York Board Games Convention has successful first event

The inaugural York Board Games Convention (YBGC) took place from October 11 to 13 this year at the Spurriergate Centre - attracting more than 100 attendees.

The event, which sold out in under two hours, brought a variety of different board games and interactive game playing experiences to York. This ranged from classic games and dice games to roleplaying sessions and popular social deduction games - such as Werewolf and Blood on the Clocktower.

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Prior to the event, event organiser Ryan Willis explained: “This is York’s first major board game convention, and it’s incredibly exciting to celebrate the growth of the hobby in our city.

“We sold out in under two hours, so we’re already planning a bigger event for next year.”

In addition to a variety of board games, there were games of Dungeons and Dragons run by a professional game master known as Dungeon Master Owlbear, social deduction games - Blood on the Clocktower run by Ivan Brett (famously from The Traitors TV show), and a mega game of Just One – a game which was tripled from its usual size of seven players to 21 to accommodate more people.

The convention also featured a Bring & Buy section where attendees were able to sell pre-loved games or purchase new ones and board game merchandise offered by a variety of vendors.

Zak Robinson running a game (Image: Provided)

One attendee said: “I had a lovely time at the York Board Games convention this weekend. The venue was unique, being in a former church. It was small enough to be cosy, but large enough to have things to do.

“All the people who attended were inclusive and friendly and took their time to help when I tried new games.”

Players, including Ivan from The Traitors, playing Camel Up (Image: Provided) With a sold out first event under its belt, York Board Game Convention has plans to move to a larger, yet to be revealed, venue for next year’s convention.

To join the waitlist for early access tickets for 2025, visit ybgc.co.uk/early-access