So another year another UK Expo, this year it has moved to a brand new venue.
This year, as it was all shiny and new, we decided to get accomodation on site but we chose to go to the Ramada Hotel which was a lot cheaper than the Hilton. This meant we were on hand for getting the
Spirit Games stall setup on the Friday Night.
Being in the trade hall during setup was interesting as there was a certain atmosphere as various teams struggled with gear and tried to organise their allocated plot in the hall. After an fraught start we managed to get the stall up and neatly organised in good time ready for the onslaught of convention attendees on the Saturday Morning. Phil & Sally returned to Burton and Myself and Carole tried to figure out how to get to our hotel for some dinner.
The signage at the NEC site is not great if you are staying at the Ramada as all the sign posts seem to point you to the Hilton (
). Thankfully with maps around the site and a site map prrinted out from the UKExpo website we managed to work our way in the right direction and as we got a lot closer signs started to appear. The hotel is only about 15mins walk away, which is fine (at least in good weather which we had) though you can cut through the NEC Halls. The pricing for the food at the restaurant there was reasonable, the quality of the food was good and the room itself was comfortable and clean.
I walked back that night to try the open gaming available, firstly it was not easy to find the room at first but managed to find an UK Expo person to guide me in the right direction. The gaming hall itself was very busy, the tables were layed out in long rows but really finding games was difficult and for an able bodied person I found negotiating the aisles in the pavilion with my gaming bag awkward at best so how anyone with a wheelchair or disability coped I do not know. I think more thought on table layout for ease of access in these areas would not go amiss.
On the first full trading day the stand was rammed and myself and Nick had a busy morning on the dmeo tables. Nick was demo'ing
Forbidden Desert which he spent several hours straight playing with different groups and the game itself was selling like hot cakes all weekend. For me I was demo'ng
Space Mission for a similar time which is excellent quality game for the price, again we sold a few of these as well. For the last part of the afternoon we demo'ed
Stone Age which is a really excellent game which is always fun to play. Naomi and Kate ended up demo'ing
Marrakech which is an excellent game which is always fun to play. On the Sunday the intention was to demo
Karnag which I own but had not played for a while but Nick had read the rules. In the end Nick got entangled in another long round of
Forbidden Desert demos, so with the game already setup for 4 players I did my best to read rules, play mine and Nick's turns whilst teaching a couple of our other team the game. On the whole this went ok, if a little slow, but as much as I like the game I can definately say trying to play two people's turn is not recommended especially if you are trying to teach as well. After nearly frying my brain doing this we decided to pack the game away after and I took the time to grab some lunch as well as a quick look aroud the show.
Being located at the Hilton (Metropole) on the NEC site meant it was easier to get to than the previous location, both by road and other transport which can only be a good thing. The organisers managed to arrange Free Car parking which was a great idea, the venue was larger and less cramped with a better layout as well as a well organised team of helpers with a roomy admin centre in the centre of things to get help during the day all helped to make the experience much better.
The main hotel prices, as expected really, were steep but the dedicated event food hall had reasonable food all weekend at decent prices with better priced beer, though there was only larger (Becks) available no Real Ale (sigh!) The odd thing here was no seating and the few tables that were there you could only stand at. There was room for more "normal" tables and this arrangement again was not really disabled friendly.
I wonder if next year a system could be arranged with the Hotel where the main bar / coffee franchise could charge more normal prices for attendee's to the event on showing the badge or by pre-paying for vouchers or something would be good.
There are alternatives to the Hotel for catering, if you are prepared to walk to the Main NEC Halls but I suspect their opening is subject to other events happening there so you may still be restricted in choice.
The organising team did a fantastic job of running the event and things seemed to run very smoothly throughout the weekend. My hat goes off to the entire team as they continue to pull off a brillaint event year after year and this move to a completely new venue was made to feel like they have always been there as there was no visble sign of teething troubles.
It is very easy to find fault or problems but most of those I have mentioned are easily fixed and in no way really spoilt the enjoyment of the weekend. Now they are on the NEC site there event can only grow in status and has the room to expand for years to come as the need arises.
This is definately becoming the premier event of the UK for the Gaming Hobby (Board/Card/RPG/Miniatures/Family) and long may it continue.
Overall a real improvement on previous Expo events and look forward to future events there.
