UKGE 2024 – it’s a wrap

UKGE

So I’m back home. Bags in the house but not unpacked. Reunited with the two attack chihuahuas Nico and Loki. So it’s time to reflect on this years expo.

One thing I hate about the UKGE isn’t the show itself, and this stands even for cons I don’t attend also. Is the flood of haul photos that hit social media once attendees start arriving home.

I get it. They are excited about their purchases, and want to share with the world what they got. I’m happy for them. No I really am.

The issue I have is it can come across as a bit insensitive to those unable to attend or afford such a haul. This has been the first and last UKGE where I haven’t been on a very limited budget. And it can make you feel a bit bad seeing all the hauls. Yes it’s a me thing. But I’d be surprised if others don’t feel that way.

Those board game content creators that go often put out a video of their hauls. Which is basically them saying “look at how much free stuff I got”. They buy the odd game. But the majority of the stuff is free from the publishers. I really do hate those videos. It’s boasting. I don’t like it.

This is why I’m not going to share photos of everything I bought or list everything. I’ll mention one or two games if I think they have an interesting story from the expo to justify mentioning them.

I don’t like talking about my acts of random kindness. However I will this one because it explains poorly how I ended up with three copies of Moving Wild!

I ended up with two copies of Moving Wild by Oink games on day 1 of the expo. Ben had picked me one up (at my request) but before I had seen his text saying he’d got it I had picked a copy up with Scout.

When I mentioned it on Twitter/X my friend Gavin claimed it. But I felt bad I hadn’t given it to someone on the Facebook group Board Game Trading & Chat UK.

So day 2 I bought a third copy! Along with a copy of Rafter Five as I picked up a copy of Maskmen for Ben. I then posted on Board Game Trading & Chat UK saying that I’d chose one lucky person not able to attend the expo to win both games and the promo meeple. All they had to do was leave a comment on the post.

Later in the day I was walking pass the Oink stand and noticed the designer of Moving Wild Chris Priscott was coming to the end of his signing spell on the stand. There was no queue and I thought that having the copy I was giving away signed by the designer would be a rather cool surprise for whoever got it. So I got Chris to sign the copy. Sadly my own copy was sitting in a box in the shop & drop. Yes I could have kept the signed copy. But that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do.

It will be interesting to see how long it is before the person that won the game notices the surprise.

Even after selecting a winner I felt bad. I would have loved to have been able to send all entrants a copy. Sadly I’m not a super rich person.

Before the expo had started I had arranged to buy a well played copy of the 2011 out of print Gears of War board game by FFG. It was much cheaper and affordable than a good quality one, which often goes for nearly £400. The exchange of plastic and cardboard for paper went smoothly. I had also agreed to do a similar thing for Marcin because a couple of people he was buying from were at the expo on the days he wasn’t. The shop & drop is important for these sort of deals so you aren’t carrying them around all day.

When I was gaming with Charlene and Diego on the bank holiday Monday, Charlene mentioned that there was a card game of the game I was talking about. A day later could I remember what game it was? Nope. Nor could Charlene. But dang when I was browsing the stalls at the expo and saw the Gears of War card game it instantly clicked thus was the game Charlene had mentioned.

My highlight of the show has to be the people/friends I met and gaming with them.

On the first day of the expo I got to play some games with Harrison and Ben. Which was great fun. Life has meant Ben and I haven’t been able to play anything for a while. So to be able to sit down and play some new to me games such as Robotrick and Charms was great fun. We had a blast lots of Banter, and a very funny fact about Ben came to light.

Day two say me playing an Inventors of the South Tigris with Sarah and Luke. Sorry can’t remember their friends name who was also playing. I think I held my own in the game seeing as I was the only one who hadn’t played any of the previous games in the series. Then got to do the Yonder demo with them later in the day. I really liked Yonder and will be backing it when it hits Kickstarter. It was a half hour demo that flew by. I was wanting to play more of the game.

In the evening Charlene invited me to join her family for the evening meal, and then playing some games back at the hotel with them. That was a great evening. Although I will say I hadn’t been to Nando’s for a couple of decades, and their extra hot sauce is not hot. I felt it was more salty than anything. They definitely hadn’t used reapers or scorpions for the extra hot sauce.

The last day of the show I managed to rope Colin into doing the Star Wars Unlimited demo with me so I could get a play set of the Grogu promo card. There was a pleasant surprise because not only did we get the promo I wanted. But the demo person also gave us each a promo card of the leader we were playing.

