The annual Blackpool PLAY Expo is this weekend (October 4-5) and promises to be the biggest retro gaming even in the UK this year. Here’s what’s on…
I’m leaving the house at 7.30am on Saturday to start the 2.5-hour drive to Blackpool. The reason? Well, of course it’s to attend PLAY Expo Blackpool, the biggest retro gaming event I will have ever been to.
Forget game fairs and retro bars — this is the thing I’ve wanted to go to for years!
PLAY Expo Blackpool has been getting bigger and bigger over the years, and this year is hosting a range of events and panels that you’re probably going to want to check out.
What’s on at Blackpool PLAY Expo?
The main program events currently looks like this:
| SATURDAY 4TH OCTOBER | SUNDAY 5TH OCTOBER |
| 10:15 WELCOME TO PLAY EXPO | 10:15 WELCOME TO PLAY EXPO |
| 10:30 SSX TRICKY: HI-SCORE CHALLENGE | 10:30 MULTIPLAYER MADNESS |
| 11:30 RETRO SCREEN BREAK | 12:00 RETRO REVELRY |
| 12:00 DONKEY KONGA | |
| 13:00 RETRO SCREEN BREAK | |
| 13:30 DOOM: BEAT THE CREATOR (WITH JOHN ROMERO) | 13:30 HALO 3 TOURNAMENT FINAL |
| 14:30 RETRO SCREEN BREAK | 14:30 SONIC 3: TIME ATTACK |
| 15:00 CAPCOM VS SNK 2 (SEMI-FINALS AND FINAL) | |
| 16:00 10 PLAYER SATURN BOMBERMAN | 15:45 BURNOUT REVENGE: CRASH CHALLENGE |
| 17:00 RETRO REVELRY | |
| 17:45 CLOSING CEREMONY | 16:45 CLOSING CEREMONY |
If you prefer to see guests, a great collection has been assembled:
- John Romero: Known as the “father of first person shooters” for his work designing DOOM, Quake, Heretic, and Hexen.
- Charles Cecil: Co-founder of Revolution Software and creator of the iconic point-and-click adventure series Broken Sword.
- Tony Warriner: Co-founder of Revolution Software and designer of the Virtual Theatre game engine, known for Broken Sword and Beneath a Steel Sky, and currently working on UrbX Warriors with Stoo Cambridge.
- Jeff Minter and Ivan ‘Giles’ Zorzin: The pair behind psychedelic gaming classics like Gridrunner, Llamatron, and TxK.
- Simon Phipps: Veteran designer for Core Design (Rick Dangerous, Switchblade); he will be giving a talk and exhibiting his artwork.
- Matt Householder: Producer and designer for major titles including Diablo I & II and Epyx’s California Games.
- RJ Mical: Hardware and software developer best known for his work on the Commodore Amiga and Atari Lynx.
Meanwhile, these indie developers are also expected to be in attendance:
- Blind Squirrel Games (Game: Cosmorons)
- Fallen City Studio (Game: Fallen City Brawl)
- Escape Code Games (Game: Safe Hayven)
- Glass Frog Games (Games: 8 Bit Space / 8 Bit Space 2)
- Lowtek Games (Games: FLEA!2 / Tapeworm / Playhead / Light Book)
And, of course, the event features games: LAN, rhythm, arcade cabs, retro gaming, a shopping hall, tabletop gaming, and educational stands, too.
Blackpool PLAY Expo is sponsored by Bitmap Books and Zen Market, a website that helps you to buy items from Japan (like games) without having to navigate a Japanese website.
Fancy going? There is still time to grab tickets to the PLAY Expo Blackpool 2025 event at Eventbrite, and stay up to date on other events by keeping an eye on @ReplayEvents.
I’m really looking forward to this!
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.