UK Games Expo 2025
Every year I wonder why I stay up until silly o’clock to write my UKGE feature after the Press Preview night, but I do know the answer. I like to have physically seen the games and possibly discovered ones that weren’t as obvious prior to the event.
The weird numbers after the game names are the locations where you will find them. With a different layout this year and a new hall we will all be looking a little lost, so hopefully this helps!
Some games are returning to the Expo that have featured before, but are still worth checking out if you haven’t already. It feels almost tradition now to mention The Old King’s Crown in my UKGE previews, I have enjoyed following along with its progress and it returns this year after its massively successful crowdfunding campaign. Ditto, Muster: Raise the Banner, Sakana Stack, Can’t Go, ISLA, Tenby and Mycelia all return to the halls in their finished form.
Keep your eyes out for Thunderworks Games and Saashi & Saashi, both arriving at UKGE for the first time. Instead of the bigger retailers, I will be looking to see what I can add to my haul from the small independent traders who make UKGE so unique and interesting.

Pergola (3-946)
Prior to the show this was the game I was most excited to see, but sadly Asmodee didn’t show up at the Press Preview night so I cannot feature any of their games. Pergola is a game about growing gardens and attracting wildlife accompanied by tile placement and adorable components and artwork. It is published by Rebel who also published MLEM and Chronicles of Avel, so at least I know the game should have some substance as well as gorgeous aesthetics!
Asmodee’s absence was also a pity as I cannot tell you about, or share snaps of Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship or Star Wars: Battle of Hoth. I’m just as disappointed as you are!
Smallfolk (3-222)
I’d seen this game advertised on Instagram but hadn’t paid it much attention, that is until I saw the pretty board and cards in person. This board game is a looker for sure and I received an excellent introduction to it. In short you travel around a board recruiting and playing smallfolk. This is one that surprised me in a good way as it seemed like it had substance as well as looks. I really can’t wait to see more of it ahead of its crowdfunding later this year!


Citizens of the Spark (3-1072)
As a backer of the Kickstarter of Citizens of the Spark, I was delighted to see a physical copy looking resplendent on the Thunderworks Games table. In this game you build up the power of citizens before unleashing their actions, the more cards you have, the more powerful the action becomes. You will get to choose seven to ten citizens for each game from the thirty available so there is plenty of variety with each play. Set that against some stunning artwork and I am looking forward to my crowdfunded copy landing through the letterbox. I’m feeling pretty smug for backing it!

Strange World Above The Clouds (2-316)
Hachette’s new releases have dominated UKGE in previous years, with their games being head and shoulders above most of the other offerings. Strange World Above the Clouds hasn’t released yet and might have got that UKGE buzz if it had. Building a 9 x 9 grid of cards may sound familiar if you’ve played Castle Combo or Faraway, but Strange World Above the Clouds is certainly different enough. It is worth a demo if you get the opportunity.
Speaking of Faraway, the mini expansion for it will be available at UKGE. If like me, you fell in love with the base game, this is definitely worth adding into the deck. People from Below adds some nice cards without bloating or changing the rules dramatically. The card game Verso also looked fun and very much akin to Slide, which I have been enjoying.
Gatsby is also launching later in the year. This two player game has all sorts of Cathala goodness about it and I am keen to see more of it.



Prowl (3-745)
This sounded like a quick strategic game with high player interaction and just the right amount of second guessing. Playing over the different seasons you try to manipulate the game in your favour so that your secret clan emerges on top. If you like games like Courtisans and Hidden Leaders, this one might be for you. While visiting Revelation Games check out the cuteness overload of Meow Meow Dice too!

Wispwood (3-716)
While the buzz around the CGE stand will probably be for the new SETI and Lost Ruins of Arnak expansions, my eyes have delighted on a standalone game: Wispwood. A family weight tile laying game is always going to grab my attention especially when it is as good looking as this. I’m keen to give this a try but it isn’t released until Essen. It certainly sounded like my sort of thing!

Twittens (3A-710)
Well as a Sussex-based board gamer, a game titled after a regional word was always going to appeal. For those that aren’t ‘from round here’, a Twitten is a narrow passage between two walls or hedges. I used to stomp through many Twittens in Horsham with my Grandpa and I think he was the home-grown hero that introduced me to the word. Reminiscing aside, this is tile-laying game for one to five players by the same designer as Pauper’s Ladder. It looked cute too.

Fathom (2-714)
Simultaneous play always lures me into a game. The reduction of downtime is a big appeal to me. So Fathom is on the list because of that. It also has elements of pattern building and set collection which puts this game on my radar, a bit like the marine life you will be looking to discover in the game! It’s from the team behind Cosmoctopus and their new tee is an instant buy tomorrow!

Fetching Feathers (3-313)
Chris Priscott has gained a loyal following with Zuuli and Molehill Meadows, the former got reimplemented by Oink Games as Moving Wild too. Fetching Feathers is a set collection card game that has simultaneous drafting. I was keen to try it out at AireCon, but never got to the demo table unfortunately, I hope to make amends at UKGE, but it is going to be busy, so we will see if I get the chance! Regardless, I hope to get a promo card for one of the other games that I own as that seems to be a UKGE tradition now!

Australis (3-1030)
This being on the list is a bit of a cheat as I was very kindly sent an advance copy of this game to try out by Kosmos. However, that means I can thoroughly recommend checking out this family-weight title at the show. Not only is it a very pretty looking game, the dice-drafting gameplay is very satisfying too. So, despite me already having played this a few times, it still deserves to be on the list to check out at UKGE. However, you will have to wait just a bit longer before my review lands on my website!

Timber Town (3-902)
I do like beavers and so the tile-laying game Timber Town from Alleycat Games with its adorable visuals is well worth a look. While you are at their stand be sure to have a go at the addictive small tin game Barbecubes too. I recently reviewed that one if you want to find out more!

Popcorn (2-636)
I was wilting by the time I got to Popcorn, but the theme was super appealing. From what I could gather this latest Iello release is about running a cinema. The aim is to make your guests (who have been drawn from a bag) happy and spending their money on popcorn! I will be sure to check this one out further while stomping the halls of the UK Games Expo!

The boys picks
This year I thought it would be interesting to add in what each of my boys got excited for in the preview too, here is what they picked…
Max (10): I can’t decide between two games. I liked the look of Marbleous most as it was colourful. It sounded lots of fun when they told me all about it and I think this one would be really good. Keizár was a bit like chess, but isn’t, and is the other game I really liked the sound of.

George (14): I think Last Week of Summer is the game I most want to play at UKGE. I think the artwork is cool and retro and I like the theme too. I think all the mini games sounded fun and I hope I get to play it soon.

Harrison (17): I chose the expansion to Sniper Elite as my choice. Operation Kraken was the most appealing to me and was the one that stood out. The new boards looked really interesting, having one in a large open space and the other in a tight area. The new abilities, especially tanks for the defenders looked epic! As I love the original, I expect this expansion to be just as fun!

Final thoughts on UKGE 2025
I realise that is a lot of games to check out, but the UK Games Expo is all about board games and gaming so I’m not going to apologise! I must confess it doesn’t feel as exciting this year, but I think some companies absence, and therefore some new games not being displayed, cooled my enthusiasm for the press night. Hopefully I will find some other gems in the morning. Now though, I am off to dream of new and exciting games and prepare myself for walking the halls tomorrow!