UK Games Expo 2021: Saturday Live Blog

It is Day Two here at UKGE, and starting at 9am, attendees have started to make their way into the expo with excitement – with cosplayers guarding the entrance.

Being Saturday, UKGE is expected to be busier than yesterday, with attendees off of work and into the exhibitor halls with dreams and goals to purchase all of the tabletop games, merch and accessories that the event has to offer.

If you are close by, tickets are still available. And if you are attending the event, be sure to give me (Free), Ben, Justin and John a friendly wave.

We were joined by Loke BattleMats to talk about their vast range of incredible modular laminated battle maps.

Players can access many lands with ease, with the ever so popular modular mats contained within a convenient flipbook.

Everybody knows and loves CATAN, and if you are immersed in the world of board games, it is almost a guarantee at one stage in time, you will have played CATAN.

Demoing all weekend, there are lots to see including some very special products and variants of CATAN, including the original version which everybody knows and loves, a cheeky sneak peek of the upcoming release of the 3D version, and CATAN Junior pitched for children and younger gamers looking to break into the iconic game.

All of the above games can be demoed at the booth, so if you are looking for a new variant of CATAN, or want to upgrade the one you already have – be sure to stop by!

Located immediately after the main entrance, you cannot miss the sheep! I certainly didn’t!

Have your dice betrayed you? Make sure to check out Honey Badger Games. You can throw your dice into your mouth rather than letting it fall into the clutches of your dice jail.

If you want to pick up something fun to add into your collection, pick up some edible dice or edible meeples and have fun at the tabletop.

I used to spend so much time in the library as a child, the smell of fresh books always tickled my nostrils and it still to this day fills me with nostalgia.

The smell of a fresh board game fills me with the same sentiment, so if you are looking at renting a board game for the day – be sure to sign up for a library card – where you can rent, play and of course return a plethora of board games with your friends and family.

The Board Game Library is based right next to the food hall, so you will not have far to go straight after you have filled up with nachos and hot dogs!

Want to make the most of your time at UKGE? There are lots of different live shows and events happening across the expo, whether it be a comedy experience you are interested in, a live-action text adventure with the Dark Room or some intrigue into Tom Crosbie’s magical mathematical brain in the Performing Nerd.

There is plenty to see across the weekend, so if you wanted to book in – be sure to head on over to the Events Booking table which is set up right next to the Board Game Library. There you will speak to some lovely members of staff who will take your details, and point you in the correct direction of either the Toute Suite, Main Stage or the Cartamundi Theatre (depending on what you want to see), to prepare you for your UKGE live experience.

Be sure to let us know in the comments if you visited any live events over the weekend, we would love to know what one was your favourite!

We stopped by Studio H’s Booth, looking at the upcoming cooperative story-driven board game, Oltréé.

Players will take the role of Knights in a Kingdom of peril, working as a collective in a challenging campaign experience.

Are you a creative head, and are daunted by the mathematical output which comes side-by-side with RPGs? We headed over to visit Guy Sclanders with Bounty Hunter – A TTRPG.

Promising creativity and simplicity with simple yes and no questions. Containing zero mathematics and no dice, Bounty Hunters had added alternative mechanics to ensure all different tabletop gamers (regardless of experience) can access the bountiful sci-fi universe.

Oh, how I have missed seeing cosplayers! Attendees all across UKGE have wielded their sewing needles, prepared their foam and crafted their favourite fictional characters to parade whimsically across the exhibitor halls.

There is some raw brutality happening over in Viking Villiage! Camping safely against the Pendigo Lake, playing Hnefatafl, and enjoying mead before a campfire. However, a battle has broken out against two rivalling encampments causing chaos outside the NEC.

Everybody who knows board games knows CATAN, and as one of this years’ Major Sponsors, CATAN Studio is based straight in front of the UKGE entrance pulling attendees in with some CATAN variant demos.

We headed over to the CATAN Studio booth, and took a look at the upcoming CATAN 3D, and oversee some demonstrations for the incredibly popular tabletop title, and sister games.

We headed over to the Alley Cat Games booth, to see the full extent of games that they are displaying, selling and demonstrating here at UKGE. Targeting all types of gamers, Alley Cat Games brings forward roll and writes, worker-placement, dice rolling and many more diverse titles, along with a prototype to an upcoming title Star Fighters, which will be heading to Kickstarter later in the future.

Want to check out what TTCombat has to offer at UKGE? John has taken a look around the large and diverse booth. Including releases for Dropfleet Commander, Dropzone Commander, Rumbleslam, Carnival, MDF Terrain and an eager look at their new spray paint range. If you are a fiend for event exclusive miniatures, TTCombat’s booth is a booth that you do not want to miss! 

We have come to the end of another day of coverage from the UK Games Expo. Day two has been awesome and we can’t wait to get stuck into more tomorrow. More games, more tech, more miniatures, more fun.

…maybe we’ll even get some Viking action into the mix? There is still loads that you can enjoy if you missed out on Friday and Saturday. Sunday runs from 10:00am till 16:00pm and you’ll still have a whale of a time if you can make it down.