We (as in Jessica and I from EN Publishing) were exhibiting at London's Dragonmeet TTRPG convention this weekend. It has long been my favourite convention, due to its smaller size and its TTRPG focus. UK Games Expo is ten times the size, and is much more boardgame-centric, while Dragonmeet has always had this 'cozy' feel. We've always done better, sales-wise, in a single day at Dragonmeet than any single day at the longer UKGE event.
Of course, this is very much from the point of view of a small exhibitor running a stand. I can't speak to what it was like for an attendee, or for those actually gaming at the event, as I wasn't able to do either of those things. Work, work, work! So, your mileage may very well vary depending on how or why you were there.
For the last decade or so, Dragonmeet has been at the Novotel in Hammersmith, London. Last year it was clear that the convention had outgrown that space, and this year it moved to the much larger ExceL in London's Docklands. I don't know the exact numbers, but I was told that they sold 25% more tickets than last year, and had twice the number of exhibitors. I didn't count them, though! The result was the busiest Dragonmeet we've ever had--while I do miss the cozy feel of the Novotel, I can't really argue with the increased sales, the more efficient loading and unloading process, the on-site facilities, and not needing to queue for half an hour for the toilets or to get a drink. The new space is more spacious, and while it has that warehouse/aircraft hangar feel that UKGE's NEC has (and no carpets!) I was really happy with the whole thing. Congrats to the organisers -- Dragonmeet changed ownership (yet again!) this year, having previous been run by folks like Cubicle 7 and then Modiphius, although a lot of the same people are involved.
With Dragonmeet growing, it does make me wonder if the space for a new 'cozy' TTRPG convention will emerge. We at ENP occasionally bring up the idea of arranging a South Coast event, although it's never gone further than mild musings. I know it's a LOT of work!
Fun trivia--apparently the hall we were in was the same hall that they filmed the Tumbler sequence in Batman Begins! Or so I'm told.
Morrus and Jessica just before the show opened to the public on Saturday morning!
We sold out of our new card game, Split the Hoard -- it turns out a £15 boxed card game is the ideal holiday gift (although do not fear--we still have stock in our US and UK warehouses, available to buy from our webstore!) and several other books like our Level Up Adventurer's Guide were down to just a single copy by the end of the day. We also launched our new ShortQuests line of digest-sized softcover mini-adventures designed for one shots of D&D. We trialled three of those little books to see if they 'worked' and as a result we will be continuing the line and making lots more! These smaller items sell much better for us than big expensive heavy hardcovers and TTRPG boxed sets, which are less of an impulse buy.
We only had the one demo copy left by the end of the day!
The other side of these things, of course, is the social side--it's always great to catch up with friends who we only get to see once or twice a year at these events, and it's wonderful when our podcast listeners drop by to say hello. Of course, now we've been on video for the last year, they know what we look like, not just what we sound like (in previous years there were definitely folks who recognised us literally just by our voices). They all agreed that I was the best one on the podcast.
I didn't get much chance to wander the hall this year. With just two of us on the stand, I only had about 30 minutes to grab a sandwich and a coffee. With the larger shows, when we have a bigger team present, we work in shifts so everybody gets plenty of time to browse, shop, or game. So, no purchases for me. Then again, I own enough unplayed TTRPGs to last the rest of my life.
And finally, I'd be remiss if I did not mention the robot dog. Somebody was walking a robot dog around the show--you know, like the scary ones with no head from that Black Mirror episode. Fortunately, we survived the encounter.
Anyway. All in all, a great show, and one I highly recommend. Looking forward to next year!
Yes, it's a scary robot dog. Hide!
Of course, this is very much from the point of view of a small exhibitor running a stand. I can't speak to what it was like for an attendee, or for those actually gaming at the event, as I wasn't able to do either of those things. Work, work, work! So, your mileage may very well vary depending on how or why you were there.
For the last decade or so, Dragonmeet has been at the Novotel in Hammersmith, London. Last year it was clear that the convention had outgrown that space, and this year it moved to the much larger ExceL in London's Docklands. I don't know the exact numbers, but I was told that they sold 25% more tickets than last year, and had twice the number of exhibitors. I didn't count them, though! The result was the busiest Dragonmeet we've ever had--while I do miss the cozy feel of the Novotel, I can't really argue with the increased sales, the more efficient loading and unloading process, the on-site facilities, and not needing to queue for half an hour for the toilets or to get a drink. The new space is more spacious, and while it has that warehouse/aircraft hangar feel that UKGE's NEC has (and no carpets!) I was really happy with the whole thing. Congrats to the organisers -- Dragonmeet changed ownership (yet again!) this year, having previous been run by folks like Cubicle 7 and then Modiphius, although a lot of the same people are involved.
With Dragonmeet growing, it does make me wonder if the space for a new 'cozy' TTRPG convention will emerge. We at ENP occasionally bring up the idea of arranging a South Coast event, although it's never gone further than mild musings. I know it's a LOT of work!
Fun trivia--apparently the hall we were in was the same hall that they filmed the Tumbler sequence in Batman Begins! Or so I'm told.
Morrus and Jessica just before the show opened to the public on Saturday morning!
We only had the one demo copy left by the end of the day!
The other side of these things, of course, is the social side--it's always great to catch up with friends who we only get to see once or twice a year at these events, and it's wonderful when our podcast listeners drop by to say hello. Of course, now we've been on video for the last year, they know what we look like, not just what we sound like (in previous years there were definitely folks who recognised us literally just by our voices). They all agreed that I was the best one on the podcast.
I didn't get much chance to wander the hall this year. With just two of us on the stand, I only had about 30 minutes to grab a sandwich and a coffee. With the larger shows, when we have a bigger team present, we work in shifts so everybody gets plenty of time to browse, shop, or game. So, no purchases for me. Then again, I own enough unplayed TTRPGs to last the rest of my life.
And finally, I'd be remiss if I did not mention the robot dog. Somebody was walking a robot dog around the show--you know, like the scary ones with no head from that Black Mirror episode. Fortunately, we survived the encounter.
Anyway. All in all, a great show, and one I highly recommend. Looking forward to next year!
Yes, it's a scary robot dog. Hide!
