Top 10 Games: UK Games Expo 2018

It’s here at last! That most wonderful time of the year: the UK Games Expo! The biggest board game convention in the UK and roughly tied with Origins for size, the UKGE is a wonderful coming together of all the UK’s board game talent without being overwhelmingly large. Of course, it continues to grow year on year. For the first time the trade hall reaches out into a second hall of the NEC. Only just mind, but that is still a psychologically big step!

With so many publishers and retailers filling the halls with tables of games to buy and try, how can you hope to find the most interesting games? Well, there are two fantastic resources you can use to help you put together a plan:

1. The UKGE games geeklist run by Slickerdrips himself, Tom Heath.
2. The Tabletop Together tool where you can rate your interest in all the games in the above geeklist and make print outs for yourself and all manner of extra tools

Or, since you’re here, you can let me do the hard work for you and pick out some of the games I consider the most exciting! Below are the 10 games I’m most keen in demoing or getting hold of. I’ve excluded expansions, and I’ve unsurprisingly got a strong bias to the new and upcoming titles on show. After all, that’s the exciting side of these conventions!

As a bonus, I’ve also made a list of 5 games that I expect might be perfect con games to try out in the trade halls – quick, light games that will be focussing on laughs and a degree of chaos!

Enjoy the list and if you see me there, be sure to say hi!

10 – Mr Cabbagehead’s Garden

Have you ever wanted to be left alone to get on with something!? Then you’ll feel a great deal of sympathy for Mr Cabbagehead, who just wants to tend his garden in peace. Unfortunately, he has the worst neighbours in the world who just pop by to help themselves to his vegetables! Which is slightly disturbingly close to cannibalism but hey! It’s a uniquely themed solo game with the most bizarrely charming art. One that should absolutely be checked out.

Mr Cabbagehead’s Garden will be available to demo at the Ludicreations booth 1-J8.

9 – Microbrew

The ever growing microbrewery industry comes under the spotlight in this very micro game. Fermenting in a small tin, Microbrew presents a tiny two-player worker placement game which is a super cute option for slipping into a bag and cracking out to fill a gap on game days. Combining a spot of worker placement with a little spacial puzzle in your brewhouse to craft the right shapes and hops for your discerning customers.

Microbrew will be available from One Free Elephant, booth 1-J7.

8 – Ominoes Hieroglyphs

Ominoes is an old favourite of mine, although I’ll forgive you for not knowing it. From a small UK publisher, Ominoes is a fun, ridiculous, abstract dice game that you definitely owe it to yourself to try out. Ominoes Hieroglyphs, then, is a new title in this line, based on a core of tile laying. Needless to say I’m very excited to try this one out but details are very thin on the ground. There wasn’t even a BGG page up at the time of writing.

Ominoes Hieroglyphs will be available to demo and buy in limited numbers from Yay! Games, booth 1-J9.

7 – Tales of the Northlands: Sagas of Noggin the Nog

Unless you’re a British man of a certain age, you might not know of Noggin the Nog. I can’t blame you, I hadn’t heard of it either! But you don’t need to be perfectly versed in old children’s TV series from the UK to enjoy a unique and special cooperative game that has been getting an intriguing bit of traction recently amongst certain media folks. Especially those of the heavy variety. Be sure to keep an eye out for this one.

Tales of the Northlands: Sagas of Noggin the Nog will be available to demo at A-Muse-Ment 1-J12.

6 – Villagers

A new Kickstarter title, Villagers sits in classic board gaming territory: build the medieval village! But it’s classic for a reason, prime Euro engine building real estate and a good implementation is a treat to experience. Villagers has certainly caught my eye, in no small part due to its lovely minimalist aesthetic!

Villagers is available to demo at Sinister Fish Games, booth 1-G3.

5 – Chocolate Factory

Chocolate Factory is only one of several games I’m rather interested in trying over at the Alley Cat Games booth, who seem to have a huge catalogue of games available. Coral Islands, Pocket Sub and Pharma, and of course Dice Hospital which I got to try out last year. But Chocolate Factory is the game I picked to represent them because, come on, chocolate! Also it’s the deepest, tastiest of the Euros to sink your teeth into, and that’s what I like best, and it’s by those sweet fellows Brett Gilbert and Matt Dunston, two of Britain’s best designers! I’m sure Willy Wonka would be proud.

