A Day at the Bolton Retro Gaming Market

A Day at the Bolton Retro Gaming Market

Last month I attended my first retro gaming market in 8 years at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in Bolton, and it turned out to be an enjoyable day out for any gaming enthusiast.

Gaming Market - Bolton, UK — 8 March 2026

‘Replay Events’ have been running their Video Game Markets for over 10 years in various locations around the UK, and judging by the turnout while I was there, the enthusiasm and love of the more ‘mature’ video games is as strong as it was since they began. The last event I attended was in Doncaster back in the late 2010’s and I remember it being as busy there as it was in Bolton. Back then I remember joyfully bouncing away with a copy of ‘Double Dragon’ for Game Boy which I had been looking for to scratch a nostalgic itch I had from remembering playing it on my primary school friend’s handheld on a school trip many a moon ago. I remember at that last market thinking how tempted I was to part with a lot more money due to the incredible amount of Consoles, games etc on offer. It was exactly the same this time around. There’s something special about seeing rows of classic consoles, computers and cartridges in person that just doesn’t compare to browsing online. The variety on display was impressive. The gaming market set up allows you to buy a ticket online which allows you access from a dedicated time slot, earlier tickets cost a little more of course due to having quicker access to the market seller’s goods. I like the idea for this. It’s going to be busy anyway but having everyone steam in when the doors open would be chaotic, so I am happy to pay a little more for an earlier entry. The 11am slot was fully booked so me and my friend went for the 12pm slot at a cost of £5 per ticket.

Some classic consoles including a Famicom 2 (also known as the Top-Loader NES)

Having parked up and meeting my friend, we walked around the stadium to join a fairly modest queue and receive our wristbands and get are tickets scanned. Upon entering the event hall I could immediately see how those 11am slot tickets sold out as it was very busy. There were a vast amount of table stalls set up and while my ideal strategy would have been to follow them around in chronological order, it was far too busy to be able to do that with somany people crowded around a lot of them. It was going to be a case of just go to what is available or patiently wait for a gap to appear and slip in.

First up for me was a particular highlight seeing a table of modded console’s including TWO top loading Famicom’s which was the first time I actually got to see one in person. Being a big NES fan back in the early 90’s (see previous blog post) I always remember seeing the console in a Nintendo magazine labelled the ‘NES 2' and being fascinated by it. The console was never released in the UK as far as I am aware and was late in the NES lifespan with the 16-bit era already in full flow. Whilst I preferred and loved my classic NES console, I remember being happy that they still were trying to get a bit more life out of the machine, thinking there may be more games on the way. I have seen the console many times on Youtube videos by people like the ‘AVGN’ and ‘Pat the NES Punk’ and had always just wanted to see one in person. Seeing the Japanese version was a cool thing for me.

I didn’t have many real targets to buy this time around with the temptation to buy so much being there but knowingly not having the space at home to be getting more things while I am currently trying to streamline my collections. I did have two Game Boy games that I would have gone for though which were ‘Castlevania Adventure’ and ‘Dr Mario’ if they were at a fair price. Moving through the stalls it was great to see so many consoles hooked up to TVs running some classics such as a Mega Drive 2 with Sonic as you can see in the picture above. It just felt comforting. There were some really cool stalls with 3D printed accessories such as game cartridge stands and fun desk lamps etc. Stalls selling signed movie memorabilia, pop culture bits and more were also among the others. Even though it was getting pretty busy, the atmosphere was good we were in no rush it was nice to go off on our own and stroll around at a chilled pace and just have a browse. After about 15 mins I found a stall which brought all that nostalgia back, an ‘Amiga’ magazine stall with the in-publication ‘Amiga Addict’ stall which showcased a plethora of magazines to my delight. I owned an Amiga 1200 and used it for many years for everything from school and college assignments to gaming. It’s great that there is such a great community of enthusiasts for the computer range over 30 years after its demise. Seeing the great covers reminded me of the many Amiga magazines I used to get back then and I decided I would definitely purchase one to support. The editor of the magazine himself called Ian was helming the stall and I had a really cool chat with him, in which he was telling me about some of the cool interviews he has gotten to do for the mag. I opted for an issue which included an interview he had done with the brothers who designed the Championship Manager (now Football Manager) series which was probably the game which I invested more hours to than any. The fact they are Everton Football Club fans too (my team) made it even more appealing. It ended up a great read.

Continuing through it was great seeing so many original boxes of consoles and accessories which took me back in time. After sifting through many Game Boy games on various stalls I eventually found both games I was looking for but they were priced quite a bit higher than what I had seen online so I gave them a miss but enjoyed the hunt altogether. As an hour went by and the next wave of people came through it was getting to the point where it was just a bit too packed out to enjoy the walking around as much and the more people you get the more likely there will always be one or two hogging certain tables for long periods. It’s just the way it is, I guess. I can imagine it would be hard to police, and unfair to put timescales on your visit to try to control the crowd flow but it just got to the point where we were ready to go. In all fairness though I had a really good time and was glad we got the second slot of the day so I did manage to see everything I wanted to and while there was a table stall or two I didn’t get a proper chance to look at due to crowding it was a very satisfying visit. I met back up with my friend who had bought his son some cool bits and we headed for the exit. I would definitely go again to one of the other markets whether in Bolton or a drivable distance away, next time hopefully getting the early-bird time slot. I’d highly recommend dropping in to one if you have never been before, whether you have any purchases in mind, or just to browse and enjoy that nostalgic buzz seeing old consoles, computers, and classic games. It was a well organised market and some really cool vendors with cool stalls and was very warming to see the love of retro gaming being as strong as ever. Even without buying much, I really enjoyed walking around, chatting with stallholders, and soaking in the atmosphere. It’s a reminder that retro gaming isn’t just about the games it’s about the community, the memories, and the stories behind every piece of hardware.

Dru.

Please check out ‘Retronians Podcast’ on Spotify and Apple podcasts to hear Dru, Hogan, and guests chat retro gaming and classic movies each month.