BOARD IN THE UK

UK Games Expo celebrates its tenth birthday in 2017, and it looks like the Birmingham-based convention plans to party in style. We round up some of the titles worth your attention

Words by Matt Jarvis

What a difference a decade makes. When the UK Games Expo first appeared ten years ago in 2007 (rather confusingly, this actually makes 2017’s event the 11th show), both the Birmingham-set event and the wider state of the tabletop industry looked very different to today. Pandemic was still a year away from changing the face of modern gaming, the word ‘crowdfunding’ had yet to enter the lexicon and board game cafes were just, well, cafes.

The inaugural UK Games Expo attracted around 1,200 visitors – an impressive number for a first-time event, but nothing compared to the more than 25,000 seen last year, which itself was close to double the number seen in 2015. In fact, 2016’s stats made UK Games Expo the fourth biggest games show in the world, behind only Essen, Gen Con and Origins – all of which have all been going for multiple decades. Outside of the hard numbers, the show has been host to British pop culture celebrities and tabletop legends from former Doctor Who Colin Baker and Red Dwarf star Chris Barrie to RPG icon Monte Cook and Games Workshop founders Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.

With all this in mind, it could still be that this year’s UK Games Expo turns out to be the biggest and best. Taking place in both the NEC and nearby Hilton hotel – which combined are nearly 30 times bigger than the 2007 show’s venue – the show will see the launch of Fantasy Flight’s new European championships and a round of the Pokémon Trading Card Game regional championships. There are plenty of other things to do and see, including the only UK date for the live classical music concert inspired by RPG Shadows of Esteren and acclaimed improvised comedy performance The MMORPG Show.

Of course, as official print media partner for the show (we were actually born at 2015’s event!), Tabletop Gaming will be there in force and we’ll round up the best of the show in August’s issue. For now, turn the page and take a look at some of the titles appearing at UK Games Expo that you shouldn’t miss.

THE CITY OF KINGS

FRANK WEST

In development for more than two years – with the artwork alone taking a year and a half to put together – The City of Kings is an ambitious fantasy coop roleplaying adventure from designer Frank West

The title is narrative-driven, telling a story for up to four players across seven campaigns that all tie together to form a cohesive world. There are some procedurally generated elements, such as a randomised map and creatures created from a set of rules, meaning that every monster is unique (West claims that more than a staggering 10 million different combinations can be formed) and requires a different approach to defeat.

Players take on the role of the leaders of the in-game Ageless Realms but, in a nice change to many epic strategy games, are trying to work together to defeat a common enemy: the armies of the evil Lord Vesh.

Each player’s character can be customised with unique talents and stats, allowing them to built a leader specialised in combat, healing, defence, worker management and more. This will come in handy as they travel around the lands, collecting resources, completing more than 100 side quests and trading their items in order to boost their hero’s strength and build new structures to help them enter Azure Rise and reclaim their home.

Combat is diceless, with deterministic attack power (an attribute of five attack always deals five damage and so on), and damage persists, making conflicts more akin to a puzzle game where damage dealt and damage taken must be carefully managed.

Having Kickstarted the game earlier this year, West will be offering playable demos of The City of Kings at the show – it’ll also give you the chance to see the game’s unbelievably gorgeous artwork in person. One to watch, for sure.