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UK Games Expo is tomorrow. I’m writing this from Sheffield, bags almost packed, Car full of fuel, and a spreadsheet open with more stands on it than I could realistically visit in a week. This afternoon I’m heading down to Birmingham. Tomorrow morning, the NEC doors open. Lets Go!!!!
This is the final part of my UKGE 2026 picks. Three games, three stands, and if any of them are half as good as they look from here, the journey is already worth it. Parts one and two covered six games across the previous two weeks. This week it’s the last three on my list.
Meadowvale by Brass Fox Games
| Find it at: Stand 4-854 | brassfoxgames.com | playmeadowvale.com |
I have been looking at Meadowvale for a while. There’s a type of game that sits at the intersection of pretty and clever, where the table looks beautiful and the decisions underneath are actually worth thinking about. This looks like one of those.
It’s a strategic tile placement game for one to four players where you shape terrain and guide wildlife across a shared living landscape. What I find genuinely interesting is the ecological logic. Owls strike from line of sight. Rabbits cluster for safety. Badgers forage along hedgerows. The animals follow actual behavioural rules, which is the sort of detail that makes a game feel considered rather than just dressed up. The land evolves turn by turn as players build habitats, so nothing is static.
The nature theme in tabletop games is getting crowded. Wingspan did a lot of work to establish it, and now there are plenty of games trying to borrow from that goodwill without quite matching the substance. Whether Meadowvale earns its place in that conversation is what I’m going to find out on the demo table. The advance buzz has been strong. It’s one of the most widely anticipated games at this year’s show by most accounts I’ve read.
Stand 4-854. I’ll be there early.
Foxglove Farm by Alley Cat Games
| Find it at: Stand 3-902 | alleycatgames.com | @alleycatgames on Instagram |
I have a soft spot for Alley Cat Games. They make games that feel purposefully designed rather than thrown together, and Foxglove Farm has been on my radar since it was announced.
It’s the sequel to Timber Town, set in the same world. Players build a growing tableau (your personal arrangement of tiles in front of you that generates points and bonuses) made up of building tiles connected by trail tiles, producing and processing goods into points across four rounds. It’s technically a reimplementation of Minecart Town, which some people will know and some won’t. What matters is whether the thing on the table is good, and everything I’ve seen suggests it is.
Available for pre-order at the stand, which is the kind of decision I will almost certainly make and then justify on the train home. Alley Cat also have Bookshelf and Spaghettin on the same stand, both of which are worth a look while you’re there.
Timber Town was a good game. If Foxglove Farm builds on it properly, this could be one of the better discoveries of the weekend.
Cat Earth by Outset Media / Frog Hall Games
| Find it at: Stand 3A-318 | outsetmedia.com | froghallgames.com | @outsetmediagames on Instagram |
If the Earth were flat, cats would absolutely knock things off the edge. This premise is so obvious in retrospect that I can’t believe it took this long.
Cat Earth is a two to four player game for ages eight and up. Giant mischievous cats roam a flat world while players use movement cards to send them bounding across the board, toppling rivals’ houses into the abyss. Last player with houses standing wins. It plays in about thirty minutes.
I like cats. I like games that don’t take themselves seriously. I like the detail that the box itself is the play surface, which is either a brilliant piece of design economy or just a very funny joke, possibly both. The wooden components look satisfying.
This is not going to be a game of deep strategic weight. It’s going to be chaotic and funny and probably result in someone making a very indignant noise when their last house disappears into the void. That is exactly what I want from a thirty-minute game at a convention.
Right. I’ll See You There.
That’s all nine picks across the three parts. Nine games total from the full series, all of which I intend to at least demo before the weekend is out. Whether that’s realistic is a question for tomorrow-me.
If you’re going to UKGE, I’ll be the one in Open Gaming between demo queues. Come and say hello. And if any of these games turn out to be brilliant or a disappointment, I’ll be writing about it here once the dust settles. Watch this space.