Dragonmeet 2023

The conference is using almost every nook and cranny in the Hammersmith Novotel now. The open boardgaming was in a room that you could access either via what looked like the fire escape in the bring and buy or you cut through the restaurant. Questions continue as to what can be done about the format but with two trade halls and three seminar rooms there is a tremendous amount to do and see and it is the open gaming that is getting squeezed in my view.

There continued to be a healthy mix of big and small traders at the event. Rowan, Rook and Decard had a ridiculously large footprint while Chaosium and Pelgrane Press seemed to have shrunk. Modiphius had a large presence as always along with substantial showings from Free League, Cubicle 7, Monte Cook Games (they had a black box on display) and Osprey Games. In the indies and smaller press there was Melsonian Council, Iglootree, Contested Ground, Soul Muppet, UK Indie RPG League, 12 Pins, Lost Pages, Neon Rot, Beyond Cataclysm along with Squarehex, Odin’s Beard and Leyline Press.

There were lots of interesting things but I think it would appear that lockdowns have quite a big impact on people’s time to create new things and the larger indies like Soul Muppet mostly seemed to be adding an element or two to their existing line ups. There were a few more solo journaling games and one or two new one page games which seems ridiculous when you look at how many short games there are online. Perhaps there is a need for better anthologies to create a format that can command a price tag that make commercial sense for the stall fee.

I never try to get into the formal games but was happy to play and run things in Games on the Hour which is a much more relaxed format than trying to figure out the sign up sheets.

The real thing in the convention is socialising though and seeing people that quite often you only see once a year. For that Dragonmeet is without peer, virtually everyone is there and it is quite tricky to spend quality time with everyone. Interestingly though the hotel bar was virtually empty of games people by 9pm. The weather and trains wouldn’t have helped but the fact that traders have to pack up and get their goods elsewhere means that the atmosphere dies a bit around 7pm.

Dragonmeet remains London’s biggest gaming convention and is the hub around which everything else spins. It is a don’t miss convention for me.