This year’s UK Games Expo did not go without controversy, as a tabletop RPG was blocked from appearing due to themes of sexuality and queerness. As previously predicted, 2023 was a major success for the UK Games Expo, smashing the attendance record and cementing a successful post-COVID recovery. However, this latest controversy caused a lot of negative reactions, which eventually led to its directors apologizing for the occurrence.
The controversy began with a Twitter post by RPG designer W.H. Arthur, sharing that his proposed live session runs of Avery Alder’s Dream Askew and Jay Dragon’s Sleepaway at this year’s UK Games Expo were promptly rejected, specifically citing queerness and themes of sexual orientation as the reason. To add insult to injury, all mentions of queerness were removed from Sleepaway’s event description, which is a core theme.
Both Dream Askew and Sleepaway feature queerness in a major way. For instance, Dream Askew is about a queer community surviving and living through the collapse of civilization, and instead of wildly epic adventures and battles, focuses on personal drama and intense, meaningful dialogue.
Sleepaway, on the other hand, puts players in the position of camp counselors at a summer camp besieged by a deadly shape-shifting cryptid known as a Lindworm. The counselors must therefore protect their youth, which is described as being “misfit kids defined by their marginalization”. The Publisher, Publisher Possum Creek, describes it as: “A horror game of Belonging Outside Belonging about a group of summer camp counselors protecting their queer youth from a monstrous cryptid.” – this description is posted on their website.
A Public Apology Setting the Correct Tone and Giving the Right Message
UK Game Expo directors Tony Hyams and Richard Denning have issued a statement via Twitter, which we will share in full:
It has been brought to our attention that two errors were made in run up to this year’s UKGE. Firstly an RPG scenario was rejected prior to this year’s show due to subject/theme of sexual orientation. Secondly, new GM’s did not receive their Volunteer Orientation training.
On the first matter, we have reviewed the email chain between the RPG Manager and the individual submitting the game and have found that this is true. UKGE does not accept scenarios containing “sexual content” due to the past experience of this type of content causing distress –
and upset to players. However, this does not extend to sexual orientation. The volunteer made an error of judgement in conflating the two and UKGE offers our unreserved apologies to the GM.
It is not our policy to censor based on sexual orientation and we failed the GM by rejecting the scenario and the volunteer by not giving sufficient support and advice. The volunteer was over sensitive to an incident that occurred in 2019 and stepped over a line.
We have always tried to be an inclusive and diverse convention, welcoming all. Sometimes we make mistakes, and this was one such time.
On the second matter this was an error in administration where two people each thought the other had dealt with the matter and so the training was not set on the administration system.
It only affected the new GM’s but this was still a mistake on our part and we are updating our computer systems to ensure it cannot happen again.
We hope you understand that running a large and complex event we do make mistakes but we will also try to learn from them and do better in the future.
Tony Hyams
Richard Denning
Tony Hyams and Richard Denning definitely get credit for this statement and for owning up to their mistakes, as UK Games Expo must always be a safe and all-inclusive zone for everyone, regardless of gender and beliefs. We firmly believe that the organizers had the best interest at heart and that this issue will not be repeated in the future.