The Offline Gamer

The UK Games Expo 2025 is nearly here, and Matt, Karen, and Rai are back with their annual mega-preview! In this episode, the team covers everything you need to know for UKGE 2025 – from the new hall layout and bring & buy changes, to Chow Street's food truck lineup and their top tips for surviving the weekend.They also each highlight five games they're excited to see at the show, including upcoming releases like Trouble on the Tempus, Restless Spirits, Fathom, Pergola, The Last Week of Summer, Popcorn, Gwent: The Card Game, and many more.Whether you're prepping your spreadsheets or just curious what to keep an eye on, this is your essential guide to UKGE 2025!

In Episode 101, Matt and Karen return for a slightly shorter show ahead of their big UKGE preview. They share highlights from recent game days with friends, discussing a mix of new and favourite titles, including Rebirth, Restless Spirits, Trio, Castle Combo, Explorers of Navoria, and more.Matt also interviews the team behind Minor Disaster Games, creators of the upcoming Kickstarter for Trouble on the Tempus—a co-op, time-travelling disaster management game. The team dives into the game's origins, inspirations, and what sets it apart in the crowded co-op space.

To celebrate 100 episodes and 10 years of The Offline Gamer, we brought together a fantastic group of board game creators, friends, and fellow enthusiasts for a chaotic, laughter-filled quiz live at AireCon 2025!Hosted by Matt, this special episode features guest teams including Adam from Die Rollin', Will the Board Game Wizard, Chris from Unfringed, Lee from Molinarius Games, Mike from Huff No More, and Dave from Board Wreckers. Over multiple rounds teams competed for glory, groans, and the occasional pity half-point. Expect puns, passionate debate, obscure trivia, and lots of playful chaos.

In Episode 99, Matt and Karen recount their jam-packed weekend at AireCon 2025 in Harrogate. From the ups and downs of the Bring & Buy to an epic quest for food through the convention's labyrinthine layout, they dive into the highlights, including games played, exhibitors visited, and surprise finds.They also preview exciting upcoming releases, share some fun raffle moments, and thank everyone involved in recording their milestone 100th episode.

Join Matt and Karen in Episode 98 of The Offline Gamer as they dive into all things Airecon 2025! They discuss what makes this Harrogate-based board game convention a must-visit, covering the exhibitor lineup, open gaming spaces, event highlights, and even a sneak peek at upcoming releases.Whether you're a seasoned attendee or a first-timer, get ready for a fun and informative guide to this relaxed and community-driven gaming event.

In this episode, Matt, Karen, and Rai take a deep dive into their gaming highlights of 2024, reflecting on favourite titles, standout events, and exciting moments shared with friends and listeners. They also discuss their gaming plans for 2025, including conventions and anticipated releases. Rai returns as a guest co-host. The team shares updates on various Kickstarter projects, discusses upcoming conventions like AireCon and UKGE, and reminisces about the joy of connecting with the gaming community. Plus, they explore their favourite games of the year and their most memorable gaming sessions.

In this festive episode of The Offline Gamer, Matt and Karen share their Christmas gaming plans, discuss family-friendly titles like Wuzzled and Rolling Ranch, and reflect on recent plays, including Balatro, Tape to Tape, and The Spill. They recount highlights from the Meeple People Weekender, featuring games like Century: Golem Edition and Yukon Salon, and dive into their latest arrivals, including Tang Garden: Seasons and River Valley Glassworks. The episode wraps up with holiday cheer, a giveaway, and teasers for their 2025 plans. Intro music was AI generated using Udio.

In this special Halloween episode, Adam from the Die Rollin' YouTube channel helms a thrilling three-hour journey through The Lost Ship, a bone-chilling adventure from the SHIVER RPG. Set in the icy Arctic Circle, this story follows a military team investigating a lost vessel, only to discover terrifying secrets lurking below deck. With SHIVER's unique system for horror-inspired tales, prepare for a frightfully good time full of suspense, strategy, and a few ghostly surprises. Don't drift off—this is one adventure you'll want to brave from start to finish!

