And that was UKGE 2025 – Day 2

With the Thursday evening done, I was buzzing to get going for the first day in the main halls. Despite convincing myself that we had no goals or agendas for this year’s Expo, that all went out the window following the Thursday night preview show. I now had a map and specific stalls we simply had to visit.

I was on a mission.

First up was heading to the wonderful folks at Folded Space. I was eager to grab a newly released insert as well as the one for our new favourite game, BOONLAKE. Unfortunately they’d not bought that specific one, so I just gragged ARCS and added GREAT WESTERN TRAIL (my wife detests sorting the numbered tiles back into the box every time).

After that, my wife turned around and immediately became besotted with a stand covered in cute stuffed animals. We now own a Capabara with an Axolotl on it’s back.

The rest of the Friday morning was our main spending day of the Expo. It was super busy, more so than some people expected. We, like others, had originally planned to spend all of Friday in the halls and then hide all day Saturday at the Hilton just playing games while the larger number of visitors swept into the NEC. But half term and some other factors meant we were caught up on the hordes.

Of course, that didn’t mean we didn’t get anything accomplished. In fact, by some miracle, it was quite the opposite. I walked into the weekend accepting the odds and knowing that I wouldn’t walk away with much of what I wanted, and I most definitely wouldn’t bump into more than a handful of folks I wanted to chat to.

Instead, I ticked off all pretty much all the purchaeses I’d hoped for, plus the extra ones we’d been interested in from the preview show. And, on top of that, we bumped into almost everyone on my list. From fellow Instagram friends and podcast hosts to a couple of YouTube celebraties, I couldn’t stop stumbling into another friendly board game chat with either someone we knew, or someone I’d finally gotten to meet in real life (like Todd of Earth Former Games fame, as well as Tom and Paul from the ‘I’m Having My One’ podcast).

As for demos, well we managed a few, but it was quite busy and slots were pretty well booked up for a lot of the games I’d have been interested in trying. However, we were lucky enough to find oppourtunites to try both CAN’T GO, a small box card game from @trywingames and recent hottness TENBY from @cosycubgames (which we immediately picked up a copy). We also got dragged into a demo for SHADOW NINJAS after I used an empty table to check my map and was told that ‘a price must be paid’.

With a lot of walking, gaming, talking, and purchasing, we eventually headed over to the Hilton where a group of fellow Instagram gamers had congregated and so we sat down with a handful of folks to play a bunch of games. We were quite tired come 10pm, but we somehow still found the energy for a late night game of THE WHITE CASTLE before heading back to our Hotel to attempt some rest (spoiler; it wasn’t the best night of sleep).

DEMOED GAMES

CAN’T GO – This is the small box card laying game from Trywin Games that I’ve heard a lot about via group meet ups and podcasts, but never actually seen in the wild and played. We were lucky enough to catch John as we passed his booth and sat down to give it ago. The first thing you’ll notice is the toilet humour; literally. CAN’T GO is a game about poo, specifically completing the largest ‘deposit’ to gain the most points. There are four cubicles at the start (though this can reduce) and these mark out lanes that the poo cards will extend from. There is a lot of theme in the mechanics here with cards being used to wipe, air spray for more points, and even an Aussie Rules token to reverse turn order when you play the game in the Southern hemisphere. Genius.

SHADOW NINJAS – We got dragged into this demo after I used an empty table to check my expo map. The price had to be paid, so we sat down with another passerby and learned this hidden movement, one versus all game in which the guard dogs are trying to stop the ninja cats reaching the fish. Each player has a bunch of double sided tokens, but only one of your tokens has your character on it. The rest are used to deceive the dogs as well as your opponents. You see, I said one versus all, but while there is only one dog player hunting all the cats, the cat players can move any cat token they choose, perhaps putting it purposely into danger. It was an okay game, though having access to fifteen face down tokens made things very confusing and I lost my character quickly. The dog player only has two tokens and the board is large enough that they could be out of reach once a player makes a break for it. The game also has player elimination and roll for movement. Probably not one I’d play again, but good for families.

TENBY – Sometimes you play a game and know right away that you’re adding it to the collection. We were eager to larn more about TENBY after our chat with the designer the night before, and we were fortunate that when we turned up, there was a demo table free. Benjie taught us the rules and it was easy to pick up. We played the full ten rounds in a close fought game. I love that every card you draft scores in some way and it’s about maximising that placement. I also really like the life ring tokens. There are dealt out a decent amount during a game allowing you to save up and have some big turns, while also stripping away cards so that other players have more limited options (that’s right, I took part in a round or two of ‘dick moves’). After we’d finished I couldn’t have stopped my wife buying a copy, even if I’d wanted to. Which, of course, I didn’t. I can see us playing this one a lot, and it’s simple enough to teach to friends and family without losing any of the crunchness.

PURCHASED GAMES

SAKANA STACK – We stumbled upon this game during the preview show and it sounded interesting. UNO meets SCOUT is the best way to describe it. The designer gave us a brief demo the night before, so we were aware of what the game entailed, and we were able to grab him briefly on the Friday to say hi and pick up a copy.

