Alright, brace yourself for a bit of a wild ride through my recent nerdy escapade. So, guess what? Contrary to what my gaming buddies might think, I do occasionally step out of my virtual lair and into the real world. Hard to believe, right? Anyway — wait, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the UK Games Expo 2025. I stumbled upon this madhouse of board games, completely intent on making sense of the chaos everyone’s been buzzing about.
Somehow, by sheer miracle or magic, I ended up at the NEC in Birmingham — you know, that place that gets invaded every June by board game fanatics. The best brains (and maybe some questionable ones, let’s be real) in the board game biz were there, flaunting shiny new treasures we hadn’t even heard of yet. Ever been to a video game expo? Imagine that but replace the consoles with game tables and dice. Mind blown — or maybe I’m just easily impressed.
Sidebar — managed not to sell my soul or my house for all the supremely tempting goodies on display. Seriously, though, if this sounds like your jam and you plan on hitting it up next year, start saving now. Like, start yesterday.
Now, let’s talk about the Buy, Sell, and Swap tent — yeah, that’s really a thing. If you’re a bargain hunter, this is your playground. I ended up with three bags of stuff — who am I kidding — treasure, and still didn’t break the bank. Note to self: time management is key, but who needs sleep when there are bargains to be had?
Oh, and Saturday took a different twist. After shopping, I headed to the Hilton, where the rest of this geeky ruckus continued. Comedy, live shows, stuff that made me laugh way too loud for public decency. Experienced some live-action nostalgia with Knightmare Live — yeah, the 80s were nuts, and so was this. I might dive deeper into that rabbit hole in another article — but don’t hold your breath.
And then the night — who knew gaming over beers with total strangers could feel this, what’s the word, wholesome? Seriously, there was even a game library at the Hilton for those unequipped. Pro tip: every town should have one.
Back to the NEC on Sunday — big mistake. Why? Because I didn’t have enough time to explore this behemoth of an expo. Seriously, so many companies, so little time. Eight hundred plus stalls, each vying for your attention. If glittery dice and gigantic gaming tables are your thing, you’d be in heaven.
Here’s a little nudge if you’re itching to go: tickets drop around Christmas, but hotels fill up faster than my excuse list for not attending social events, so act fast. Really, don’t sleep on this kind of thing — unless you want to accidentally miss out.
In short — no, wait, where was I going? Yeah, if you fancy diving deeper into the realm of board games or just want to meet new people while doing something out of the ordinary, this is your scene. I’ll be back for sure, but this time, I’m doing it right, full weekend style. And even if you’re reading this from across the pond, I’m willing to bet there’s something similar happening near you. Don’t just take my word for it — jump in and check it out for yourself!
