Publisher/Designer

UK Games Expo is extremely pleased to welcome Panda Game Manufacturing as Sponsors of the Publisher Designer Track and are also delighted to have Playtest UK back as partners.

Panda Game Manufacturing are one of the world’s premier board game manufacturers. At Panda they produce (and play!) the best board games in the business!

Alongside Panda Game Manufacturing, we have partnered with Playtest UK to bring you a dedicated Publisher-Designer Track offering Playtest tables, game design and marketing seminars and panels, networking events and opportunities for budding designers to pitch their ideas to publishers. We also offer a Publisher Designers FAQ's and of course affordable starter stands - see the Exhibitors Guide. There are other seminars and panels with a mainstream appeal in our seminar schedule.

Key Events:

• Playtest Tables- Get feedback on your game design ideas from the visitors
• Publisher Designer Speed Dating. Game designers give a 5 minute elevator pitch to potential publishers. Closed event, attend by invitation only after application process.
• Bootcamp. An intensive, four-hour dive into the development and presentation of your prototypes to publishers and the public, hosted by Alex Yeager. Closed event, attend by invitation only after application process.
• Designers Networking Event. For designers, publishers and other industry professionals.
• Show Preview - See the new deigns at this 2-3 hour preview of the show on the Thursday evening.
• Gamedesign Masterclass - A crash course in the theory and practice of creating exciting boardgames and card games
• Press and business zone. This is an area in Hall 1 NEC (Stand 1-492) where Media, Press, Publisher and Designers can meet.
• Workshops and talks (schedule coming April 2023)

Everything on this schedule is free, and all events have a seating limit so arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Some events - Bootcamp and Speedating involve an application process from which some of you will be invited to participate.

Other events such as seminars like Draw Like a Pro and Write Like a Pro will require pre-event reservation, see event listing for more details.

For most of the seminars, there is no reserved seating. Please arrive early and join in the Great British tradition of forming an orderly queue. You may be asked to leave after each event, as this is by the request of some of our speakers.

You do need to book a table at Playtest if you wish to get playtesting feedback.

Canterbury Christchurch University deisgn students talk about their visit to UKGE in 2021 with their deisgns.