British Role-Playing-Related Conventions Upcoming

12th-13th May: 23rd Beer & Pretzels Games Weekend

, at Burton Town Hall. Open 10.00-10.00 on Saturday, 10.00-7.00 on Sunday. Tickets (and parking permits) £5 per day or £9 for both, available on the door or in advance from Spirit Games, 114+115 Station Street, Burton on Trent. "There is ample free parking, and the railway station is 2 minutes walk away. The essential features are: Guaranteed playing space, Free board games library, Organised role-playing sessions, Disorganised role-playing sessions, Participation miniatures wargames, Good beer, Hot and cold food."

See

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13th May: Experience Point

, at the Grosvenor Casino, Newcastle (which means that there's a minimum age of 18). Entry will be £5. More details at

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25th-27th May: UK Games Expo 2012

, at the Clarendon Suites and Strathallan Hotel, in Edgbaston, Birmingham. A very substantial hobby games convention with a decent amount of roleplaying alongside everything else. A three-day adult ticket will be £18; one and two day, child, and family tickets will also be available. Booking on the Web site opens in March, and it'll also be possible to pay on the door. There are plenty of hotels in area (aside from the Strathallan) for those needing accommodation.

See

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2nd-3rd June: ShadowCon VI

, at the Northfields Community Centre, Northfields, West London, W13 9SS, UK. "We are planning to run ... Cthulhu, Beat To Quarters, Duty and Honour, Pathfinder, Warhammer (WFRP), Hero Clix, Wings of War. There will be a variety of board games available throughout the Convention, including the Giant Settlers of Catan game."

Details a bit skimpy at present, but watch

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22nd-24th June: Q-Con XIX

, at Queen's University Belfast Students' Union. "Q-Con is the annual Gaming Convention hosted by Dragonslayers, the Queens University Belfast (QUB) Gaming and Anime Society. This year, Q-Con enters its nineteenth year of providing almost 2000 people with a weekend of gaming and anime awesome ... Q-Con features a wide selection of games and events over the convention weekend, with Role-Playing Games, Board Games, LARPs, War Games, Collectable Card Games, Console Games, Anime Screenings, Cosplay, Special Events, Exhibitors, and much more! Big events to watch out for this year include Q-ED Talks, Workshops, the Cosplay Masquerade, and Wargaming competition tournaments."

Early registration for the full weekend ticket for Q-Con costs just £15. Accommodation is available for just £19 per night - note that availability is limited. For registration/accommodation details, and information on all games and events, see

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23rd June: Raiders of the Game Cupboard XIX

. Presuming this is like previous such events, this will be at The Salvation Army Citadel, Mosley Street, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1DR, from 10:00am till 8:00pm. "A full fun-packed day of gaming with plenty for everyone. New players are always welcome and the organisers are on hand to help you find a game. ... All sorts of games will be played: board games, mini's, card games and roleplaying games. ... Sign in Desk for all games; Tea & Coffee Provided."

Event Fee: £2.00 (Accompanied Children under 16 Free; "Whilst children are welcome, attendees younger than 18 should be accompanied by a responsible parent or guardian. None of the organisers are insured, qualified, certified or trained to be responsible for minors please bear this in mind when you plan your visit to the event.") See

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6th-8th July: Summer Stabcon 2012

, at the Britannia Hotel, Dialstone Lane, Stockport. The latest incarnation of an extremely long-established, twice-yearly general games convention, including a fair amount of roleplaying. For more information, e-mail

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20th-23rd July: Continuum 2012

, at John Foster Hall, Leicester University Halls of Residence, Oadby, Leicester, UK. "Continuum is a games convention featuring, but not exclusive to, games and worlds created by Issaries Inc and Chaosium ... The main theme of the convention will be Apocalypse, End of the World/Galaxy/Universe/Multiverse, Judgment Day, Ragnarök, Götterdämmerung, Qiyamah, End of Days, Armageddon, etc. ... attendees can participate in traditional table-top role-playing games, board games, card games, freeform/LARP games (large and small), discussion panels, and all manner of general silliness." (Note that a previous date given for this con was evidently provisional and incorrect!)

The con's Guests of Honour are game designers Robin D Laws, Sandy Petersen, and Mark Galeotti. Watch

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10th-12th August: Congenial

, at Murray Edwards College (formerly New Hall), Castle Hill, Cambridge. The next British Roleplaying Society convention, following Baroquon, Rocococon, Conjuration, Constitution, and Consternations I and II (among others), is also a "Unicon" science fiction convention, with guests cartoonist/writers Phil and Kaja Foglio. Membership is £30 per head (£1 for children); accommodation in the college is £63.75/night with en suite facilities, £43.75/night with shared facilties - but there is a discount of £5 for weekend bookings received before 10th January 2012. Send cheques, payable to Congenial, to 19 Uphall Road, Cambridge, CB1 3HX.

For more information, see

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17th-19th August: Grand Tribunal 2012

, in Cheltenham. "Grand Tribunal 2012 is a role playing game convention for players of the Ars Magica roleplaying game, published by Atlas Games, and other fine games by the same company. ... A small friendly RPG event, we pride ourselves in providing a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for fellow gamers, whatever their level of knowledge of Ars Magica and RPGs generally. If you enjoy games, even if you have never played or even heard of Ars Magica before, you will find a fun friendly weekend with lots of enthusiastic gamers!" When last checked, the con was still offering Early Bird discount rates: "£15 for the whole convention: this covers Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A Saturday only day ticket is available at £10. We offer special a discount, called the Grog ticket, for groups of four people booking and arriving together - three pay, one comes free. ... You can pay by Paypal or by cheque or Postal Order drop

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8th September: Concrete Cow 12½

, at The Old Bath House, 205 Stratford Road, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5RL. This will run from 9:00am-11:00pm, with first games starting at around 10am. Organised by Milton Keynes RPG Club; as they say, "Concrete Cow is a one-day RPG convention. We have a couple of traders, and lots of wonderful games run by you". Admission £5. See

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29th September: Raiders of the Game Cupboard XX

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9th-11th November: Indiecon 2012

, at Hobourne, Naish, Christchurch, Dorset. "Indiecon's mission is to provide a friendly, relaxed and flexible gaming atmosphere where players can play new games and their favourite classic games and playtest the games of tomorrow."

Costs vary, as they mostly include on-site accommodation. See the 'Web site:

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22nd-25th November: Fabulous Consequences

, at Naish Holiday Village, Christchurch, Dorset. "We love to play all sorts of games, whether it's Boardgaming, Freeforms, LARP or Table Top and we hope you'll join us.".

Membership is £30, rising to £35 after the 1st of July; accommodation prices will be announced in due course. See

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1st December: Dragonmeet 2012

, at Kensington Town Hall, London. Still a long way off at the time of typing, but the date has apparently been confirmed, and this is a major UK one-day convention, so it merits a mention. Watch

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29th December: Raiders of the Game Cupboard XXI

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