I have been to the UK Games Expo a few times and had an amazing time and learned a lot about visiting the event.

So here are my tips for visiting the UK Games Expo with a focus on saving time and money.

1 – Prepay and pickup UK Games Expo tickets early

It’s a 3-day event and tickets cost between £15 and £18 per day for an adult depending on how many you buy in one go. So work out which days you can make and buy them as a bundle if possible to save a few pounds.

Also, ticket purchases and collections on the morning of the event have very long queues so keep this in mind and plan accordingly. If you’re in the area Thursday evening, pick up your tickets then when there are no queues. The queue on Friday morning can be around an hour long.

(The car parks might not be open Thursday so tips for parking next)

But first, here is my vlog of my trip in 2024.

2 – Prepay for parking

Parking is £19 per day at the NEC if you pay on the day. Pre-paying costs £13 for 1 day and it works out at about £8 a day if you’re there for 2- 3 days. That’s a decent saving if you prepay.

Also, someone has told me that you can park at Birmingham International Train Station for £12.50 on Friday and £9.50 on Saturday and Sunday all day. On top of that, it’s actually closer to the Expo than the Expo’s own car parks!

But you can get it MUCH cheaper… sort of, bear with me.

Adjacent to the NEC is Resort World, a shopping centre with its own parking. You can get 12 hours of parking for £3 if you spend £20 there and get your ticket validated. So why not pop over for dinner and get cheap parking? Just check on the website for what counts as a valid purchase.

It’s worth checking their website anyway for updates as in 2021 they were doing 12 hours of parking for £2.50 without validation due to Covid.

However, you can (technically) get it even cheaper…

3 – Choose your hotel carefully

So obviously if you get a hotel with parking like the Hilton or another one VERY close to the NEC you don’t need to pay for additional parking. However, you do pay a premium for these rooms which is more than parking would be anyway.

Another option is to stay in a hotel along the train line from the Birmingham International Train Station. Some of these routes are £3 return per day. It’s not ideal if you plan on having super heavy large bags but it’s still, cheaper than a NEC area hotel.

Shop around, take parking etc into account and… well… book as early as you can. The good ones fill almost the full year in advance as soon as the dates are announced.

Consider the hotel breakfast too. The most important meal of the day and a good one can keep you filled up for a good few hours.

Here is a quick review of the places I’ve stayed.

2013, 2015, 2016, 2024

I’m fortunate to live around an hour’s drive away so in these years I didn’t stay in Birmingham at all. While petrol is still expensive, it’s cheaper than a hotel for me but the hour-long drive twice a day gets tiring, and boring. Luckily I have podcasts to listen to and at just £15 in petrol per trip, sleeping in my own bed, home-cooked dinner and breakfast it’s well worth it!

2017, 2018

Airbnb! Obviously, these will change from place to place. The first was a big farmhouse and was great for the 4 of us. The second was a small house that remained empty all weekend but the bathroom was a tad mouldy. Both were very reasonable and both had cats which I loved.

2019

I stayed in the Regency Hotel Shirley. A quick 10-minute drive up the M42 from the NEC. It was a nice journey and the rooms were reasonable. I wanted a hotel with a Gym so I paid a premium for that but otherwise, it was good value. Great breakfast too.

2020, 2021

I stayed in the Ibis Birmingham New Street which was right next to the train station in Birmingham city centre and was £5-7 return a day to the NEC. These tickets can be reduced to £3-5 a day if you buy a ticket for a particular train company (rather than ANY train to the NEC) but this will increase your platform waiting times. It was to the usual Ibis standard with the amazing buffet breakfast.

2023

The Royal Court Hotel & Spa Coventry is 15 mins away. The room was small but clean, the breakfast was busy but nice and the location was really quiet with a lot of green areas around the hotel. There were 2 bars, a spa, a gym, a swimming pool and more. There was a private booking for the weekend I was there so the cafe was closed and breakfast was really busy. For some reason, breakfast opened at 8 am which is late for a hotel so there was always a very long queue.

4 – Remember, anything can happen!

If 2020 taught us anything it’s that anything can happen so do what you can to plan ahead. No one would have thought UKGE would have been cancelled for any reason, but it was.

Book any travel or hotel with flexible booking so you can change it or get a refund if something happens. Just plan for these extreme circumstances, check the small print on cancellation policies and keep your eye out on social media, just in case.

5 – Shop for food & drink

Food and Drink options are plentiful in the event halls, around the NEC, upstairs at the Train Station and over at Resort World and in 2023 there were more than ever.

But we’re focused on saving time and money here so let’s see how we do that.

There is a free water fountain so take a bottle and prepare for a queue! Always take your own drink anyway, it’s much cheaper from home or a supermarket than in the NEC.