Chocolate Factory, and the other Alley Cat Games, will be available to demo at booth 1-B6.

4 – Chronicles of Crime

Chronicles of Crime is a real showcase of how to integrate technology with board games. Requiring an app and smartphone to play, players can explore virtual crime scenes using the included VR case and said smartphone. Think Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective with VR and downloadable content! Super interesting, so expect this one to be busy…

Chronicles of Crime will be on show at Lucky Duck Games, booth 1-H26.

3 – Blight Chronicles: Agent Decker

This unassuming title and not hugely inspiring cover contains a very intriguing solo game. The game engine behind the very clever Superhot card game, with a ton more theme and story. You are now the brilliant spy Agent Decker breaking into secret bases and the like in a series of missions with branching storylines that play into the deck you are building as you play through them. I got to play a very brief demo of this on a earlier prototype and it got me very interested!

Blight Chronicles: Agent Decker will be available at the Board & Dice, booth 1-K2.

2 – Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr

What an exceptional premise! Holding On sees you as doctors caring for a terminally ill patient, trying to help him come to terms with his difficult past before he dies. There is nothing in board gaming that has attempted something quite so meaningful before. It is fantastic that we are finally seeing designers explore more interesting and meaningful topics.

Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr will be available to demo from Hub Games, booth 2-E2.

1 – Century: Eastern Wonders

I almost feel disappointed in myself for following sheepishly after the crowd and putting this top, especially after I was not fully sold on last year’s Spice Road edition. But it was so close and I’m hoping fervently that Eastern Wonders offers just enough extra depth to make it the game I wanted Spice Road to be. The fact that it also combines with Spice Road is a fantastic selling point and I can’t wait to see how that works!

Century: Eastern Wonders will be available from Asmodee, booth 1-C10.

 

Top 5 Silly Games to Play at the Convention

Tired of waiting for hour long demos to clear or feeling a bit overwhelmed by the big titles on show? Perhaps it’s time for a light refresher courtesy of these fun titles!

5 – Big Bazar

Definitely a kids orientated game so wasn’t going to make the main list, but such games are often perfect for silly demo fun! Big Bazar is at its core a snap variant, like Jungle Speed or Dobble, but rather than a dexterity challenge to resolve matches, you must shout out the feature of your card that matches the current condition. Watching anyone try and say accurate things under pressure is always going to end in hilarity.

Big Bazar is available from Coiledspring Games, booth 1-B18.

4 – Bad Medicine

A party game in the fine tradition of Funemployed and taking an appropriate swing at drug manufacturers, Bad Medicine should certainly raise a laugh or two! Each player represents a drug company pitching a new drug to combat the effects of whatever is this rounds malady. Unfortunately for them, they will only discover the side effects of these drugs mid-presentation as other players pass them in. Best do your best to downplay those!

Bad Medicine will be available from Formal Ferret Games, booth 2-F2.

3 – Pixit

Race to recreate simple pixelated images from black and white patterned cubes. That’s it! Incredibly simple but with the right amount of frantic, dexterity based nonsense that always makes for a fun 15 minute distraction. It’s also from UK designer David Mortimer, and I always want to try and support the UK industry!

Pixit is available from Gibsons, booth 1-B20.

2 – Go Nuts for Donuts

You can’t go wrong with donuts. Pick the one you want! But don’t pick the same one as someone else or it gets lost in the squabble. It all sounds quite similar to one of our favourites, Crossing. With, that is, extra sets and powers and a little more complexity, which might or might not make it even better. Damn sure going to be a fun half hour nevertheless!

Go Nuts for Donuts is available from Coiledspring Games, booth 1-B18.

1 – 5 Minute Chase

5 minutes is the perfect silly, convention demo game length and who doesn’t like a game of cops and robbers? 5 Minute Chase sees one team of players racing to catch the other team of players, all using the same tiles and tokens. I anticipate chaos, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for here!

5 Minute Chase will be available at the Board & Dice, booth 1-K2.

 

Live Podcast

Hope you’ve enjoyed these lists and found something you want to check out! Before you go, let me just drop a reminder about the live podcast recording I’m going to be a part of! On the Friday night, 9pm, in the NEC’s Toute Suite, I’m joining Paul of Gaming Rules!, Edward from Heavy Cardboard, and Tom from Slickerdrips to chat about the games we’ve tried out so far, and chat to some special guests! Check out the advert below for more info!