AireCon 2022: Board game festival that started in Leeds house gearing up for biggest event at Harrogate Convention Centre

AireCon, running at the Harrogate Convention Centre on March 11-13, will welcome hundreds of exhibitors, special guests and gaming companies, as well as hosting an impressive catalogue of board games.

The festival was founded by Leeds resident Mark Cooke in 2015 after he hosted an evening of gaming with 20 friends while his wife went away for a hen do.

With three tables set up, a schedule of events, a professional logo and even a sponsor, AireCon was born in Mark's home in Guiseley.

When he later visited the UK Games Expo in Birmingham with his friend Ben Clarkson, they spotted a gap in the market to launch a similar event closer to home.

Mark, 40, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We had such a great time so we looked around for other events that were similar, but we struggled to find anything.

“We thought we’d have a go, building on the AireCon event that happened in my house.

"The following April, we ran one in a church in Bradford and it sold out well in advance."

The festival has grown year-on-year, with the owner of Leeds comic shop Travelling Man, Nabil Homsi, joining the team in 2017.

The comic shop supplies a library of more than 600 board games for the festival, which has drawn in visitors from across the world - as far as the US and Canada.

Mark added: “We knew there was room to grow and thankfully it has, it looks like this year will be our biggest event.

“It’s completely taken off on its own and we’re just trying to hold on for the ride.”

The last AireCon took place on March 13, 2020, just days before the country went into lockdown.

Although they were unable to hold an event last year, Mark and his team hosted a virtual convention with online interviews and a board game-themed pub quiz.

The festival will welcome around 5,000 people through its doors this year, bringing back the social aspect of board games that was Mark's catalyst for starting the event.

“It’s inherently a very social activity," Mark said.

“It’s a couple of hours away from devices where you get to interact with the people around you.

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"And it’s a great icebreaker, there’s something in the middle of the table that you all already have in common.

“It’s something I’ve done all my life, introduced to me by my parents and grandparents, and in the last 20 years it’s really boomed.

"It's now a thriving, growing hobby.”

Cora Hughes and her dad Dan, the founders of the educational adventure board game CoraQuest that was a hit during lockdown, will be special guests at the event this year.

There will be a dedicated family zone run by Imagination Gaming, as well as special events in partnership with YouTube sensations Watch It Played.

Mark added: "The event is accessible for anyone, no matter what they’re used to playing.

"We have people there whose sole role is to make people feel welcome. It will be a chance for people to come back together."

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