As a tabletop game store owner, attending trade shows is an excellent opportunity to discover new products, network with industry professionals, and stay ahead of the curve in the gaming industry.
Trade shows provide a platform for game publishers and manufacturers to showcase their latest offerings, and they offer store owners the chance to see and touch the products, place orders, and negotiate deals. They are also a prime opportunity to network with other game store owners and find peers in what can often be a lonely profession.
Whether you’re a seasoned store owner or just starting out, there are several trade shows that you should attend at least once, if not every single year!
In this article, we’ll explore some of the most exciting and essential trade shows for game store owners.
GAMA EXPO
The GAMA (Game Manufacturer’s Association) EXPO is at the top of every game store owner’s list of trade shows to attend each year.
GAMA EXPO is the professional trade show of the tabletop games industry featuring four days of seminars and panel discussions, review and demos of new products. GAMA EXPO provides a welcoming environment to network and build your business with a multitude of professional in our industry.
You must be a member of the Game Manufacturers Association to attend the trade show. All member companies receive two complimentary badges to the show as part of your membership. It is the best $300 you will spend this year! For more information on membership click here.
GAMA EXPO is a treasure trove of learning opportunities for new and aspiring store owners and is often recommended as one of the first events they should attend. The seminars cover nearly every aspect of running a game store from buying to insurance to marketing.
GAME EXPO is scheduled for April 24-28, 2023.
Get more info on GAMA EXPO and find out how you can attend right here.
ASTRA Marketplace and Academy
ASTRA Marketplace & Academy is a four-day trade show and education conference featuring industry leaders and hands-on product demonstrations. The conference draws more than 450 exhibits and includes more than 30 hours of education.
It’s more than a toy show! ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy brings the specialty toy industry together for a big toy family reunion featuring the best and brightest in products, ideas and connections.
Gain new insights during education sessions, make valuable connections at networking and social events, and explore the trade show floor to discover the makers and their products that will delight your customers.
Between the new products hitting the market each year and the additional seminars, there is a huge opportunity for both new and veteran store owners to benefit from.
ASTRA Marketplace and Academy is coming Jun 11 – 14, 2023.
Find out more about ASTRA Marketplace and Academy right here.
ToyFest
ToyFest is a toy trade show in Las Vegas, providing a service for specialty toy stores, manufacturers and sales reps to conduct business for over 60 years. It is recognized as the second oldest and second largest show in the United States.
Don’t miss the first full toy show of the year with close to 1000 different products from over 500 manufacturers.
In addition to toys, other represented categories include gift, infant and toddler, education & books, stem, museum, hobby, costume, beauty, and novelty.
For those that attend the show with the intent to buy, there are often incredible deals to be had.
The next ToyFest is coming February 27 – March 3, 2023.
Check out the details on ToyFest right here.
NY Toy Fair
Toy Fair is the largest and most comprehensive play-focused experience, marrying the industry’s entire ecosystem with key players to help with business development and sourcing the latest products from across all forms and stages of play. Featuring thousands of new and unique toys, games, edutainment, entertainment-driven experiences, and more from around the world, Toy Fair offers attendees a competitive edge no other trade event can match.
Strengthen your business, deepen your current relationships, develop new ones, and discover products and entertainment experiences that will delight, inspire and spark joy at every age, all under one roof in the most vibrant city in the world.
Featuring thousands of new and unique toys, games, edutainment, entertainment-driven experiences, and more from around the world, Toy Fair offers attendees a competitive edge no other trade event can match.
Toy Fair’s new fall timeline is aligned with today’s shifting buying cycles and accelerated delivery timelines; reflecting the industry’s new realities and opportunities, featuring an even broader array of products designed to spark joy at every age, and a perfectly timed opportunity for the world’s leading press to kick-off an even more powerful pre-holiday media splash!
The global toy and play industry gathers to conduct business at Toy Fair. This includes manufacturers, retailers, the global press, sales representatives, licensors, inventors, designers, financial professionals, and more.
The New York Toy Fair is scheduled for Sept 30 to Oct 3 2023.
Get more info on the NY Toy Fair right here.
GenCon
The Best Four Days in Gaming
Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, and strategy games.
For over 55 years Gen Con has been the largest and longest-running gaming convention in North America. Founded in 1967 by Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax, Gen Con now attracts tens of thousands of attendees from around the world to Indianapolis for The Best Four Days in Gaming™.
In addition to the main show, Gen Con also has a business focused Trade Day. Trade Day is a program for educators, professors, graduate students, librarians, and retailers. It is designed to provide hands-on training, share research, B2B and network opportunities, and participate in professional development opportunities through a day of seminars, demonstrations, and events.
Trade Day is split between two focuses, retailers, and educators and librarians. The retailer focus is on business, marketing, and building community. The educators and librarian focus is on how to gamify your classroom/library, gaming strategies in curriculum, and building community.
Anyone with a Trade Day badge can attend all events regardless of the focus.
Gen Con is on the books for Aug 3-6 2023.
Find out more about Gen Con right here.
Essen Spiel
Essen Spiel is the world’s largest public fair for games and thus the Mecca for all board game fans. It’s where you can get comprehensive information about the entire national and international range of games, test them in detail and buy your favorite games right away.
In 2021, 620 exhibitors from 41 nations showed children’s, parlor, family and adult games as well as strategy, post, adventure, fantasy, science fiction and computer games. Of course, the classics Skat, Chess, Doppelkopf, Bridge, Go and Backgammon are not missing. A range of toys and comics rounds off the program.
Once again, it will be possible to try out not only thousands of games of the current year, but also more than 1,000 new games. They will all be subjected to an initial endurance test in Essen.
Essen Spiel 2023 is scheduled for October 5-8.