From Friday 8th December to Sunday 10th 2023, the Manchester Central Convention Complex will open its doors to participants of AireCon Northwest, an analogue gaming festival dedicated to providing inclusive, communal gaming experiences.
Named after the River Aire, which runs close to where it was founded, AireCon has been running since 2016. Having previously run in Bradford and Harrogate, it is now coming to Manchester for the first time. The event will feature over a huge amount of tabletop games to try out, a whole host of exhibitors as well as live shows. Here is a short rundown of all you can expect.
Board Game Library
AireCon have partnered with Travelling Man to get together a collection of over 500 board games people can borrow throughout the day.
All of these games are available in their G.A.M.E System. By registering on their system you can browse through available games, register for a game session or start your own for others to join.
Over 500 games to take part in.
To borrow a game on the day, you’ll need to get a Library Card from the organisers, who will take your phone number and a £10 deposit. Once you’ve done that, you’ll then be able to borrow any available games you want until 5pm on Sunday.
AireCon have a matchmaking system for gamers. Stickers are available to wear to indicate that you’re interested in joining a game. You can also find lightsabers at tables to indicate there’s a game that needs more players.
RPG Zone
There are also lots of Roleplaying Game sessions you can join in the RPG Zone. These sessions last between 3-4 hours and cost £2.50 per player.
Available games include Blades in the Dark, Dragonbane, and Dungeons & Dragons.
Exhibitors
At AireCon, you will find a whole host of tabletop and boardgame creators, selling a variety of games, art and accessories.
Exhibitors include, but are not limited to, Bad Penny Crafts, Fan Boy Three, Honeybadger Games, and Nona Gallery.
Tabletop Sale
You can also pick up second hand games at the Tabletop Sale. If you yourself are looking to sell some of your old games, you can hire a table at a rate of £20 for 2 hours.
Gift Exchange
A novel feature in light of Christmas being around the corner is the Gift Exchange at the Christmas tree by the Ticket Desk. To take part, you bring a wrapped present to the tree and take away a present in return. Guide value is £20.
Live Shows and Games
Throughout the weekend, there will also be shows and community game sessions and shows you can take part in. These range from Board Game Bingo, Introduction to Beer Tasting, Mega-Sagrada (a Massively Multiplayer Window Building Game) and Just One Hundred, an adapted game of Just One, that aims to get bigger than 100 players this time around.
You can see a full list of events on their events page.
On Saturday, you can also watch Ben Maddox interview tabletop creators as they eat increasingly hot chicken wings!
Tickets for AireCon are available on their website, ranging from £8-£18 for a day to £30 for the full three days.
Keep an eye on KeenGamer for more coverage of AireCon and other upcoming gaming conventions worth checking out.
