Selling at conventions

Conventions put your game in front of thousands of people who came specifically to discover games, and they let you sell at full MSRP with no middleman. A convention weekend combines your best margin with your best marketing: every demo is an ad, every sale creates a player who shows the game to their group, and reviewers and store buyers walk the same halls.

The economics need honest math. Booth space at a major convention commonly runs from several hundred dollars for a small table to several thousand for a proper booth, before travel, hotels, freight for your stock, and badge costs. Divide total cost by your per-copy profit to find your break-even in copies, and be realistic about whether foot traffic at that event can deliver it. Many small publishers lose money on their first convention and treat it as paid marketing and market research rather than a sales channel.

Demos sell games, shelf presence does not. The booths that move product run continuous short demos, five to ten minutes teaching the hook of the game, not full playthroughs. Have one person demoing and one person handling sales if you can. A "convention special" like a small promo card or a bundle gives fence-sitters a reason to buy now instead of later online.

Start smaller than you think. Regional conventions and local game days cost a fraction of the majors, and the concentrated hobby audience often converts better than the overwhelming crowds of a giant show. Once your pitch, demo, and booth setup are proven at small events, scaling up to a major convention is a much safer bet.