This year’s UK Games Expo saw my triumphant return, having missed 2024 and 2025’s shows, and gosh it was good to be back. The show has expanded in my absence and back in 2023 I remember commenting that it could do with being a 4-day event so everyone gets a chance to take in the full thing; 2026 is even more so in need of that extra time. With 900 exhibitors on the pre-show list, translating to four trade halls, it’s quite an intimidating exercise to try and figure out what you want to see, especially if – like me – you’re not totally dialled in to what’s big, what’s new and what’s good.
In the past, I really enjoyed the discovery element of UKGE; the ability to walk around the halls and find things that caught your eye to look at. With such a big show nowadays, this wasn’t as easy to do, which is a bit of a shame. Not everyone will be like me, of course, but the discovery was part of the magic.
So, what did I get to play over the weekend at the show? Obviously, I was cruising the halls with Matt and Karen, and we were keen to get around everything, which meant the things we played were mostly small and quick. First, was the cute party game, Oh My Pigeons!, in which you are trying to be the first to fill your roost with adorable little pigeon meeples. It was fast and fun, and came with great artwork.
Next up was a go on Crows versus Cats, a small set collection card game where you each play as a crow trying to collect a particular type of shiny thing (e.g. buttons, marbles, bottlecaps) before everyone else while trying to avoid the cat, kittens and thieving magpies. Matt won, but I bought a copy anyway.
A little later, we played Circadia with a couple of other expo-goers, which is a fairly new card game that also focuses on set-collection and ‘buying’ from a communal pool to make points. It wasn’t as simple as it first looked (although was still easy to learn) and I enjoyed it.
While the other two were looking at the Taskmaster board game, I had a go at Beaks, a frantic game of matching wooden ingredients to order cards, while playing as seagulls. This was very silly and frenetic, and very fun. I picked up a copy there and then.
On Day 3, we played a demo of War of the Toads, a 1v1 card battler with hidden mechanics, a bit of memory and some bluffing involved. It’s not out yet, but I signed myself up to the mailing list. The last thing we got a chance to play was Goat Simulator: The Card Game, where you’re trying to dress up your goats and cause chaos.
Besides Crows versus Cats, and Beaks, I also bought copies of:
- Sneaky Goose
- Spooky Goose
- Ukiyo (wallet edition)
In all, that’s a fairly restrained haul of games, and I spent more on non-games with the vast range of creators who were at the expo (think stickers, pins, bookmarks, art, t-shirts). On top of that, I also won an art print from Owen Davey in his Saturday raffle; some of Matt’s recent good luck clearly rubbed off on me!
I’ve also come away with a list of games to investigate further; whether that be waiting for their crowdfunding campaign, a release date, or a chance to play it.
- Corvids
- Fame & Fable
- Under the Leaves
- Personal Demons
- Twittens
- Night at the Zoo
- Prague Unseen
- Ringyō
- Catvale
Overall, I really enjoyed being back at the show even if I didn’t get to play/demo as much as I’d like. The organisation seemed better than in some previous years, and the spacing around the halls was improved. There were still some sensory hell moments with crowded aisles and people pushing, but this was mostly on the Saturday. At the end of it all, I am shattered but we had fun.
