Comic Con Midlands NEC Birmingham

11th and 12th July 2026

1. Why I Went

I had a weekend on my schedule where there weren’t any TTRPG conventions. We have not yet reached the point where there is a dedicated tabletop gaming convention every single weekend of the year.

We will one day, I’m sure.

It’s to fill these weekends that I’ve developed my "Choose Your Adventure" set-up. I set up a tale full of pregenerated characters for a variety of genres. Passersby just turn up, select a genre, share out the pregenerated characters and play a game.

I noticed Comic Con Midlands was on at the NEC and wrote to the organisers offering to run my free TTRPG demonstrations. I didn’t expect a response. Comic cons generally don’t know what to make of me. I’m not a "guest". I don’t expect remuneration. I’m not a trader. I don’t sell things or pay for the floor space I use at the event. I’m not an attendee. I don’t expect to pay for entry. All I ask is a table and some chairs and I’ll run some games - for free.

Occasionally a smaller comic con that hasn’t sold all of its floor space to traders and needs a space filled will take a punt on letting me come.

To be honest, I was surprised when Comic Con Midlands accepted my offer.

I usually offer a choice of four genres to choose from - D&D-type fantasy, science fiction, superheroes and steampunk.

The previous weekend someone had requested an X-Men game for StabCon, so I had just made pregenerated character sheets for that. So I had those laminated and added them to my offer.

In addition, I have received comments that - since I’m offering to introduce newcomers to the hobby - I ought to offer the most popular TTRPG, the current version of the "official" D&D rules. So I spent some time reading up on those and making some pregenerated characters for that system.

My report from StabCon mentions me playing in a practice game to prepare.

2. The Shape of the Convention

Comic Con Midlands takes place at the NEC in Birmingham. It is not the only comic con to be hosted there.

It is a big event, covering three exhibition halls over two days.

Its primary USP seems to be the "guests" it attracts. There were 30 celebrities there, mainly actors from TV series and movies. Several even I recognised. (I know a Dr Who when I see one and the lead actor from an MCU movie.) The main activities for attendees are to meet their idols, get autographed photos, be photographed with them and attend panels where they take part in question-and-answer sessions.

There are also a large number of trade stands.

I had a quick chat with one of the organisers when I arrived and he told me he was trying to move these comic cons towards 1/3 guests, 1/3 trade stands and 1/3 other events.

These other events seem to include photo opportunities - there were stands with replicas of Starbug, Buzz Lightyear, the Hobbit Hole, South Park, Jurassic Park etc. - cosplay, gaming etc. Gaming seemed to be under-represented.

Attendees all received a lanyard. On the lanyard was a booklet. This contained the convention timetable - which celebrities were doing what and when. It presumably had some other timetabled events in it.

In retrospect, I should have obtained myself a copy.

So it seems the idea is attendees turn up wearing whatever costume they like. Comic cons are a safe space for this. They scour the timetable for the celebrities they want to meet and events they want to take part in, tick those off and then find other things to do to fill the time.

The organiser was apologetic that none of my pre-convention blurb had been posted on the event's social media prior to the event, so nobody had any prior knowledge that I’d be there or what I was offering.

Though the event took place on Saturday and Sunday, I took the opportunity to pop in on Friday evening to sign in, get my exhibitors' wristband and inspect my space.

I’m glad I did. Though I’d been quite clear that all I needed were two tables and six chairs, I was given a massive 5m by 8m space. I think the organiser hoped I’d turn up with a team of referees and be able to run four or more tables. We agreed to remove two of the side panels, reducing the size of the space and giving more room for attendees to pass by.

3. Events on the Day and Games Run

Saturday

I arrived early to find the size of the space reduced and three tables. I’d only asked for two. I moved one to the back of the space and set up two tables across the front, one to display the genres and pregenerated character sheets and the other set up to play. Adding in my roll-up banner, I don’t think it looked too bad.

Of course I didn’t have anything to display on the back wall.

Because I’d reduced the size of my stand, that made the area in front larger. This was a good thing for attendees. Some conventions can get far too crowded. And it was certainly needed later when the queue for photos with the actor that played "Thorin" overflowed into it later in the day.

Unfortunately this meant less casual browsing and I found it difficult to catch people’s eyes and decide who to approach to offer my games. I never get anyone wanting to play games before lunchtime at these events. There are simply too many wonderful things to see and do when attendees first arrive.

Eventually I convinced a couple of gentlemen who’d heard about role-playing games but never played to try a game. Presented with the options, they wanted to play the "proper" Dungeons and Dragons. As soon as we sat down to play we were joined by a third man. 

This is when the organiser took these photographs.

This was to be my first time refereeing this particular version of D&D. But I used a simple scenario I’ve used to introduce people to TTRPGs successfully in the past.

Partway through the game we were joined by a couple. Their introduction was fun as their characters followed the trail of destruction left by the first three characters before meeting up with them.

Though simple, this scenario has a multitude of possible resolutions. This group found a sensible way of resolving things and managed to rescue the kidnapped villagers with only minor battles with the goblins.

Despite my shyness, I eventually managed to convince a young couple to try a game. 

They wanted to try D&D but elected to play my simplified rules. The solo player from my earlier game asked if he could join in, promising not to give away the story.

This group found a totally different resolution. Whilst one character bravely acted as a distraction, the others crept into the goblin leader’s bedroom to dispatch him.

Later on, my first two players returned asking to try something else. With a slight nudge from me they decided to play steampunk.

