UK Games Expo

UK Games Expo (UKGE) is tabletop-game convention and trade fair held annually at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

UK Games Expo
StatusActive
Genre
Begins3 June 2022 (2022-06-03)
Ends5 June 2022 (2022-06-05)
FrequencyAnnually
Venue
Coordinates52°27′12″N 1°43′10″W
CountryUK
Years active15
InauguratedJune 2007 (2007-06)
Founder
  • Richard Denning
  • Tony Hyams[1]
Most recent2021
Previous event2020
Next event2022
Attendance20,000
Organised byUK Games Expo Ltd
WebsiteUK Games Expo

The convention is host to seminars by industry leaders, a charity bring and buy, and board and wargame tournaments, including the UK UK Catan Championships, the UK Carcassonne Championship, and the UK Agricola Championship.[2] Role-playing events included the UK Cthulhu masters,[3] the D&D Open Championships and the D&D Adventurers League Epic. Alongside official tournaments, there are areas for open gaming. Introduced in its first convention, it also hosts its own awards. In 2008 it hosted the official launch of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition in the UK.

After the cancellation of the 2020 convention, UK Games Expo 2021 returned to the NEC 30th from July to 1st August, subject to UK COVID restrictions.[4]

History

UK Games Expo was initially held at the Clarendon Suites in Birmingham between 2007 and 2012, relocating to the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in 2015.[5] In 2016 it expanded to include trade and tournament halls in the NEC, as well as maintaining activities in the Hilton Hotel.[6] This expansion led to an increase in unique visitors, making it the third largest tabletop gaming event in the world.[7] In 2018 it expanded again, occupying another hall.

In 2020 UKGE was cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic, and replaced by the online event Virtually Expo. Approximately 20,000 individual viewers participated in co-ordinated livestreams, video demonstrations and industry chats as well as roleplaying and board gaming over the Virtually Expo's Discord Rooms plus running a number of tournaments .[4][8]

Notable guests of the show have included Colin Baker in 2016,[6] Ian Livingstone since 2017,[9] Chris Barrie, Monte Cook, Tom Vasel, Martin Wallace, Steve Jackson, John Kovalic, and John Robertson .

Attendance
Annual attendance 2007–2018

Attendance figures released by the organizers are published each year in their exhibitor pack.

UK Games Expo Attendance Figures
Year20072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020 Online2021
Uniques9001,2001,8002,0002,4552,8793,5385,8057,16212,63616,50021,69825,704n/a10,671[10]
Attendance1,200[7]2,0002,5002,8003,5854,0465,7349,919[7]13,971[7]25,149[7]31,00039,10645,097approx. 20,000 [4]18,430

Uniques are how many unique individuals attended the event. E.G. Tom and Bertha attend UKGE. They count as 1 unique attendance each or 2 uniques between them. Attendance is how many people came adding together the turnstile each day. Tom went for 2 days so he counts at 2 attendances. Bertha goes for 3 days so counts as 3. Thus Tom and Bertha contribute 2 uniques but 5 attendance.

2019 unique attendance makes UK Games Expo the largest show of its kind in the UK.

References
  1. Young, Graham (3 June 2016). "Tenth anniversary UK Games Expo opens at NEC". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  2. "National Catan, Carcassonne, Pandemic, Splendor and 7 Wonders Duel tournaments to be held at UK Games Expo". Tabletop Gaming. Warners Group Publications Plc. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  3. "Call of Cthulhu RPG tournament Cthulhu Masters is coming back to UK Games Expo". Tabletop Gaming. Warners Group Publications Plc. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  4. Carter, Chase (27 January 2021). "UK Games Expo 2021 announces summer dates for return of in-person convention". Dicebreaker. Gamer Network Limited. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  5. Griffin, Mary (29 May 2015). "UK Games Expo launches in Birmingham". BirminghamLive. Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  6. Laws, Roz (29 May 2016). "What to expect from UK Games Expo 2016". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  7. "UK Games Expo is now bigger than Origins, making it the third largest tabletop show in the world". Tabletop Gaming. Warners Group Publications Plc. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  8. "UK Games Expo is Back, and now it's Virtual". Tabletop Gaming. Warners Group Publications Plc. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. "Games Workshop co-founder and Fighting Fantasy author Ian Livingstone will retrace his career at UK Games Expo". Tabletop Gaming. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  10. "UK Games Expo News Article". UK Games Expo.
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