I am attending for my 10th time!
It is that time of year again when I prepare for my favourite gaming expo of the year…Play Expo Blackpool!
Now I know what you’re thinking. All the travelling to gaming expo’s I do throughout the year Blackpool is really not the most glamorous, and yes, the Norbreck Hotel is possibly the worst hotel in the world to stay at at…..But I absolutely love this weekend!
As the bye line says, this will be my tenth Play Expo Blackpool and honestly I cant wait. I am not being hyperbolic when I say it is easily the best expo of the year. The guests, the cabinets, the trading hall, the stage shows are always top notch but the community is what really makes this event.
Play Expo Balckpool always brings the most amazing guests for panel discussions, Q&A and signings. The magic of Play Expo Blackpool is not only bringing amazing legendary guests each and every year but how accessible the guests are for signings. Most importantly there is no extortionate signing fees. All the panel discussions, signings, gaming, competitions and stage shows are included in your ticket price.
Previous guests at Play Expo Blackpool have included such Legends as The Oliver Twins, Jeff Minter, Roland Perry, John Romero and many many more. So who are the guests this year you ask? First up….
Eugene Jarvis
Eugene Jarvis is an absolute heavyweight of the Golden Age of the American Arcade! His career began in pinball at Atari in the late 1970s before he moved to Williams. His first video game for Williams was none other than Defender, released in 1981, whose scrolling landscape, unusually complex controls and rescue mechanics made it both a landmark design and an enormous commercial success.
He followed up this success by working with Larry DeMar via their VidKidz partnership where they released legendaery titles such as Stargate, Robotron 2084, Blaster, NARC and my personal favourite Smash TV.
In the 1990s, he led development of Cruis’n USA, beginning the long-running arcade racing series. Since 2001 he has headed Raw Thrills, which has continued producing large, purpose-built arcade attractions while much of the industry moved to home hardware. Its catalogue includes The Fast and the Furious, Guitar Hero Arcade and Halo: Fireteam Raven.
At Blackpool, Jarvis will be interviewed by games writer Paul Drury, author of The Arcade (1971–1999): The Stories Behind Classic Coin-ops, Told by Their Creators. Jarvis wrote the book’s foreword and appears extensively in it. Copies will be sold at the expo and can be signed by both men.
Dominik Diamond
For people of a certain age Dominik Diamond needs no introduction. He was the staple of many of our teenage gaming years. The original host of GamesMaster he was (alongside the GamesMaster himself Patrick Moore) responsible for bringing gaming out of the bedroom and onto prime time television.
GamesMaster was a chaotic and quite frankly mental TV Show the featured game reviews, celebrity challenges, tips, comedy and competitive gaming long before esports became mainstream.
Diamond’s irreverent, frequently sarcastic presentation was essential to the programme’s identity. Beyond GamesMaster, he developed a lengthy career in television, newspaper columns and radio, working for stations including Beat 106, XFM Scotland and Talk 107 before moving to Canada and broadcasting in Toronto, Calgary and Halifax. He now writes about games for The Guardian and performs gaming-themed live comedy.
Dominik Will be at Play Expo on the Saturday only but what a Saturday it is going to be! He will be delivering a talk on his career and gaming followed by a Q&A. He will then be holding a signing session before finishing the night on stage with his live performance of Dominik Diamond Sings the Video Games. I have seen a couple of Dominik streams where he is sings the video games and Sonic the Hedgehog and Altered beast are amongst my favourites. I cannot wait to see this performance live.
Not only am I looking forward to meeting Dominik in person I also will be asking him to sign my copy of GamesMaster: The Completely Stuffed Trousers by my good friend and respected author S.L Perrin
The Oliver Twins
Now this announcement has me incredibly excited! Dizzy is one of my all time favourite series of games. It holds so many great childhood gaming memories and is iconic for nearly every retro gamer.
British developers Philip and Andrew Oliver, collectively known as The Oliver Twins, will appear on Sunday 4 October.
Their confirmed programme is:
- 12:00pm stage appearance on Sunday
- A retrospective covering their classic 8-bit and 16-bit games, particularly Dizzy
- Discussion of Dizzy’s approaching 40th anniversary in 2027
- A presentation about a new Kickstarter project and its inspiration
- An “eggs-clusive” piece of breaking news, which PLAY Expo says will be revealed to its audience first
Philip and Andrew began experimenting with computers as children, initially using a Sinclair ZX81 and Dragon 32. Their first published work was Road Runner, printed as a type-in listing in Computer & Video Games in 1983.
