# UK Games Expo

UK Games Expo (UKGE) is a tabletop-game convention and trade fair held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.
UK Games Expo (UKGE) is the largest Hobby Games Convention in the UK First held in 2007, the event is now held annually at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham and currently hosts over 39,000 guests.
UKGE features a range of exhibitors, events, open games, demos, and tournaments including the UK Carcassonne Championship, and the UK Agricola Championship.
All forms of tabletop games are represented at the event including board games, role-playing games, card games and war games. Organisers each year also hold the UKGE Awards with two categories, the People's Choice Awards as voted on by attendees of the event and the Judges Choice Awards.

## History

The UK Games Expo was first held in 2007, organised by Richard J. Denning and Tony Hyams. Apart from 2020 the event has grown year on year and in 2024 had over 65,000 daily participations, making it the largest tabletop games event in the UK and the third largest in the world. (In 2020 the event was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event returned in person in 2021 with additional restrictions. In 2022 the event was restored to full capacity, and in 2024 it broke exhibitor and attendance records from 2023.
In 2008, the expo hosted the official launch of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition in the UK.
Show features at UK Games Expo:
* “One of” the World's Largest Bring & Buys.
* More than 650 exhibitors.
* Live entertainment.
* Tournaments and national events in a variety of game systems.
* Seminars.
* 2500+ Open Gaming seats.
* Cosplay and Living History Village.
* Dedicated Family Zone.
Special Guests at previous UK Games Expo include:
* Luke Gygax
* Sir Ian Livingstone
* No Rolls Barred
* The Dice Tower
* Shut Up and Sit Down
* No Pun Included
* Alex Kammer
* Tim Hutchings
* Simon Fisher-Becker
* Ben Aaronovitch
* Alex Yeager
* Chris Barrie
* John Robertson
* Kenny Baker

### Attendance

Attendance figures released by the organizers are published each year in their exhibitor pack.
| Year | Uniques | Attendance |
| 2007 | 900 | 1,200 |
| 2008 | 1,200 | 2,000 |
| 2009 | 1,800 | 2,500 |
| 2010 | 2,000 | 2,700 |
| 2011 | 2,455 | 3,585 |
| 2012 | 2,879 | 4,046 |
| 2013 | 3,538 | 5,805 |
| 2014 | 5,805 | 9,919 |
| 2015 | 7,162 | 13,971 |
| 2016 | 12,636 | 25,149 |
| 2017 | 16,500 | 30,698 |
| 2018 | 21,700 | 39,000 |
| 2019 | 25,704 | 45,097 |
| 2020 (online) | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | 10,671 | 18,430 |
| 2022 | 23,163 | 39,527 |
| 2023 | 31,117 | 52,888 |
| 2024 | 39,306 | 65,281 |

## UK Games Expo Awards

Each year the show awards the UKGE Awards which are split into two broad categories: The People’s Choice, which are voted on by expo attendees, and the Judge’s Choice, which are voted on by invited judges or delegates. UKGE rewards different game styles, including abstract games, strategic games, party games and more, as well as expansions, accessories, role-playing games, novelties, etc.

## People’s Choice Award

| Year | Best Board Game (Euro) | Best Board Game (Strategic) | Best Card Game | Best Strategic Card Game | Best Roleplaying Game |
| 2023 | Earth - Inside Up Games | Frostpunk: The Board Game - Glass Cannon Unplugged | Viking Raiders - Neowulf Games | Isle of Trains: All Aboard - Dranda Games | Be Like a Crow - Critical Kit |
| 2022 | Lost Ruins of Arnak - Czech Games Edition | Get On Board - iello | Dungeon Decorators - Slugfest | Lord Of The Rings LCG Revised Core - Fantasy Flight Games | Shiver Core - Parable Games |
| 2021 | Excavation Earth - Might Boards | Undaunted: North Africa - Osprey Games | A Game of Pretty Gardens - Osprey Games | Imperium Classics - Osprey Games | Vaesen - Free League Publishing |
| 2020 (online) | Tapestry - Stonemaier Games | Dune - Game Force Nine | Solar Storm - Dranda Games | Marvel Champions - Fantasy Flight Games | The Alien RPG - Free League Publishing |
| 2019 | Quacks of Quedlinberg | Root | The Mind | Arboretum | Forbidden Lands |
| 2018 | Photosynthesis - Blue Orange | Warhammer Underworlds - Games Workshop | Legend of the Five Rings - Fantasy Flight Games | category began in 2019 | SINS - First Falling Leaf |
| 2017 | SubTerra - Inside the Box Board Games | The Colonists | Statecraft - Inside the Box Board Games | Category began in 2019 | Adventures in Middle Earth |
* ↑ Before 2018 the awards only existed in one category, voted on by attendees.