In this episode of The Offline Gamer, Matt and Karen are live from ACWest at the Telford International Center, sharing their experiences at this vibrant convention. From exploring the exhibitor hall and checking out unique accessories to trying out new board games, they've packed in plenty of gaming action. Tune in for their thoughts on games like Chemistry Fluxx, Dawn of Peacemakers, Kavango, Escape from Pompeii, and the memory-challenging Order Overload Cafe. They also dive into digital games, discussing recent favourites such as Brotato, Writer's Rush, Tactical Breach Wizards, and Preserve, plus their ongoing obsession with Stardew Valley. Wrapping up, they preview upcoming events like the Meeple People Weekender and reflect on why ACWest and Aircon remain some of their favourite conventions. Whether you're curious about the latest tabletop releases or indie video games, this episode has you covered!

In this episode, Matt is joined by special guest Mill from Dissent Games. Mill shares the journey of creating board games with her co-designer Jess, including their successful Kickstarter campaign for Library Labyrinth and the upcoming Loose in the Library. Mill talks about her background in board gaming, starting with Small World and jumping into Twilight Imperium, and how the COVID-19 pandemic helped her dive into board game design. They also discuss the process of designing Library Labyrinth, balancing mechanics, and how historical women and mazes became a central part of the game. The conversation touches on playtesting at conventions, challenges with running a board game café, and the evolution of Loose in the Library, a quicker, competitive version of Library Labyrinth. Finally, Mill highlights upcoming conventions, including AireCon and her own event, Paradice, while reflecting on how board gaming has built lasting friendships and community connections. Links: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dissentgames/library-0 https://dissentgames.com/ https://www.instagram.com/dissentgames https://www.x.com/dissentgames https://paradice.uk

Matt celebrates his birthday with Karen as they catch up on the latest in board games, video games, and crowdfunding. They discuss their recent gaming adventures, including highlights like Vampire Survivors, Slay the Spire, Calico, and the newly announced Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos board game. Plus, they dive into a Reddit thread of the month and spotlight some exciting Kickstarter campaigns. Tune in for all the fun and gaming goodness!

In this episode, hosts Matt and Karen dive into their experiences at the recent UK Games Expo. They share highlights from their interactions with other gaming enthusiasts, exhibitors, and designers, and reflect on the community spirit that makes such events special. Join them as they recount memorable moments, offer insights on the latest trends in the board game industry, and provide a glimpse into their gaming haul from the expo.

Join us for Episode 90 of the Offline Gamer as we dive into our eagerly awaited UKGE 2024 preview! We've sifted through spreadsheets and maps to bring you our top picks and must-see games at this year's expo. We'll also share our personal tips on navigating the event and making the most of your visit. Plus, don't miss our exclusive competition hidden within the episode—listen in for your chance to win! Ready your player boards and sharpen your strategies; it's going to be an epic weekend at the UK Games Expo 2024!

In Episode 89, Matt and Karen embrace a casual and standard episode format, steering away from interviews to focus on sharing their recent gaming experiences and news. They discuss their latest adventures in board gaming, highlighting games they've played, conventions attended, and their impressions of newly released or upcoming games.

This episode we're joined by the Ever Excitable Adam from Die Rollin, and we talk all about our adventures at AireCon 2024 in Harrogate, UK.

We're back for 2024, and our friend Matty G joins us again to talk about everything he's been up to since we last spoke, travelling the world doing demos for Alley Cat Games.

Karen and Matt discuss the games they played over the past month, including some they tried out at a recent gaming convention as well as old and new favorites. Oh, and Matt's started collecting Pokemon cards. Games discussed: Where Am I? Alive in a Mad Tea Party Creature Comforts Waters Edge Rolling Ranch Wok and Roll Holi Latte Throwdown Pioneer Rails Smoke & Mirrors Moving Pictures Tides Achroma Miskatonic University Pilfering Pandas