After leaving school, they began working professionally with the newly established Codemasters. Their early successes included:
- Super Robin Hood
- Ghost Hunters
- Grand Prix Simulator
- Professional Ski Simulator
- Pro BMX Simulator
- Advanced Pinball Simulator
Their defining creation was Dizzy, the egg-shaped hero introduced in 1987’s Dizzy – The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure. Although the first game reportedly grew slowly, Dizzy became one of the most recognisable characters of the British home-computer era. The Twins subsequently created another seven Dizzy adventures and five arcade-style spin-offs
As the market shifted from home computers to consoles, they produced ten NES games, including The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy. Their expanding operation became Interactive Studios, later renamed Blitz Games, which developed games for numerous platforms and licensed properties.
According to their official retrospective, between 1983 and 1993 they developed more than 50 games across 12 platforms. They credit 26 of those games with reaching number one in the UK and estimate combined sales of approximately five million copies
The Oliver Twins were in fact guests at Play Expo Blackpool back in 2018. Unfortunately an interview I was doing at the time for an indie game overrun and I missed my opportunity to meet them. I will not be making that mistake this time!
Competitions
Play Expo Blackpool is famous for its competitions. None more so than the HALO LAN Ring. A beauty of gaming nostalgia and technology to behold! This year there are multiple competions running over the weekend that are free to join.
The announced tournament programme consists of:
- Halo 3 — Xbox 360
- Super Bomberman — SNES
- Mario Kart World Tour — Nintendo Switch 2
- OutRun 2006 time attack — Xbox
- Super Star Soldier high-score competition — PC Engine
- A Super Smash Bros. tournament, with the specific instalment still being selected
Tournament registration is first come, first served, and prizes will be available.
More importantly if you think you have the skills to go up against the best in Europe then now is your chance!
There is also a separate UK Kong Off 2027 qualifier on Saturday. Anyone scoring at least 100,000 points on the original Donkey Kong will earn an invitation to compete at Arcade Club Bury in May 2027 against leading European players.
Pinball
Equally as iconic as the HALO LAN ring is Pinball Alley. This is easily one of the busiest sections of Play Expo Blackpool and this year will be no different.
The first ten tables, supplied by Electric Circus, are:
- Pokémon
- Transformers
- Doctor Who
- RollerGames
- Radical!
- Metallica
- Godzilla
- White Water
- Cactus Canyon
- F-14 Tomcat
Every table will be set to free play. A second group supplied by London Pinball has been promised but has not yet been published.
Arcade Hall
The Arcade Hall is the core of Play Expo Blackpool. Dozens of iconic and classic machines all set on free play for guests to enjoy. One of the joys of Play Expo Blackpool is walking around the Arcade Hall and getting excited at the classics on offer. Jumping on a 4 player game of Gauntlet, Hopping into the Outrun car and racing away, Gripping the joystick of an X-wing and defeating the Empire in Star Wars. So many amazing machines that bring the nostalgia flooding back. It is so wholesome to watch parents introducing their kids to the games of their youth. Honestly the Arcade Hall alone is worth the price of a ticket.
Everything Else
I have gone on so much already describing what is on offer at Play Expo Blackpool and I haven’t even mentioned the indie game zone, the console zone, the trader hall and so much more! I couldn’t finish this article though without mentioning what really is the secret to Play Expo Blackpool success….the community.
Spending the weekend with my friends (and some of the best retro gaming YouTubers around) NovaBug, Kim Justice, Yellow Belly, Slopes Games Room, Retro Or Bust and Retro Unlim to name just a few. (I am sure I will get a friendly bollocking for missing someone out ) and the rest of the retro gaming community that descends on the Norbreck is what really makes this weekend. It is such a welcoming and friendly community that grows year on year.
I really do not have the words to describe how friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable, passionate, funny and down right amazing the Play Expo Blackpool community is. It truly is a unique expo.
Tickets are available to buy online now and honestly I cannot recommend it enough. Tickets are ridiculously cheap when you consider what is included. I have paid more to attend an expo and then had to pay an extortionate amount for a signing with a guest. That isn’t the case at Play Expo Blackpool. Everything (excluding the Trader Hall) is included in the price.
- Arcade and Pinball Machines are all set to Free Play
- Tournaments are free to enter
- Panel talks are free to attend
- Guest signings are completely free ( bring whatever you want to get signed)
- Every stage show is free
Tickets are priced as:
- Adult ticket – Weekend £47.08 – Day £25.68
- Child ticket – Weekend £34.24 – Day £19.26
- Family Ticket – Weekend £119.84 – Day £70.62
You have to admit, considering everything included in the ticket price, that is ridiculous value.
This will be my tenth Play Expo Blackpool.
There will be arcade machines played, old friends reunited with, far too much money spent in the Trader Hall and, knowing the Norbreck, almost certainly something bizarre happening by Saturday evening.
And I genuinely cannot wait.
So I will finish with exactly the same question I started with…
Will I see you at PLAY Expo Blackpool?
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