FAQs

Entry is open to any game designer with a completed game ready for publication. Please feel free to ask for advice if you have any questions.

Your game should be well developed and well playtested. Written rules should be available with the prototype, or provided electronically shortly after a presentation. Many publishers prefer a print-and-play version of the game if the game does not require any special components (such as unique game-required components, or specifically-shaped components).

A publisher should be looking at a game that is ready to publish and not just an early idea. Sometimes, you will have the opportunity at the end of a pitch meeting to talk about working designs, but presenting am incomplete, untested design to a publisher has the potential to reflect poorly on you, your design process and your future designs!

Yes, you can submit more than one entry.

Each entry will need its own sell sheet.

In addition to a Sell Sheet we ask you to submit a Rules Sheet for your game.

The Publishers can use the Rules Sheet to get a better idea of the Game Play.

The rules sheet can be an abbreviated summary of game components, turn order, basic concepts of game play and winning conditions.

A simple pdf laying out the rules clearly is all that is needed.

At a basic level there is no need to add images or to worry about the design of the rules. However a well presented sheet with some images and headings can improve the clarity.

The Rules sheet should be no more than 2 sides of A4. If Publishers want more detailed rules they can ask for that after the Speed Dating.

Make sure to add your name and email so the publishers can contact you if they wish.

UKGE Print Specifications for at show marketing options where UKGE is arranging the printing.

Roll Banner/Pull Up Banner

Artwork size is 850mm x 2150mm. Allow 2mm bleed which will be trimmed off.
PDF format
Resolution to be 300dpi
Colour space CMYK
Avoid text, logos and important information on the bottom 600mm
Cut-off date for accepting artwork is Friday 27th March 2026.

Café Barrier Banner

Artwork size 1790mm x 700mm plus 25mm bleed. Visible area is 1790mm x 700mm with 610mm flat area below the bar pocket .
NB, there will be an eyelet set into each of the 2 bottom corners, centred 20mm from the bottom and 15mm from the side
PDF format
Resolution to be a minimum of 150dpi
Colour space CMYK
Cut-off date for accepting artwork is Friday 27th March 2026.

Shell System Wallpaper

Full panel size is 2352mm x 966mm
Visible panel size is 2340mm x 954mm
PDF format
Minimum resolution of 300dpi
Colour space CMYK
Cut-off date for accepting artwork is Friday 27th March 2026.

Drop Banner

Artwork size is 4000mm x 2400mm
PDF format
Any text converted to curves
Min resolution 300dpi
Preferred resolution for best quality 300dpi
Colour space should be CYMK
Avoid text and logos on the top and bottom 200 mm as that is where the pockets are formed
The cut-off date for accepting artwork is Friday 27th March 2026.

Games will be made available to all judges ASAP.
Games will be left with the judging group until everyone has played every game.
Games will be picked up by UKGE once everyone has played.
All judges should play all the games as far as possible to ensure an impartial vote.
Ideally you will be able to play the whole of the game but if not then you must play it to a sufficient point to understand the core of the game, its merits and mechanics in order to make an informed decision.
If you are unable to play a game then look at reviews and open the game/read the rules to get a good feel for it and form an opinion from these.
Games should be ranked in order of preference e.g. 1-10 in a group of 10.
Games are to be compared with those only within their category and not to games outside this category or to other existing games.
Another FAQ gives suggested criteria on how to judge a game but the final decision is up to you.
Games will be available to place in order of preference via the UK Games Expo Awards Judging Page.
Judges will login using their UKGE standard login in order to rank the games in order of preference.
Games can be re-ordered at any point as more games are played in that category.
The cut off for judging is Friday 30th April 2021. After this time you will no longer have access to the awards judging facility.
The 2021 UK Games Expo Awards will be going ahead subject to advice from Public Health England in the current circumstances.

Groups of judges may wish to consider these factors (not all of which will apply to a given category):

Quality/Value: How good is the production quality. How attractive is the game. How nice are the components?
Theme/Originality: How interesting and original is the subject of the game and/or the game's mechanics. How new or innovative is the idea of the game?
Playability: How easy was it to play the game and learn it? How clear were the rules?
Balance: How balanced is the game? How much does luck play a role? Is the impact of luck detrimental? Does player order affect the outcome in a way that is not allowed for by some mitigating factor?
Fun Factor: How much fun was it playing the game?

In the end the method for making your judgment on games is your own. These are merely guidlines.

In lines with rules on GDPR we do not share contact details of exhibitors (except those who have submitted applications for the Show Preview to facilitate communications regarding their games for that event).

We do not ourselves have time to email exhibitors asking for their permission to share their details with you.

What we recommend you do is find your stand on the map.

You can check your stand number by logging into your exhibitor portal or by looking it up on the exhibitors page. *

Any contact data the exhibitor is sharing publicly may then be used to make contact.

*Please note exhibitors will not be visible on either page until they have paid their deposit.

We use your logo on the exhibitor listing page and later on the interactive map of the show. It is also used on Exhibitor Events which you can add to the system so visitors know what is happening on your stand at the show

To add the logo follow these instructions:

Log into the Exhibitor Portal (click here to get access )

Click on the STAND tab and then your stand number and then open stand description add an image to the stand description. That image will show up in your event listing as well as the exhibitor listings.

