16 - Trade Shows and Conventions

Conventions and trade shows are excellent places to make valuable connections. These might include media contacts, publishers, manufacturers, logistics partners, or fans of your game—or of you as an author. Importantly, these connections can be made both as a visitor and as an exhibitor.

As a visitor, you can walk from booth to booth, but you’ll often miss many people—especially those without booths, like media contacts. Still, these interactions are incredibly valuable, and you can also get a good sense of what your own booth might look like next year.

Having a booth is expensive, especially considering how many people you actually reach. In terms of acquiring new customers, the investment rarely pays off—unless you’re also selling games directly at the booth. Beyond the booth rental itself, there are costs for decoration, travel, and possibly extra shipping for bulky decor or games, especially if you’re offering them by the pallet.

However, being an exhibitor makes it much easier for others to find you, and it’s also a great opportunity to showcase your work—something that’s often difficult as a visitor. Many reviewers and potential fans don’t have booths themselves, so they need to be able to find you.

Trade show contacts are extremely valuable because you’ve already made direct contact. You’ve met in person, and there’s no hesitation about reaching out again. Interested parties are not only likely to become customers—they might even become supporters by promoting your game or helping in other ways. After all, they now know the game designer personally and can get involved. The personal experience visitors have with you sticks with them for a long time. I’m convinced there’s no form of advertising with a longer-lasting effect.

Sure, people remember you when they see a picture of you or your game. But that doesn’t mean they’ll think of it at the right moment. That’s why it’s so important to point them toward your newsletter and social media. That way, they can support you when it’s time to say “Kickstarter is live!” or when there’s an interesting post to share and comment on.

You might even be able to hand out review copies directly at the show, saving on shipping costs and delivery time. That’s not to be underestimated—you often don’t have many review copies, and they need to reach and be played by as many people as possible.

During COVID, things got a lot trickier. Digital conventions became the norm. As an exhibitor, I’m still not particularly enthusiastic about them. Sometimes the “booth fees” are still quite high, and there’s a lot of extra work involved. Usually, you need to set up a website that looks professional and appealing. And unless you offer a livestream where you can interact with visitors, the whole thing lacks a personal touch. If you want the livestream to look polished, that’s a huge amount of work!

The advantage of digital conventions is their accessibility—especially since they’re usually free for visitors. So you can expect decent traffic. But that doesn’t mean visitors will “pass by” your booth like they would at a physical event. It’s a very different experience. For example, when I exhibit at Spiel in Essen, I can speak to every visitor in either German or English. Online, I have to choose just one language for the livestream. And it’s a different dynamic when someone isn’t standing in front of you. Viewers are completely anonymous—you can ask for questions and comments, but interaction has to be initiated from their side.

Also, there’s no real reason why these contacts couldn’t just be made online. Anyone attending a digital convention can find your content online anyway. Even selling at a booth doesn’t feel any different than selling through a webshop.

From others who participated digitally at Spiel, I mostly heard that it felt like a flop—expensive, a lot of effort, and not many “visitors.

After Attending Several Conventions:
Conventions vary widely—some focus entirely on board games, others on gaming in general. Gaming conventions are often split between digital and analog formats. You can see this in the attendees: a large portion is only interested in the digital side. So the number of truly interested visitors is much lower than the total attendance.
Conventions are always a big effort, and you have to weigh whether the cost is worth it. The Spiel in Essen, thanks to its size and visitor numbers, is reasonably priced. But as an exhibitor, including travel and setup/teardown, you’ll need about a week.
Still, the experience as an exhibitor at Spiel is always fantastic, and it pains me every time I can’t have a booth. I love being there every year. The connections are amazing—whether it’s fans with great ideas or other designers, publishers, and manufacturers you can learn a lot from.

What kind of experiences have you had at board game conventions, whether physical or digital? Opinions surely vary—I’m curious to hear yours!