This was my missing dinosaur scenario, which always goes well. They again found a positive solution, entering from the rear to tackle the giant tarantula separately from the rest of the opponents in the big final battle. Finding himself outnumbered and surprised by the characters emerging behind him, the evil scientist was happy to cut a deal rather than try to fight his way out.

I failed to get any other interest in games. I’d had one gamer stay with me throughout the day and, whilst it was flattering having players return to my table, I felt a bit deflated at failing to engage more people.

Sunday

I had a serious talk with myself overnight. On Saturday I’d been a bit overwhelmed and found it difficult to find who to talk to and engage with, waiting for people to approach my stand. For Sunday I decided to bite the bullet, walk away from the stand into the middle of the passing crowd and offer my games to everyone, no matter what they looked like.

So I did. I thought I’d come across as a bit of a maniac. Instead people responded really positively. Of course people were rushing to see their favourite celebrity but some people listened and most said they’d be back later. (They weren’t, of course.)

But, because of these efforts, I played three games before lunchtime:

The first was my simplified D&D game with two enthusiastic teenagers and an older father and his tweenage son. This group again found the easier resolution of sneaking around the goblin village to rescue the hostages, though they did choose to split the party at the end. When two of the characters were really successful at dispatching their goblin opponents, they weren’t able to help the other group.

One of the teenagers explained to me that, though this was her first official TTRPG, she’d been making up her own rules to play for some time, based on her favourite TV series.

The second game was with two older teenage boys who wanted to play X-Men - Cyclops and Nightcrawler. I noticed a young lady watching and invited her to join in. She chose to play Storm.

I’d been a bit worried that this scenario was a bit simple but it isn’t possible to fit major X-Men opponents into a short game. No Magneto here. But everything seemed to go well.

As so often happens in my games, the final battle didn’t work out well for the heroes and Cyclops was forced to resort to extreme measures to stop the bad guys.

The third game was started by a young couple who were soon joined by others to play a science fiction game. This was resolved by the Space Jockey character choosing to charm the Pirate Queen and do a deal. The pirates could continue with their dodgy dealings. The players’ scrappy trader would dispose of their ill-gotten goods.

I never get games at these sorts of cons in the mornings. Today I’d had as many before lunchtime as I’d had all day on Saturday. My more proactive approach had worked.

After eating my meal deal - food was available at the event but I’d come prepared - I had a group playing my X-Men scenario again.

This group played sensibly, making a deal with the bad guy, Unus the Untouchable, to avoid a fight in the first scene. He told them where to find the evil geniuses behind the plot. There were a couple of funny scenes with Nightcrawler scaring some pigeons, who later arrived to help Wolverine. Despite all of this the final opponents again overwhelmed the heroes and it was Wolverine who had to cheat to win this time.

Immediately afterwards, I had a group wanting to play X-Men again. A critical miss by Storm caused her lightning to eviscerate Wolverine, delaying his entry into the final battle. For the third time in a single day, the battle turned against the heroes. For the second time that day Cyclops was forced to take desperate measures to win.

Late afternoon I was joined by a group that usually play D&D together. They chose to play my steampunk dinosaur game. This went as well as it always does but when the final battle proved too much for the characters, Colonel Rufus MacMillan chose to incinerate the scientist’s underground cellar, destroying all of his hideous creations. MacMillan also chose not to save his erstwhile comrades, however, in order to keep his perfidy a secret. I am sure that him being played by the group’s Dungeon Master had no influence on his decision.

There was time for a seventh game but by then the convention was winding down and I couldn’t drum up any interest.

4. Play Reflections

My decision to fight my inherent shyness and approach just about everyone I could to offer games on Sunday really revolutionised my experience of this event. I am going to try and be this ebullient at future comic cons even though it isn’t in my nature.

The rewards are worth it. Three games on Saturday, six games on Sunday.

I have no concerns about any part of the games I offer. Even the new characters for the current "official" Dungeons and Dragons worked well with my usual scenario.

The climax of many of my scenarios often ends badly for characters, requiring the players to be inventive. Even if it’s an introductory scenario, players need to realise that there can be real jeopardy. So I’m not concerned that my new X-Men scenario could have ended badly for the heroes all three times it was played. That was just the luck of the dice.

The lack of major X-Men villains didn’t seem to affect people’s enjoyment. At least there was a massive Sentinel at the end.

I received a really positive message from the organiser after the event saying I’d be welcome back any time.

5. Cost, Time, and Value

My costs reflect my own circumstances (travelling from Birmingham and making use of available rail discounts), so readers should treat the numbers as indicative rather than directly transferable.

This is going to be fun!

Headline figures

Convention cost (ticket): £0. As an exhibitor I got in free.

Travel cost: £0. I live in Birmingham and have a senior bus pass for free travel.

Accommodation cost: £0. I can travel to and from this event so don't need to stay in a hotel.

Total convention-specific cost: £0

Total hours of gaming (played and run): 9

Cost per hour of gaming: £0

6. What I Took Away

Despite this being a really large event - the biggest comic con I’ve been to - and my little offering being completely overwhelmed, things went extremely well.

This was especially true on the Sunday after I’d ordered myself to be more proactive in approaching strangers and encouraging people to get involved.

I’ve formed a good relationship with this particular organisation and would be welcome at their future events. They would like to offer more TTRPGs and offered me a large space. I’m very tempted to see if I can’t convince more TTRPG referees to attend and try to build a bigger presence. Maybe on big enough to be included in the official timetable worn around the necks of every attendee.