There is a Wetherspoons and Subway right outside the trade halls with (I believe) regular high street prices. Also, there are sometimes several ‘portable’ Subways scattered around so you don’t have to queue to use the main one. There are also ‘street food’ restaurants in the NEC serving things like Ramen and Shawarma but they are quite pricey and fairly bland.

If you’re not bothered about what your coffee tastes like but you need it like me, shop around for the best price. They can vary from £2.50 with unlimited refills at Wetherspoons to £4 for a small cup in the trade hall. I found the cafe in hall 3, which was £3.60 for a large coffee the cheapest. You can also get a cake for £2.60 (instead of £5) when bought with a coffee and they are really nice.

The Londis does have coffee for £2.35 per cup but the prices for food are inflated, like a motorway service station.

Outside the Halls

Up in the Train Station (and over at Resort World) is a WH Smith with a £5-ish meal deal. There is also a Nandos and other restaurants so Resort World is worth a visit.

There is a Japanese restaurant over there that I love! Don’t go there if you’re on a budget though, my meal was £33 this year for 2 courses and a bubble tea. It’s a lot and it’s not usually what I spend my money on but it’s my yearly treat.

There were food trucks outside and over at the Hilton but I haven’t seen them for a while. I don’t go over to the Hilton area anymore. There are a few (very expensive) food trucks in the NEC itself. As it’s June and usually quite warm, there are ice cream trucks outside.

6 – Research new releases & demos

There won’t be that many to be fair, maybe 50 or so it’s with trying to stay up to date with what’s going to be available.

There are usually a few surprises by the big guns and some early copies of some upcoming Origins, GenCon and Essen releases available to play.

This is your best chance to play these games before they’re officially available to buy. It’s a great way to save money if you realise this game isn’t as good as you hoped or wanted.

Some games are only taking bookings for spaces and can book up first thing. Firstly, this is great and I wish every company did this to keep things organised. Secondly, check with the publisher on social media to see what they are planning and if you need to rush to book a spot.

7 – Friday & Saturday are BUSY

I used to think Saturday was easily twice as busy as Friday and Sunday but in 2023 and 2024 Friday was just as busy. I normally suggest just going on Sunday if you only pick one day even though the opening hours are a little shorter. In 2024 I couldn’t make the Sunday so I have no idea how busy it is.

But, it is much easier to find an empty table to demo a game on a Sunday, also…

9 – Sunday bargains

…there are loads of discounted games from retailers on Sunday.

A well-priced ‘hot game’ will sell out on Friday, maybe Saturday morning. But if you hold off on other purchases you could get 5-20% off on Sunday.

Also, publishers more and more are limiting stock to a few a day so the game can be sold throughout the weekend and not just sell out on day one.

10 – Use the bring & buy

The ‘Bring & Buy’ is an odd one. If you sell stuff at a decent second-hand price you’re almost guaranteed to sell it. A lot of games are for sale for more than the cost you see second-hand on Facebook groups.

This is all about the queue.

The queue to drop things off to sell is VERY long on Thursday night and Friday morning. The queue to buy is long each morning so consider that…

Also, remember the Bring & Buy is cash only and they’re likely to make you leave your bag outside so keep that in mind. In fact, in 2023 and 2024 the signs said “No bags whatsoever”.

If you’re selling I highly suggest bagging and banding your bits and boxes to stop things from getting lost. Sadly, people aren’t always careful with your copy of the game. I saw a lot more of this in 2023 which is good. Turns out UKGE are providing bands for boxes when you drop them off which is good.

11 – Gear Up!

I’ve mentioned a water bottle etc but there are other things you need to think about.

Space can be tight when walking around and a lot of people take big backpacks. I personally just take a small sling bag now to stay mobile and so I don’t hit anyone.

There is a fair bit of walking so I usually buy a new pair of trainers for the event too! Then, I put them in a cupboard for 3 months and wear them at Essen before putting them into my regular shoe rotation. For the last few years I’ve worn some ugly but very comfy Sketchers exclusively at board game conventions.

I wear a pair of comfy, stretch-fit jeans and a selection of loose-fitting geeky t-shirts I wear over the weekend too. Whatever it takes to feel relaxed and comfortable.

Remember it is June and even though it’s England it can be around 23 degrees outside which is hot for us! Then the aircon inside the UK Games Expo can be really cold… Find the balance.

11 – Collectormania is FREE (Sometimes)

Previously, on Saturday, after 1 pm you can get into Collectormania with your UKGE pass. If you like Film, TV and Sport you’ll love it. You can pay to get an autograph or a photo with a tonne of famous people from all eras.

Sadly, this no longer looks like it’s happening on the same weekend as UKGE. What a shame!

12 – Ask for more UK Games Expo tips!

Want to know anything else or have some tips to add? Leave a comment or get me through Insta/Twitter @jestatharogue

Hope this helps when whenever you are visiting the UK Games Expo!

Jesta ThaRogue
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