For two days I bumped into my friend Jamie. I hadn’t seen him for a few months. So it was good to catch up briefly. He did tell me about the games shop in March running a weekly Star Wars Unlimited event on a Sunday. Which works great for me because that is normally my day off.

Fenland Gamers Annual Expo Photo

This year I returned to the Fort Dunlop Travelodge for my accommodation. I went with the standard plus room, that includes the Wi-Fi and a coffee machine, and paid for the all you could eat buffet breakfast. My room was on the tenth floor and had a great view.

Obviously I took some bacon and sausages with me to the expo, along with a couple of sachets of ketchup and mayo from the buffet. This was my filling for the wraps I had with me. That was lunch taken care of for the day.

Ok I ate at the hotel Thursday evening, and with Charlene and family Saturday. Which meant Friday night saw me sitting on a bench outside the hotel with my peak ignition stove(the pizo ignition no longer working), titanium pot, and 6 bean chilli. Apparently the hotel staff had found it humorous that I had done this. Hey I had an awesome chilli.

I thought this worked well, and sets up camping for the expo another year really well.

I hadn’t really gone to the expo with any particular aims or games to get. The plan was to take things as they came. The only organised thing, a first for me was the game and demo with Sarah. However I enjoy the freedom of having no real plans.

I had a great expo, missed Jonathan not being there. But understand why. Looking forward to next year. Time to start planning.

And now lots of photos to end the post with.

My 3 day pass collected
Middle Ages
Inventors of the South Tigris
First day ticket collection
Lorcana
My room view
My 10th floor view
Middle Ages
One of the many competitions going on at the expo
Courtisans
Yonder
Moving Wild
Thursday night tea
Yonder
Moving Wild
Courtisans
Found my chilli eating spot
Middle Ages
Courtisans
Out in July
Happy I got the For the Queen promos
Loved this playmat
6 bean chilli
Yonder
My massive photo bomb of expo photos

UPDATE: forgot to add the organisers released the attendance figures for this year. Can’t remember last years figures. But I’m guessing by the organisers statement this is the highest attended yet.

May 2024 games played

bgstat, by the numbers, gaming stats, stats

At the start of the month I was a bit down on my lack of gaming opportunities for the month ahead.

But as George Formby’s catch phrase goes “turned out nice again” (this really does age me. Growing up back in the day on the whole 3 channels that we had his movies were regularly shown).

3×3 of top 9 games played in May

In reality this was three gaming sessions and a chance to play some games with Ben at the expo.

Two thirds of the games played this month were new to me. That’s pretty high. Five of the games were trick takers. I like Ben do enjoy a good trick taking game.

My bgstats for the month

I’m hoping June will be a back to normal. But we are now entering that time of year of Summer holidays. So the next couple of months might be just as barren on the gaming opportunities.

The Road to UKGE 2024 #7

UKGE

With the expo kicking off Friday and my expo experience starting tomorrow. This will be the last Road to post of 2024.

In something very out of the norm for me I’m actually prebooked on a demo for the boardgame Yonder. I know absolutely nothing about the game except that it’s by the favourite designer of Sarah (Boardgames in a Minute) Haakon Garder. Sarah very kindly invited me to join her on the demo and handled the booking.

Earlier on the same day I’ll be playing Inventors of South Tigris with Sarah and Luke Hector (Broken Meeple). So it looks like finally I’ll get to not only meet Luke in real life but play a game with him.

I’m also going to be picking up a couple of games at the expo. Marcin and I have both bought games before even stepping foot in the halls of the expo. That’s the danger of For Sale posts with collection at the expo going up on the Facebook groups. I’ve managed to get a well loved copy of the Gears of War boardgame. There is no way I could have afforded one in much better condition. The money they go for is ridiculous, well over a couple hundred quid.

I’ve also decided I’ll be using my Markill Peak Ignition gas stove to heat up my evening meal of 6 bean chilli. It could have been my og Jetboil but I wanted the flexibility of which pot I use. Which I haven’t decided yet.

Right next post will be me at the expo.

Playing with monsters!

Game day

I actually got to play some games today.

Very generously Charlene had offered to host a gaming afternoon at her house on this bank holiday Monday (in the UK).

I had picked up Diego on the way.

When we got there Diego revealed what a monster he is, and had been hiding it for all these years.

How did Diego reveal his dark side?

He was offered a cup of tea. He wanted brown sugar in it, but had to settle for white. What monster has brown sugar in tea? Coffee yes. But tea? NO! It’s just wrong.

We started our game day off with a game of Five Tribes. The last time I played this according to bgstats is July 2017. That’s way too long a gap to have left it sitting on the shelf.

