Rolling its first dice back in 2007 at the Clarendon Suites in Birmingham, when 900 gamers headed to the second city for a weekend of RPG, tabletop and more right through to 2025 when 42,000 packed out three halls at the National Exhibition Centre, UK Games Expo has been witness to the resurgence of the gaming hobby, becoming the third largest gaming convention in the world and a highlight on the UK convention calendar. Plaudits must go to the events organisers Richard Denning and Tony Hyams, who nurtured the event from those early days almost two decades ago to the mega event it is today, all the while retaining a friendly, welcoming atmosphere that encourages fans both avid and casual (like myself) to return year after year.
For me, it was my eighth visit to the event, after first attending back in 2008 and writing about it for my former site Lightsabre.co.uk (where the WizKids Star Wars Pocket Models were very much the in-thing), and later on StarWars.com focusing on the then-new Fantasy Flight Games releases. Now firmly established (and growing fast) at the NEC, our focus was still Fantasy Flight Games, but rather than Imperial Assault, Armada and the RPG game Edge of the Empire, I looked at back in 2015, this time my eyes were firmly set on Star Wars Unlimited, the new card game which is currently rolling out its fifth expansion with Legends of the Force.
Making its global debut at UK Games Expo 2025, we (we being myself and my great pal Sarah Queenan) had the chance to play a giant-size demo version of the game, which isn’t released until Friday 29th August. Put simply, it’s a fantastic game, helped massively by Sarah being an avid gamer and also by us wining our 30 minute demo by taking down two AT-AT’s, only losing one shield generator and managing to outmanoeuvre our opponents. More luck than judgement? Maybe, but how else did Han Solo last so long?
You can pre-order Battle of Hoth for £40.00, and we’ll be sure to bring a review of the game once its released later in the summer.
Elsewhere, Asmodee had a huge area set aside for Star Wars products, with demo areas for Shatterpoint (from Atomic Mass Games) and Legion (formerly from FFG, now Atomic Mass) saw games in full swing, along with some beautifully painted Shatterpoint miniatures. There are numerous expansions (many of which we stay on top of here at Fantha), so for gamers it’s a system that’s very well supported.
In addition to the games there were booths set aside for many of the gaming peripherals; matts, dice, coins, sleeves, folders and more, all uniquely designed for Star Wars. It’s quite possible to be an avid Star Wars fan and only collect materials related to these specific games, there’s so much to get. It’s fascinating, and for someone attending with the focus being on Star Wars rather than the gaming, a real eye-opener.
Beyond the galaxy, to put it simply, UK Games Expo is absolute heaven for gamers. A three-day, jam-packed, non-stop celebration of gaming, there are stalls ranging from the major players right down to numerous independent gaming companies, filling halls 2, 3, 3A and 4 of the NEC. Whatever your gaming poison might be, there’s something in the halls to satiate your needs, and gamers had competitions to occupy them throughout the show. Star Wars Unlimited ran tournaments with prizes across the weekend, while tournaments for Shatterpoint and Legion ran hot and fast.
Also, while our intrepid Fantha RPG Editor (and my friend for the last 40+ years) Jonathan Hicks was sunning himself by a pool in Santorini, he got a well-deserved shout out at the Free League panel for his work on Rapture Protocol, part of the forthcoming evolved edition of Alien: The Roleplaying Game.
I had the good fortune to sit down with Star Wars Unlimited designer John Leo to discuss the game from all angles (and from the perspective of someone who has yet to play the game). You can hear our conversation on the latest Limited Edition episode of Collecting Tracks.
As always, it was a pleasure to be able to attend such a well-run, busy, energetic and professional event, one with a tangible buzz and air of excitement that’s impossible to duplicate. Next years event will see UKGE return to the NEC over the weekend of Friday 29th – Sunday 31st May, and don’t be surprised if you spot me there carrying a large bag full of Unlimited cards.
Thanks to the PR team at Asmodee and Fantasy Flight Games for their help with our John Leo interview, and to UK Games Expo for the Press tickets.
