sent from: Esher, Surrey, UK. destination: California, USA

We walked down the stairs of the theatre, a monument of rusty mid-century English seaside tourism. Inside the too-small entry hall, teenaged volunteers guided people to tickets and forced parents armed with sandwiches and crisps to check in their bags. Stairs descended to a small hall with a few sparse tables, a stage where a girl gave a listless talk about cosplay while three leering boys looked on, surrounded by empty chairs. I played a quick game of Astro Wars, the sound of Christmas 1981.
Was this the MEET MAKE PLAY of Geek 2013? No signs guided us to where other events might be located, but there had to be more.
A small staircase led down further on one corner of the hall, folded tables stacked against the sides. As we descended, we came into a much larger theatre hall, packed with rows of tables, pinball machines, stands. On the tables were computers, old and new, all running games. I could see old favourites – Dropzone, Elite, Ghosts & Goblins.
“Ahh Mr Sanchez,” they appeared to say, “we have been expecting you.”