So I’ve been a bit quiet lately, and there’s a good reason for that. I’m now a resident of Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, having moved here from Leeds a week ago.
I originally started this blog not long after I moved to Leeds five years ago, and it was a great way to get me out of my comfort zone. I did sword fighting, went to a lot of cocktail bars, and ran my first megagame!
And it’s taken me through a lot of changes over the years. For a start, I got married! And I pivoted my blog from a scattershot lifestyle blog to fully focusing on gaming and game design.
So now I’m here, five years on, ready to write about all the exciting things in my new neck of the woods. Here are just a few things I’m looking forward to exploring…
1. The Dice Box
Can you look forward to something if you’ve already experienced it? We may have already managed two trips to our local board game cafe (one pre-move while we were scouting out the town, one earlier this week for their Night with Burley Games). But I’m still excited to go back!
They have “Heavy Mondays” where you can turn up and play a bigger game, guided by their game guru and “Social Thursdays” where you can drop in to meet new people and play a game or two. They also have many many shelves full of games that you can just rock up and start playing.
The Dice Box also sells games and they do hot drinks, alcoholic drinks and enormous slabs of tasty cake. What’s not to love? There is an hourly cover charge, but I can definitely see myself whiling away many an evening there over the coming months. And best of all – it’s about a 10 minute walk from my new house!
There also seems to be a second board game shop (maybe a cafe too) called The Games Den. They appear to focus more on Magic The Gathering and Warhammer, but I’ll definitely be swinging by them as well.
2. Escape Rooms in Leamington
My research has sussed out three different escape room companies in Leamington: Escape Leamington Spa, Escape Room Adventures and Experimental Escape.
I’ve been to another in the Escape <City> chain, and had quite a good time at their Peterborough branch, so I’ll happily go back there to try out some of their games.
Escape Room Adventures doesn’t have the strongest reviews on Escape The Review, but I will almost certainly give them a try to see how they fare.
But the one I am most looking forward to is Experimental Escape. Not only do they have VR rooms, which I’ve never tried before, their room The Machine is top rated for Leamington on Escape The Review! What’s more, I got a voucher for them for winning an employee recognition award at work! They’re our first pick for escaping – we’re booked on to escape with them this Sunday, in honour of my wedding anniversary!
In my new location, I’m also located a lot closer to some of the excellent rooms I’ve heard about! These include The Legend of Miyalock at ClueHQ in Birmingham (which is apparently closing down soon!), and a whooole bunch of games in Reading (including TimeTrap where Tim and I managed to squeeze in an escape just before Covid hit).
I’m hoping this will be a really good base to branch out from and explore some outstanding games in the West Midlands and the South.
3. Girls that Game
I wasn’t sure what kind of gaming scene there would be here – Leamington is, after all, a lot smaller than Leeds. But I was excited to stumble across an all-girls board gaming group, that meets regularly in a pub and online to play games and chat. I really want to put down roots and meet some cool people in the local area, so I’m really looking forward to making it along to one of their pub sessions.
On top of that… Leamington is apparently a bit of a hub in the gaming world! I didn’t realise it, but there are some who call it Silicon Spa, on account of all the gaming companies in the area. So I really shouldn’t be surprised that they’re punching above their weight when it comes to geekery.
4. National Space Centre
One of the hardest parts about driving from Leeds down to Leam was going past the signs for the National Space Centre, and not stopping by!
I went a few times when I was younger, and it was always a fantastic fun time – I remember eating freeze-dried strawberries and crawling into a replica spaceship. I’ve even managed to dig out a photo of fourteen year-old me as an alien.
Luckily it is now under an hour away, so I’m sure I’ll be able to make it across for a visit sometime in the next few months. But what is even more exciting, upon viewing their website, is that they run all sorts of events! I’m crossing my fingers that one of their Space Lates will work out for my schedule…
5. In A Box 3
Immersive virtual reality company, In A Box In A Box In A Box (or however you type their company name) is based just a short hop away into Birmingham. They are currently running an experience based on the Chernobyl disaster. They promise “the most immersive virtual-reality experience in the world”, which is quite a claim, so I’ll definitely be along to check it out. I love using my VR headset, but I’ve not had much of a chance to experiment with commercial VR yet.
NB: Otherworld, which also promises “the world’s most immersive VR experience”, is also coming to Birmingham soon, so I guess I shall have to visit both to compare them!
6. Reading Megagames and SW Megagames
My new local megagaming groups, since there isn’t one in the Midlands, are now SW Megagames and Reading Megagames.
SW Megagames, run by John Mizon, have been known to run games in Oxford and Cheltenham, so not too far away. They’re the origins of the hit game, Den of Wolves – and if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know what a fan I am of that game! I’ve only made it to one game actually in the SW Megagames area previously – a trip to Swindon for A World Divided.
Although they don’t have any dates in the calendar atm, John is pretty prolific so I’m sure I’ll be spoilt for choice when things get a bit more back to normal.
Meanwhile, Reading Megagames are where I’m booked onto my first megagame since February 2020! By Other Means, by Ed Silverstone, is taking place on Saturday 23rd October, and promises to be a day of diplomacy and discussion… or pointing and shouting, if I know my megagamers! There are still a few spots if you want to join me there.
7. UK Games Expo
It may be a year away, but we are SO well located to attend UK Games Expo from next year onwards! I’ve never actually made it, but I’m hoping to make it along in 2022. Although I’m already anticipating being hit up by all my nerdy friends who want a crashpad for the weekend…
And we’re not that far from London…
NGL, one of the best things about moving here is being SO MUCH closer to London. Okay, we can’t easily pop in for an evening, but day trips at the weekend are definitely do-able. From Secret Cinema (which I have booked for next February) to VAULT Festival, to the countless other gaming and immersive options available… Ahhh, I can’t wait.
Anything else?
I am VERY new to the area, so there are almost certainly amazing geeky, gamey or immersive stuff I’ve missed in the area. Any recommendations?