After you upload please leave it an hour before checking it is visible as it has to pass through our caching process.

Yes we do.

You can download a pdf of maps of the NEC, and NEC Maps of Hall 1 and Hall 2.

If you have forgotten your password you will need to request a reset which can be done from this page.

If you just wish to change your existing password then do as follows

Login to your account
Click on MY PROFILE in the menu
Enter your old password and new password
Click save changes

It is possible that once you have submitted an event it may be necessary to edit the event.

You will be able to do this via the Manage Events page in your account.

Once you have logged into your account and gone to the Manage Events page, you will see events which you have editing rights for on that page.

Click the event you wish to edit.

Note that some fields are not editable after they have been submitted and some cannot be edited after events are live on the system.

In the event of any questions email:

Millie Lavelle, Community@ukgamesexpo.co.uk

Are you a game designer that has a new game design in your head or even in physical form?

Thinking about attending UKGE but not sure how to proceed?

Are you trying to find out more about how to get your game published?

Read all about it!

Here are some articles to read to get you started

In the 2019 Programme Guide we published an article "I have this idea for a game" which is an overview of how to get your game made.

Read all about how James Smith, designer of Reveal used Playtest UK and UK Games Expo to help get his game from an early design to being published by Paul Lamond.

The Trade Hall at UKGE can seem rather intimidating. There are 400+ exhibitors with stands from 4 sqm up to 300 sqm. There are a great many amazing games out there. In order to make the most of UKGE you have to stand out and attract in the gamers to try your games.

Make the game as good as it can possibly look. Even in the case of a prototype a bit of extra effort can pay dividends. So pay a local printer to print the game board in high resolution. Consider higher quality components etc. many publishers will have special demo versions such as giant versions etc.
The whole stand is part of your display. Consider pull up banners, coming in costume etc. At the very least get some branded T Shirts to promote the games company.
Help the visitor find out more. Make sure you have flyers about the game, business cards to give out. Consider placing an advert in the UKGE programme.
Take along playtest feedback forms for people who play the game to fill in and give you feedback.
Don't forget the Show Preview
Don't miss out on the Publisher Designer Track of events and activities.
Tell us your news and we will tell our customers
For more impact think about a paid for advert in the programme or an online marketing campaign. See exhibitor pack for details.

The only times contact details are shared are for the explicit purpose of facilitating a specific event or function - most commonly the Show Preview event where sharing of contact data between exhibitors and media is needed to allow the event to function properly. Even then we make it clear to you that this data is being shared and how and for what purpose. It is made clear that when applying for a Show Preview Table your contact data will be shared. This data is not made public.

The most common way that your contact data is found is from trawling websites and social media sites of participating exhibitors.

Hotel Bookings
We have no official hotel partner. The website shows a map of local hotels and any booking links we have negotiates but we do not share any details with any Hotel Booking Agency.

Stand construction
The only organisation we deal with with regard to stand construction is the Neale Agency (specifically their Creative Hire, Torpedo and Periscope sub-sections) and again we do not give them your data apart from your exhibitor name, power and furniture order details and stand numbers which are required to facilitate the show build.

Filming at UK Games Expo
Apart from the streaming options offered by OnTableTop we do not have dealings with companies offering filming services at the show. Whilst exhibitors may arrange to film and broadcast from the show, any company involved commercially would need to have first applied to have a license to film at the event. If in doubt before engaging them please check with us as they will be denied access to film at the event if they have no license. More details are here...

What to do about it
These spam and fishing emails are numerous and frustrating and particularly so in years when we don't even know if we can run a show! But the best advice is to just hit delete. If you receive a phone call just end the call. You can attempt to report them but we have find that it will just use a lot of time with little or no result.

But how do they get my email then?

The usual way that these spam merchants find exhibitors emails is trawling the list of exhibitors who are going to be at UKGE, then visiting the exhibitors sites, such as social media and trawling them for email. Most exhibitors have emails addresses on their contact pages. Many have phone numbers available somewherw in profiles.

Exhibitor Events

Exhibitors may list events that are taking place on their stand at the show. If you log into your exhibitor portal you will see that you have a Manage Events tab. If you use that you can list four types of events:

Demo-on-stand.
Tell us what games will be demoed on your stand. You can add images and even links to rules and videos in the description. If you are running demos all day please only list the events once with a start time of say 09.00 and end time of 18.00 each day and tick the 'ad-hoc events' box and the event will show all day. Please don't add events every hour or we all drown under a sea of duplicated events!

Presentation-on-stand.
Is a designer signing games? Are you doing a give away? Is a painter doing a session on how to paint?

Special.

Perhaps you are holding a tournament on the stand? Is there an opportunity to meet a celebrity.

Online.
Broadcasting live from the show? Add it as an event.

YOUR LOGO: Don't forget to go into your STAND tab and add a logo to the stand description. That image will show up in your event listing.

We use your logo on the exhibitor listing page and later on the interactive map of the show. It is also used on Exhibitor Events which you can add to the system so visitors know what is happening on your stand at the show

To add the logo follow these instructions:

Log into the Exhibitor Portal (click here to get access )

Click on the STAND tab and then your stand number and then open stand description add an image to the stand description. That image will show up in your event listing and exhibitor listing.

After you upload please leave it an hour before checking it is visible as it has to pass through our caching process.

Read all about it!

Read more

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