in an early play test of the system and now run it as GM three times, each time with events playing out differently. This scenario is a really good introduction to the setting and system, with gunfights being a risky proposition and some tricky moral dilemmas to view through modern sensibilities. Oh, and we found out that a sharpened hat pin to the back proved to be surprisingly effective!

Saturday night was a trip to the eye-wateringly expensive Hilton bar but at least it was a good chance to say hello to some gaming pals. I was flagging a bit by this point, but we didn't stop out too late and our uber delivered us back safely for another nightcap on the balcony, where we were treated to the sights and sounds of a steam train chugging by at one point.

Sunday morning saw us packing up and putting rather a lot of empty bottles into the recycling bin! We still had undrunk beer to bring home though! After coffee and a bite to eat, I set off for Expo itself. As expected it was big, and even though my watch told me I'd walked over 11,000 steps I'm pretty sure I missed a whole trade hall somehow.

Highlights were meeting Matt and Dave, designers of Tales of the West who gave me some lovely bits of swag, including a Sheriff's badge and a limited edition dice tray, a quick chat with Paul Baldowski of All Rolled Up and a chance to see the new edition of Tunnels and Trolls in action. I bought a few things, including Ronin (see above) but was ready to leave by mid day. A final goodbye to friends, and a reasonable drive home followed by a much needed nap in my own bed!

Let's do it again next year!