Despite getting my butt handed to me by Diego and Charlene, I had a great time playing Five Tribes. Like all the games sitting on my shelves it deserves to see the table much more often than it does.

Our second game of the day was First Rat. But this time we went with the gamer side of the board with the variable tile setup.

For First Rat Charlene’s son Archie joined us. Even having the extra player in the game didn’t help and I still came last (by a single point).

I do like First Rat. And I particularly like this variable setup option. I like that it keeps the game fresh, and each play a different problem to solve.

During First Rat we broke for pizza that Charlene had very generously ordered.

Our third game was For the Queen, the storytelling card game.

I really like how the setup and learning the rules involves everyone. It is very dependent on the group playing it. You need players who like role playing, improve, making stories up. Otherwise those taking part may not enjoy the game or might take the shine off the experience for others.

We had a blast. Our story had a brown sugar vs white sugar in tea plot, with the cards falling for Charlene to imply but never confirmed relationship between Charlene and the Queen that turned sour with Charlene betraying the Queen.

Thankfully the final vote was 2-1 to save the Queen.

Our final game was the card game 5 Towers. A bidding game where you are bidding to draft cards to build 5 towers.

It was light but fun, and quick.

After losing once more it emerged that Charlene is not a milk first person when it comes to making tea. I was playing with another monster!

You think you know someone then they reveal this dark side.

I had a great day playing with these two monsters. A big thank you to Charlene for hosting and the pizza.

Back to the hills – planning and navigating

#backtothehills, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors

An important and fun part of any trip out into the hills or any walk is the planning. Unless you are using a published walk by someone else whether it’s from a book, magazine, website, or app. Then following on from the planning when you are actually out on the route you have the fun activity of navigating the route.

This post is all about the tools I use for both planning my routes and whilst out on the hill.

“Not all who wander are lost”, J. R. R. Tolkien, “The Riddle of Strider”, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

And yes I’m taking an often used select quote from LoTR. Why wouldn’t I being a massive Tolkien fan. The big surprise is that it’s not in the posts title. But I think that’d be stepping over some imaginary line and too tacky and predictable.

The most obvious place to start is with a map. I’m refreshing my maps (not all of them at once obviously, just the ones in areas I will be walking in initially) with new OS Maps. These now come with digital download codes! So going to the OS website you can redeem the code to get the map as a download in the official OS app. I love this. I don’t have to subscribe to their service, and I can browse the map on my iOS devices at work or home. So at the moment I’ve not used the OS app in anger to plan a route. I’ve also not looked at alternatives (which I assume will cost money as well). Thoughts on the OS app will be the subject of a future post I’m sure. In the meantime this is a great little bonus to buying the map. My preference is the 1:50k Landranger but I also get the 1:25k Explorer as and when I think it’s more appropriate. Although I do like the Harvey water resistant hiker maps at 1:40k for areas like the Lakes or Brecon Beacons.

I actually splashed out on a new compass, and got the Silva Compass 5. This is a feature rich compass. It has the all the standard stuff you expect on a compass such as romas, rulers, magnifying lens, etc. However it also has luminous markings, a detachable distance lanyard with scales to measure longer distances, and a built in permanent adjuster for magnetic declination. It comes with a Slope card that helps assess avalanche risk, slopes and extra distance.

Being able to navigate especially in poor weather conditions is an important skill to have. One of those skills to aid this is pacing. To aid in keeping an accurate count of my paces taken I got some Coopers Bay Pace Count Beads.

Both the compass and pace count beads will be kept on the belt in an old Satmap gps case I have for easy access and safe keeping.

My routes and notes will be written in a Rite in the Rain Waterproof Paper Universal Pocket Top Wire Bound Spiral Notebook. Obviously the size and being waterproof is a big factor in getting this particular notebook. Having rulers and measurement conversion tables on the inside back cover is a handy addition.

I will be keeping the notepad in a Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Cordura Fabric Notebook Cover (I have a spare one of these if anyone wants one, first person to comment/contact me gets it). This will also have pens, pencils, the Silva slope card, timing card, and protractor in.

The Clear Half Round Shape Plastic 0-360 Degrees Protractor Map Reading Measuring Tool is the degree version of the mills one I have. Mainly used in planning and saving me have to convert between mills and degrees for bearings.

Silva Compass 5 & Coopers Bay Pace Count Beads
Rite in the Rain Waterproof Paper Universal Pocket Top Wire Bound Spiral Notebook & a mechanical pencil & couple of pens
Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Cordura Fabric Notebook Cover & Aquapac Small Waterproof Map Case
Garmin eTrex 32x gps
Clear Half Round Shape Plastic 0-360 Degrees Protractor
Navigators Timing Card & Silva Slope card

The map needs protecting from the elements and to do this I have an Aquapac Small Waterproof Map Case.

