Airecon 2024 – Day 0

Having enjoyed myself so much at last year’s Airecon, the annual tabletop gaming convention in Harrogate, I resolved to return in 2024. So I have! Today is the first proper day of the con that runs Friday – Sunday, but yesterday the halls were opened at 4pm to allow folk in for some gaming.

I made the trip down by car, picking up a fellow gamer on the way for some companionship along the road. It’s an easy, if not very interesting, drive down from Edinburgh. I was staying at the Old Swan Hotel as I did last year, a reasonably priced hotel an almost literal stone’s throw from the front of the convention.

I have decided to take a press pass this year. I have previously written about how that does odd things to my head in terms of the feeling of commitment I have to cover the convention. However, I have come to the conclusion that the folk organising the convention wouldn’t give me a press pass if there wasn’t something in it for them which makes me feel better about my presence at the con in a journalistic capacity. I’ll be writing up a little overview like this on each day as I did last year. Got some first thoughts pieces brewing already as well.

The exhibitor hall wasn’t open to the public yet so all there was to do was to play games! Oh no!

First up I saw Robert from our Discord and got on my bicycle in a game of Spokes. This is a forthcoming board game from Radical 8 games that sees you careening around a velodrome track. Yes it’s a race game. The rules are very simple but have space for nice juicy decisions. All you do on your turn is swap a spoke from your bike to the board, then travel along a path of the colour you have just put down. There is a little more to it than that, but the core allows for clever plays and some fun blocking.

I wandered the hall a little and Tim Clare spied me and said hello. He invited me to join himself Sam, and Doug for a game of Guild of Merchant Explorers. This is basically a flip and place, it’s a roll and write with bigger production, where you set off from the capital city at the behest of the queen. You move off to distant lands, discovering villages, plundering treasure, and finding weird towers.

The game takes place over 4 rounds and between rounds you clear off your little trade routes but keep other things you have discovered. These allow you to set off from different places other than the capital on subsequent rounds. Each player has the same map so as you move around you have to decide where to go to best benefit you. Over the course of the game you get some powers and goals unique to you adding a crunchy wrinkle to the game. I enjoyed it and would happily play some more.

I then had the joy of introducing my new friends to the wonders of Can’t Stop. I had been waxing lyrical about this game to Tim so I was heavily invested in him liking it. He loved it and we had an amazing game. The Playte version I picked up recently is just fantastic.

Turncoats was up next! I was carrying around a bunch of small games in my bag that I could just pull out and play and Turncoats made it’s way in there. Ann Jones from Cards or Die joined us for this and we had a blast with a couple of games of it and one of the emptiest game states I’ve seen! It was lovely to get to meet Ann after having interviewed her so long ago.

I popped off to get some food. The venue was laying on some actually totally decent catering but I am anticipating the glory of the food trucks today. Tim, Ann, Sam, and Doug got to playing a charming looking game about making houses that the big bad wolf might come and blow down? I didn’t really hear the rules but it looked awesome and they were having a good time when I got back with beer and hot dog in hand.

Once I had finished eating I introduced them all to some Long Shot: The Dice Game. This is a great convention game as it can play so many, is a bit fiendish, and the production is just lovely. Watching horses move back and forth along a track is just a funny experience. It was one of the tightest finishes I have seen!

With only an hour to go before the place shut for the night we finished off with some Scout which Doug is a genius at and absolutely eviscerated us. Well done Doug!

It was a lovely first day of Airecon. It was great to meet Tim and get to play games with him properly, something I missed out on last year. I am just off to have breakfast with him! Doug and Sam were welcoming and friendly, reflecting my experience at Airecon last year. Folk are just happy to play games and enthuse about their favourite titles. How can you say no to people wanting to share experiences they love with you? Within a couple of hours of walking into the hall I had some new friends, and brilliant stories to share. It was perfect.

I was given a press pass for Airecon.

Join us on Discord

Support us other ways