UK RPG Convention Calendar

Introduction

This is a list of conventions and events, taking place in the British Isles, with at least some significant role-playing games element. I try to keep it current, but I make absolutely no guarantees about anything I mention. I reserve the right not to include events that appear to be only very marginally relevant to RPG'ing, and I have a bias in favour of 'tabletop' RPGs. While Covid lockdowns are disrupting the face-to-face convention scene, I'll also try to list some online events here, but I'm afraid that my information on those may be patchy.

RSS Feed: Neil Blumfield has kindly set up an RSS feed based on this site, the URL for which is http://feed43.com/british-rpg-convention-list.xml. I should say that I've not tried this out myself, especially since this page changed its URL.

Calendar File Form: Roger Bell West has set up a site which converts this page to standard calendar file format, and updates that file periodically. See http://firedrake.org/infobot/ics/conventions.ics for this. Or - I'm told that by using webcal://firedrake.org/infobot/ics/conventions.ics instead, you should be able to "subscribe" to this calendar. Again, I haven't looked at this since this page changed URL.

Organisers Note:

If you want your convention listed here, e-mail me with a date and URL.

Advice on Organising Conventions:

I once saved the text of a Usenet discussion on the art of UK RPG convention organisation; it's on this site as ConOrganising.txt. It's probably partly out of date these days. Anyone interested in the subject might also do very well to look at the notes on the subject published by the organisers of Concrete Cow.

Linking to this Page:

This page was created as a public service, and I'm happy for it to be used as widely as possible (so long as I don't get blamed for anything). Anyone creating or maintaining another RPG-related page is welcome to include a link to this URL.

Donations

This is a completely voluntary, non-profit project which I perform for its own sweet sake. Still, if anyone wants to encourage me in this, please feel free to use the tip jar:

The Events

April 2023

14th-16th April: Conpulsion 2023, at Teviot Row House, Bristo Square, Edinburgh. As they say, "Conpulsion is Edinburgh's board game and role-playing game convention. It has been running every year since 1987, except 2020 when it was cancelled due to Covid-19 (with the last two years online)." They have an outline programme and are taking game submissions. See https://conpulsion.org/ for more information as things are announced and a contact form, or e-mail them at conpulsion@gmail.com.

June 2023

2nd-4th June: UK Games Expo 2023, at The NEC Birmingham. Britain's biggest general games convention, with lots of RPG sessions (generally run in the adjacent Hilton hotel) among other features. Prices depends on ages, number of days, etc., and there are several convenient hotels for accommodation (though those fill up quite fast). Just a preliminary date announcement so far, but doubtless more will follow; watch https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/ for details as they're announced.

July 2023

7th-9th July: Summer Stabcon 2023, at The Guildhall, 169 -171 Wellington Rd South, Stockport, SK1 3UA. A long-running, informal tabletop games convention, which always features some roleplaying. As it is no longer residential, members have to sort out their own accommodation. ("There are several hotels in the area plus various AirBnBs and other options.") Full weekend membership is £15 before May 31, £17.50 after; single-day membership is £7.50 before May 31, £8.75 after. Contact bookings@stabcon.org.uk for a membership form.

August 2023

26th-27th August: ShadowCon UK 2023, at Northfields Community Centre, Northfields, London, W13 9SS. Assorted RPGs are promised. For more details, see http://www.shadowwarriors.co.uk/; sign-up is supposed to be via Warhorn at https://warhorn.net/events/shadowcon-uk-2023, but that wasn't working when last I tried it.

December 2023

2nd December: Dragonmeet 2023.Very little information available on this as yet - not even a venue, though it's guaranteed to be in London. The Web site is currently rather confused, with information relating to last year's event, but you can buy tickets from https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dragonmeet.

Regular Events

The London Indie RPG Meetup Minicon ("Play small press/indie RPGs") runs one Saturday a month. For location and other details, see http://www.meetup.com/London-Indie-RPG-Meetup-Group or e-mail londonindierpg@gmail.com.

Megagames

These are giant wargame/simulation games, taking most of a day or more, often with some element of role-playing. Many are run in London, others elsewhere. For more explanation, see https://www.megagameassembly.com/; there's a calendar of upcoming megagames in the UK (and elsewhere in Europe) at https://www.megagameassembly.com/uk-europe-megagames.

Go to my RPGs page.