The biggest draw of the UK Games Expo, in my opinion, is the being able to find games that I may not get to see anywhere else. There are so many large sellers present too, of course, but there is also the chance to not just buy from a smaller maker but to actually meet and interact with the makers of the game themselves. This had led to me finding - and purchasing- many unique, indie games, but below are 5 of my favourites from this year.
My Late Father’s Correspondence
For me this year, the absolute shining star as games go was the rpg My Late Father’s
Correspondence by Storybrewer’s Roleplaying, an independent Australian company.
Described as a ‘read and reply game’, this story set in Victorian England unfolds over a
series of letters Agatha receives over several months. If playing solo, the player plays as
Agatha who receives letters from a number of different contacts of her late father and replies to them promptly. Each letter you read within the book is beautifully written in an elegant script, then you are guided to write your letters in response with the additional that you may also write one additional unprompted letter each time as well. In this form, the game feels like a narrative driven writing exercise and that is no bad thing when the makers have taken such care and attention with the story they have brewed.
Where this really shines is when playing as two players, as I have chosen to do with my
brother. I play Agatha as above, whilst he, an experienced game master already, takes the
role of the post master that delivers the letters. The twist here and, for me, what really makes this game unique is that he gets the hidden guidance of how to respond and the ability to adapt the letters to shape the unfolding story, taking it beyond what was originally written to build something new.
Whichever way you choose to play, free full access is given online to the plain text copies if
needed for clearer reading as well as links to thematic playlists for each day. A must-try for
all historical fiction fans.
Bad Trevor
This was a game we stumbled across as we walked around the con, and the initial main
draw was seller and creator Mark Hurdle of Fist Bump Games, who was a passionate,
enthusiastic bundle of energy to meet. Having seen Bad Trevor demoed to us at his stall, my brother and I were immediately taken with it.
Set in Fero City, this card game for 3-5 players is all about shedding your hand the fastest. In your turn, you play an ‘attack hand’ of three face down cards and your opponent must blind pick one of these then carry out the action on it, whilst the other two are returned to you. If a villain card, this will have a negative action for your opponent generally making them draw more cards. A hero card, however, will contain an action and also let them discard any number of civilians from their hand, thus moving them closer to the end goal. Civilians meanwhile will not have an immediate effect, but can be discarded once a player has a matching pair.
Amongst these, we have our Ultimate Villian: Bad Trevor. He can never be discarded, and
the loser of the game is whoever is the last person holding him.
On the flip side, we have the High-Stakes Hero: Kamikaze Kevin. Dressed like a giant bomb, he sits in the middle of the table rather than in anybody’s hand and he can only be played once across the entire game. At any point in the game if a player is certain that a particular card in an opponent’s hand is Bad Trevor, they can pick up Kamikaze Kevin, slam him down on top of that card and declare ‘Take that, Bad Trevor’. If the player was right, they give all their cards to the accused and immediately exit the game. If they are wrong, however, the accused gets to leave the game and hands all their cards to their accuser.
Overall, this is a fun game that doesn’t take itself too serious and only takes 20 minutes per play, making it a great starter game or palette cleanser between longer games.. It is also reasonably straightforward to pick up and play as well as to teach younger players, making it a great game for families or those who prefer more light hearted gaming.
Probably Illegal
Now for a party game that isn’t afraid to get a little close to the bone. Probably Illegal uses a similar format to games such as Cards Against Humanity, whereby dark humour is used to complete a given scenario based on the cards you have drawn.
Where this, in my opinion, bests Cards Against Humanity is that there is no feeling of ‘punching down’ when completing these but there remains the mischief of saying something you probably shouldn’t. Best played with a group who know each other well enough to be able to make these kind of jokes without taking them too seriously.
Certainly, the makers at the expo were having the time of their lives telling us about the
game although we and they agreed that as someone who literally works with drugs for a
living, I probably shouldn’t get the edition that comes wrapped like a package of
cocaine…sorry…’white stuff’!
Twittens
Next up, a delightfully cosy game for 2 to 4 players. In Twittens, you pass through 4 seasons going on walks around your local neighbourhood to see who can see the best sights. The goal cards are referred to as ‘bimbles’ - a Sussex term for a gentle, meandering journey on foot, whilst a twitten itself refers to a narrow country lane between houses. When you have passed a maximum of 7 (or 8 if you have a card that allows this) houses, you don’t simply stop, you ‘go home for tea’.
This game is utterly charming and of all the games on this list is the one that I have played
the most since the expo. There is a reasonable amount of strategy and push your luck with
this one, however it never feels overly stressful. The artwork is beautiful and Bedsit Games,
who make the game, have made this ode to Brighton/Sussex into a treasure of an indie
game.
One For Sorrow
If you’ve seen any of my blogs already, it will be no secret that I am quite a fan of birds -
particularly those of the corvid variety. I was therefore very excited to see this truly indie solo game focused around magpies - a game so indie that trying to find it we missed the stall several times because the maker, KevMakesGames, had a corner of another stall. The
game is card-based and easily fits into a pocket for on the go play.
Based around the nursery rhyme, in One for Sorrow you are trying to get the numbered
magpies into their correct sequence using their powers to aid you. You play against the AI, in this case the Spectre of Sorrows who is trying to curse the magpies. Cards are good quality card stock, and very clear with the magpies taking centre stage (as they should).
Play time takes about 15 minutes, making this the ideal time filler for trains, coffee shops or any other time you’re waiting around. For me, this lives in my work bag as a nice destress during my lunch break on busy games, and it could just as easily slip into a pocket as the deck is about the size of a slim deck of cards.