In this episode, Matt and Karen resume their regular format with a hearty discussion about the various games they've explored since their time at UKGE. With a conversation stretching almost 2 hours, they share their experiences and thoughts on the various games they've played. Tune in to hear about their gaming journey over the past few months in this relaxed and candid catch-up episode. Link to Adam's YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DieRollin Games Discussed: The games discussed in this episode include (in no particular order): - Codex Naturalis - Save Snowball - Damnation: The Gothic Game - Waulking in Burano: Roll and Write - Achroma - Wok and Roll - Hero Master: An Epic Game of Epic Fails - Funghi - Wonder -Woods - Beacon Patrol - Scout - Tokaido Duo - Cadaver - The Fox in the Forest Duet - Lizard Wizard - Five Tribes - Ether Wars - Tao Long - Momiji - Vadoran Gardens - Wild: Serengeti

In this latest episode, we're thrilled to welcome our newest roaming reporter, Matty G, fresh from his journey to the US for the iconic GenCon. Here is the link to the Kickstarter we discussed at the beginning of the show from our friend Matt at Shirts and Merch: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shirtsandmerch/exclusive-limited-edition-heat-t-shirts

We wrap up our experiences at UKGE 2023, including the games we played, people we saw, and things we spent our money on. Also, Rai has a short announcement to make at the end of the episode.

We got together a few friends at UKGE, and threw a little quiz! Thanks to the following for taking part: Scott - Minerva Tabletop Chris - Unfringed Things Phil & Kirsty - Ludus Vulpes Martin - Paper Boat Games Oleta - Ocean City Games

In our annual UKGE preview, we talk about some of the things we're keen to see at the event.

Rai is back this month, and joins Matt and Karen as we chat about our experiences attending our first ever Airecon event. Matt and Karen share their first-hand experiences from the convention floor, discussing the hottest new board games they got to play, the bustling trade halls, the open gaming areas, and the overall atmosphere that made Airecon 2023 a truly memorable event. https://www.airecon.co.uk/

Matt is joined by Kirsty and Phil from Ludus Vulpes, for a nice meandering chat about games! Links: https://www.ludusvulpes.com https://www.youtube.com/c/ludusvulpes https://www.instagram.com/ludusvulpes/ https://www.facebook.com/ludus.vulpes https://twitter.com/ludusvulpes

Normal service will resume soon, but this week we're joined by Mark Cooke to discuss Airecon 2023 in March, as well as his other roles in the board gaming industry. Links: https://www.airecon.co.uk/ https://www.brighteyegames.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UKboardgametrade/

Where have we been? What's been going on? In this special Christmas message we let you all know why things have been a bit quite on the TOG front lately.

In a break from our usual episodes, we bring you this special bonus! Adam from Die Rollin ran a special one-shot adventure of the Shiver RPG, launching on Kickstarter soon. Join us as we investigate.. The Harvest. Apologies for any audio issues - I've cleaned it up as best as I can!

In another mini episode, we're joined by Andrew Prowse of Rogue Artist Creations. We talk about his history of gaming and design, and his latest game SKÅL! which is coming to Kickstarter soon. Links: https://www.rogueartistcreations.com https://www.skalgame.com https://www.facebook.com/rogueartistcreations/ https://twitter.com/rogueacreations https://www.instagram.com/rogueartistcreations/

This episode we're joined by James Bradley, creator of The Civitas Universe. Check out Civitas 2230 on Kickstarter now! Links: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecivitasuniverse/civitas-2230-build-the-cyberpunk-city-of-your-dreams https://thecivitasuniverse.com/ https://www.instagram.com/civitas.universe https://www.twitch.tv/civitasuniverse

A bit later than expected, here's our roundup of UKGE 2022! We talk about the games we saw, the people we chatted to, and the amazing food we ate over the weekend. Here are our games of the show: Matt: Grove from WoksOnStudios Rai: Meadow from Rebel Studio Karen: Meadow from Rebel Studio

It's almost time for UKGE! We have a chat about the show, our lovely map, and we use the Tabletop SPIRIT preview magazine to see what some of the exhibitors are bringing along.

We have a quick catch-up this month before we start planning for UKGE! Keep your ears open for our preview episode coming in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, there's a small issue with Rai's microphone in this episode so apologies for the audio issues.