REVOLVER NOIR and IN VINO MORTE – two games I’m missing from my ButtonShy collection and two games I hesitate over every time I back another game werethese two are available as add-ons. Well, Im indecisive no more and got them both. REVOLVER NOIR looks like an interesting hidden movement game for 2-players, perfect for the wife and I. IN VINO MORTE, on the other hand has bigger player counts in mind and will be good at gatherings.

TINDERBLOX (STORM), BARBECUBES, and TIC TAC TREK – After finding ourselfs stood next to the AlleyCat Games stand I decided to just grab the recent tin game releases. We really like original TINDERBLOX and take it everywhere, so it was a no brainer to grab the water proof version. Meanwhile BARBECUBES and TIC TAC TREK are a change from the format, one offering a twist on tweezer placement, the other upping the tactics of simple Tic Tac Toe.

BLACK FOREST – Now, I understand that I could have picked this up at any time before the Expo. But after I soured on a game that was at the top of my wishlist, I wanted something else to hunt down. This had grabbed my attention months ago and so it was to be my big box purchase on the first day. And I got it for a good price too, though the one error I made was picking it up mid morning because it’s a heavy box to lug around for hours on end (RIP the bag if game in, for it did not survive the day). Very much looking forward to sitting down and learning this one.

TENBY – (see previous section)

TATSU (TRAVEL EDITION) – This is easily one of our favourite 2-player only games. When I popped over to the Gen42 stand to ask John Yanni to sign my copy of HIVE, we got talking and he mentioned the travel version of TATSU had just been released. Ten seconds later and I’ve grabbed a copy, got my debit card out, and have the designer of one of my favourite games holding a card reader out for me. Surreal moment and a highlight of the weekend.

SAIL – One of the other games off of my wishlist, this 2-player only co-op trick taking game has interested me for a while with it’s captivating gameplay and distinct art style. Not only did I end up getting a copy, by the seller asked if I wanted the mini expansion as well as the wooden upgrade pieces. Of course I did! Take my money.

PLAYED GAMES

After spending the morning shopping we were in need of food and somewhere to sit down. After our late lunch we decided to just chill in the open gaming area and grab some games from the library. While there we were joined by our friend Jenny (@board.game.family.uk) and spent a couple of hours playing some relaxing games.

NOCTILUCA – This game is great, and a bit of a hidden gem. A game designed by the legendary Shem Phillips, it’s super thinky (AP players need not apply) while also being super chill. Place your marker and then draft dice of the same value from a single row of dice. Then use the colours of the dice to complete your jars. It’s a game we don’t often get to play at more than two so it was nice to enjoy it with a third player.

MILLI FIORI – One of our favourite games, we decided to teach Jenny this one as it’s quiet easy to explain. It can sometimes be disheartening for new players as points can come think and fast, leading to some players looking like they are really far out infront (at one point early on, my wife was on the other side of the board to Jenny and I). But we swapped the lead between us several times before the end and it was a really close finish. I missed not having the expansion, but when it’s more than 2-player, the base game works pretty well on it’s own.

FRUTTI DI MARE: VENI, VIDI, ANTIPASTI! – Back during UKGE 2022, this was a random game that my wife picked from the library based soley on it’s box cover. She was determined to play it again all weekend, so when I returned the previous game and saw this on the self, I knew she’d be over the moon. It was thoughest teach as I’d only played it that one time, three years ago, but it wasn’t long before our armies of sea creatures were marching across the plate of pasta to dominate and place a King on the throne. The early game was about ironing out the rules, but by the end it was a tight battle for control that my wife won thanks to some clever tactics and postioning.

After dinner we headed to the Hiton for some more open gaming and ended up sat sown with Gareth (@ice_n-dice-games), Erlijne (@mostly.solo), and Cassie (@spookymeeples) for the rest of the evening.

SKULL – A great ice breaker (as we’d only played games with Cassie previously), I taught / refreshed everyone and we were off. It was a great game as we all got to learn each others play styles. My wife keept consistant with her aggressive style and regularly raising of the bet, causing everyone to drop out, all while no one seemed to trust my pile of mats (and rightly so). It was a really fun game.

TRIO – We went down to four players and got in a couple of rounds of this easy to learn card game. I did dreadfully the first two games, not even getting any matches. But then we were informed of a small rules error we’d made, and I came back strong in the final game for my first ever victory of TRIO.

THE WHITE CASTLE – We discussed heading back to our hotel at 10pm. So it’s odd that we found ourselves packing up THE WHITE CASTLE at around 11pm. It was a good three player game (another one we rarely play higher than 2), but it was my first time playing with the board upside down. The ammusing side effect of this was that it confused my brain enough for me to forget my lantern actions for the first three turns due to the left end of the bridges appearing right for me. Such a funny mistake, i was not surprised that I came last by quite a bit. Never has board orientation cost me so much.

And that was the end of a very successful Friday at UKGE 2025. With our plans for the next day involving more gaming at the Hilton with only a potential short visit to the halls in the afternoon, we headed back to our Hotel once again to attempt a recharge.

(continue on to Saturday)