Being lazy and not wanting to do any maths I got a Navigators Timing Card from ShavenRaspberry.com. Handy when planning to get a rough idea of how long the route might take. But even handier on the trail when needing to work out timings for a leg of the route or even a route adjustment quickly.

Garmin eTrex 32x gps. I needed a new gps. I’ve not been able to locate my old Satmap gps. Now even though I have this its main use will be to give me a precise location to confirm on my map that I am where I think I am. And possibly have a digital copy of the route on it. But to do that will need me to use mapping software of some kind. And I’ve not spent any time investigating current options, especially for the iPad.

My iPhone! If I’m using this for navigation then things have gone pretty pear shaped. Somehow I’ve lost all of the above.

A rant!

But these two gadgets bring me onto a rant about outdoors YouTubers. Maybe I’m watching the wrong ones. But you very rarely see them use a map and compass. Instead you do see them use their mobile device with some sort of navigation/map app. Giving the impression that’s all you need, and that’s all they are using.

Since the appearance of affordable (subjective I know) gps technology for the public the critism has always been that technology fails. So you don’t rely on it solely. You need a map and compass. And just importantly know how to use them.

It’s a valid point.

Yes technology improves. Battery life increases, etc.

However if something happens to the phone/gps, gets dropped, wet, battery dies, or some other unfortunate event. You are stuffed. Depending when this happens it could be dangerously so.

Yes maps and compasses also have weaknesses.

I’m a fan of a belt and braces approach. Use the map and compass as your main navigation tool, and have the gps/phone as your backup. Use them as a tool alongside the map. Just don’t rely on them being your main or sole navigation tool.

But this isn’t what these YouTubers show. You see no map. No compass. You see them using just their phone. So not even a dedicated gps. You don’t even see any disclaimer telling people not to use just a phone etc. Which I think is shocking.

What do you think of my navigation toolkit or my rant? Let me know in the comments below.

The Road to UKGE 2024 #6

UKGE

Despite having hundreds of games for sale, plus a games library. I like many others will be taking games with them to the expo!

One of the games I plan to take is my latest arrival (as in it came this morning) For the Queen.

This storytelling card game has been a “grail game” of mine for a while. It’s been out of print for a while, and hard to get hold of.

Luckily Darrington Press (the publishing arming of the Critical Roll cult of Mercer) got their hands on it rights and have just published a second edition with updated art, and question text.

I have to say for a card game the production quality is phenomenal. I really love the art.

It really is a size where it can be kept in a bag all the time ready to be played at a moments notice.

So I’m hoping that whilst at the expo I can get it to the table.

The 3 by 3 below shows my current leanings of games to take along with me.

Obviously it doesn’t show my box of dice, deck of cards, to play games such as Ship, Captain, Crew or LCR. It should be a given that will be with me.

I’ve tried to go with games that are small, quick to teach and play, plus if possible support a group of players. Although there are a couple that are two player.

Whilst at the expo I will post about which games actually did make it.

The Road to UKGE 2024 #5

UKGE

With only approximately two weeks left until UKGE is upon us I did something I haven’t done in a long time. I pre-booked my tickets.

I don’t know why.

There is no benefit buying them in advance. No early bird discount. You still have to queue to get your ticket when you arrive.

Maybe it’s because I was feeling a bit low about the whole thing.

I knew Ben was no longer going due to reasons. Reasons that were totally understandable and relatable. I’ve been in that situation myself.

Then Jonathan who also seems to be not as enthusiastic as he once was (I don’t know how else to describe it) about gaming and the expo, has decided he will not be going. The expo was a father daughter thing for him. A shared experience they both enjoyed. This year would have been the first year that that would not be true, with his daughter still being at uni. I totally understand.

Strangely for me the show has been a social thing, over a gaming or purchasing thing. I rarely spend (or had the funds) to buy lots of games at the expo. My visits have always been on a very tight budget, and trying to get the maximum bang for my restricted budget.

I rarely do the open gaming. I still don’t get that side of the expo or even expos like Airecon, where gaming is the main focus. Why travel all that way, with the associated expense of tickets, accommodation, etc. to play games with your friends? And let’s face it the majority of folks there are playing games with the people they went there with. Why not save the money and time and just play games at home?

Last year I met Sarah of Board Games in a Minute. Sarah came all the way from the US to go to the expo. She’s a really cool and kind person. Hey anyone who feeds and provides shelter for “wild” cats is pretty cool in my book.