Matt is joined in this episode by author Steve Dee, and there's chat about his latest update to his board game book, Ticket to Carcassonne, as well as other projects, and what Steve has been playing recently! Links: https://twitter.com/steve_dee_ttc https://tickettocarcassonne.com

After a short real-life delay, we're back and have a good catch up over what's been going on since the new year. As it's our first show of 2022, it's also time for our Kickstarter Awards!

For our Christmas episode this year we're doing something a little different - Wayne and Jude from the TrekMate podcast join us for a look through lots of Star Trek related games on BoardGameGeek! You can find out more about TrekMate at www.trekmate.org.uk

It's back to normal this month, and we've got a lot of catching up to do! Matt tells us all about a few months worth of Kickstarters, and Rai details all about their foray into D&D...

This month we briefly chat about what we've been playing, some terrible Kickstarters, and we're joined by Angela from Toonhammer Games to talk about Arkosa - currently on Kickstarter!

It's time for our review of UKGE 2021, and a chat about everything we saw over the course of the weekend!

In this second part of our preview of UKGE 2021, we talk about what we're excited to see at the show. We hope to see you there!

In this first part of our preview for UKGE 2021, Matt has a good chat with Richard Denning, one of the founders and directors of UKGE. We talk about the events that led up to the postponement and eventual cancellation of the 2020 show, moving to a virtual event, and what we can expect from the show in 2021. Thanks to Richard for finding an hour in his very busy schedule to have a chat to us!

In a break from our usual format, Matt is joined by artist, designer, and co-founder of DoodleMeeple Jamie Noble Frier to discuss the Hero Master Kickstarter, what DoodleMeeple is all about, and lots of other random topics to do with gaming.

Sorry for the delay this month.. illness and University work for Rai took priority! But we're back, and we talk about our usual topics and are joined by good friends Peter and James from Board Game Hub to talk about the upcoming Kickstarter for Tranquility: The Ascent

We've been in lockdown for a year! We chat about what we've been playing, and Matt shares some exciting news about an oft-mentioned Kickstarter...

Our first 'proper' episode of 2021, and we take a look at Kickstarter #ZineQuest. There's also our usual start of year shenanigans, but without our annual Kickstarter awards due to the fact that we've not played most of what we've received!

It's interviewer turned interviewee this episode, as for a change Matt is the one in the spotlight as Bez asks all the questions. Audio taken from 'Bezzy Beats & Boardgame Blether' on 23rd Jan 2021.

Back to normal this month, before our review of the year coming up in our next episode. What we've been playing is unsurprisingly a certain newly released PC game...

A short catch-up this week, were we talk about: - Raise Your Game - We raised £500 for charity! - Board Game Smackdown - The Offline Gamer Special! We also welcome back some returning guests, Pete and James from Board Game Hub who talk about (amongst other things) their new game on Kickstarter - Tessera.

It's been a while since we've done a regular episode, so this month we just have a catchup of what we've been playing since last time. Also, Matt is doing a board game Twitch stream at the end of October for the Raise Your Game event run by Dementia UK. For more information see https://justgiving.com/fundraising/qbie

Who'd have thought it, we've been doing this for five years! In this episode we look back over the past five years, as well as borrow a format from another podcast and discuss our top ten board games in our collection.

It's almost here, the first ever virtual UK Games Expo! We take a look at what we can expect over the weekend of the 21st to 23rd August! Virtually Expo Homepage - https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/virtually-expo/ UKGE Awards Shortlist - https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/whats-on/show/awards-shortlist/

In this episode Matt has a chat with comedian James Cook, probably best known amongst the board game community for his Always Be Rolling, Pandemic Live and Board Game Smackdown shows. Thank you James for taking the time to chat with us, and for more information about James and his various projects visit the following pages: www.jamescookcomedian.com www.youtube.com/jamescookcomedian www.twitter.com/jamesecook www.patreon.com/boardgamesmackdown And to get his Emoji quiz book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Wasting-Emoji-Quizzes-James/dp/B08BW9KJWM