Sarah is returning to the expo this year, so I’m hoping that we can get a chance to play a game at the expo. Or at least catch up, talk about the expo and what games caught our attention.

Last year I didn’t get a chance to meet Luke Hector of Broken Meeple fame irl. So hopefully that can happen this year. I’d love to play a game or two with him as well.

Now I know Luke and Sarah are YouTube content creators and this all sounds very fanboy like etc. I rarely do this content creator cult of personality thing. There are some that are so head stuck up their own arse, clicky. Luke and Sarah are not like that. Which is probably why I like them as content creators and people.

Sadly it’s looking unlikely my friend, game creator, and all round really nice guy Byron will make the expo. Health problems are throwing a spanner in the works on that front. Which is a shame, but I do wish him a speedy recovery.

Although I’ve not gone specifically with anyone to the show. But with my friends there it feels that I have. We bump into each other, arrange to meet up, maybe try a game demo, etc.

So with two of my good friends not there. I’m not sure how the expo will be this year.

It does seem that the majority of Fenland Gamers and friends will be at the expo on the Sunday. So that day may feel more like the expo for me.

Yeah, yeah. How can the expo be a social thing for me? How can I talk fondly about meeting people and enjoying my time with them, and even missing them?

I know. I don’t see myself as a social person, or people person. But somehow it’s something I enjoy when it comes to gaming! I suppose in a future post we can explore this dichotomy. A look into the warped world view and mind of Darren. That’s a very scary thought.

For now you just have to accept that this sociopath both enjoys these social interactions and will miss those not going.

UPDATE: Ben is now attending the Friday. So it will be great to see him there and catch up. Life for both of us has conspired to get in the way of us playing games. It’s been too long.

Brief Life Update

life, the universe, and everything, still alive

It would appear that I’m on another long nine day shift pattern of just surviving with the pay off being three back to back days off.

Three days off that allow me to go to the next Fenland Gamers club night.

Once again I will try to maximise my gaming opportunities for those three days. Although I’m not holding my breath, that I will be successful.

So like things are already, my postings may be a bit more erratic with long pauses of silence between posts.

Oh and 21 days until UKGE.

Mech on Mech

Battletech, Battletech Alpha Strike, Game day

Saturday saw Diego and myself squeeze in a couple of learning games of BattleTech using the Alpha Strike ruleset.

Bank holiday traffic had made getting to Diego’s gaff a nightmare.

Our first game was the first scenario from the quick start rules, using the suggested mech teams from the Alpha Strike starter set.

This starting scenario is basically last man standing with the only scenery used being trees.

Which makes sense for a first game. Keep it simple whilst learning the rules.

Keeping to the spirit of keeping things simple we used the 3D printed woods templates printed for me by Duncan to represent woods on the tabletop. They looked pretty cool.

In this game I was the attacker with two mechs. Whilst Diego was the defender with four mechs.

I did take out two of Diego’s mechs before the numbers worked in his favour and I was defeated.

Game two used all the mechs in the starter set. It was Diego defending again with two lances against my attacking lance.

Instead of buildings we used the 3D hills I had bought to use with the game. Time was a consideration. We didn’t have long before I had to leave for work. So putting together the cardboard buildings would have eaten into that scare playtime.

Before I had to leave I had taken out two of Diego’s mechs to him eliminating one of mine. So a moral victory for me I think.

I liked how the two intro scenarios slowly introduced you to the rules of the game, but not all of them.

Plus as starter sets go there is a lot here to play with for beginners. I like it. Great value.

As for Alpha Strike itself. I liked it a lot. It has just about the right level of complexity for me. Especially on the combat side. Not sure I’d want to play with the optional rule on multiple dice rolls for damage.

Once you get used to the flow for calculating your target number it becomes very second nature.

Can’t wait to get to the table again and get my revenge on Diego.

Gaming forecast for May looking bleak

life, the universe, and everything, still alive

If I was a tv weather person I’d be predicting that the month of May would be a washout. That is how the month a head is looking for me gaming wise.

It’s possible that I’ll have played less games than during lockdown!

Looking at the discord events for the Sunday gaming I’m the only person down to play. So has this fizzled out?

Obviously nothing is happening on a Tuesday at the moment.

The only planned gaming is this Saturday with Diego. Which I think will be a BattleTech Alpha Strike game. And that’s it.

Will the Friday at the UKGE be me going round all sad and desperate begging people to play games with me? Trying to make that last minute attempt to squeeze some gaming in for the month.

Oh well let’s see if the prediction is accurate.