As an occasional publisher, one of the main avenues for connecting with fellow gamers and fans are face-to-face conventions. In North America, geek conventions, especially comic cons, proliferate with multiple large gatherings in each region. However, tabletop roleplaying conventions are a unique animal, with the vast majority of them cloistered in a small region with each con displaying a wide disparity in attendance. In an area of eight states exist all of the largest tabletop gaming conventions as well as all but one or two of the medium-sized and notable smaller tabletop RPG conventions. Considering the niche size of the tabletop roleplaying game market and the proximity of the convention outlets, is there a reason for a publisher to locate in a specific city? If so, what city is ideal?
There are two types of tabletop gaming conventions: those that are well attended and those that cultivate a select tally of patronage. The difference can be seen not only in the number of gamers at the convention, but the subsequent number of publishers that attend and present at the convention. With a well attended tabletop gaming convention, you can expect a fair selection of publishers, many eager to run games, host workshops, and speak at panels. With boutique sized conventions, publishers are a precious commodity, something uncommon or never seen. Without high attendance, publishers are likely to lose money just to attend the convention. Yet, many small conventions aim for a localized gaming community; read localized as “small”. That’s their right, but the limited numbers mean publishers may lose money attending their convention.
In the world of comic book publishers, many mid-sized publishers have one or two employees that are dedicated to hitting select comic conventions. They arrange the shows, the displays, the accommodations, load the traveling van, and retail at one or more conventions a month. Those employees’ jobs are possible because there’s 15ish comic book conventions that reach 100,000 in attendance.
For tabletop RPG conventions, there are zero 100,000 attendance conventions in North America. There’s only one over 50,000 and two over 10,000. As such, it’d be hard for a RPG publisher to keep a person on their payroll just to hit conventions. But, if the conventions weren’t too far from the publisher’s home and warehouse, they could mitigate their costs and be able to attend more shows, aping the comic book publisher business model.
What are well attended tabletop gaming convention numbers? Let’s put the big North American players up on the board: Gen Con with attendance in the 60,000 range, PAX Unplugged at 20,000, and Origins Game Fair at 18,000 pre-Covid. In terms of the big North American tabletop gaming conventions, there are three.
In terms of smaller conventions, those that are tabletop RPG centric, but decidedly local, serving gamers in a specific city, these are the ones that range from 400 attendees to under 1,500. They’re generally hosted in a single hotel that you can setup in and stay at. Their limited attendance means the publisher needs to limit their expenses: one worker, two nights in the hotel, arrive the morning of the convention, be home late on the last day of the convention. With the small shows, there’s no way to see a profit without an in demand product line and limited costs. What your goal with those shows is to use them as marketing. Demo your games, raise awareness of RPGs, and film/podcast/GoLive while you’re at the show. That money you’re not making has to be converted into an online presence to make fans aware of the cons and the games they could be playing.
What’s between large and small? The difference between Origins Game Fair and the next largest gaming convention is a big decrease in the number of gamers. 18,000 pre-Covid compared to the next largest which is in the 5,000 range. Determining the full list of mid-sized conventions involves a number of large geek culture conventions that have small tabletop components. For example, DragonCon at 85,000 pre-Covid (of which an estimated 2,500 or so are dedicated gamers), falls into the mid-range. PAX West, Dragon Con, and MomoCon are large conventions with a tabletop gaming presence, but it’s a fraction of their overall size.
Looking at the mid-range of tabletop gaming conventions, there are several dedicated RPG cons to talk about. Most engaged tabletop roleplaying fans have heard of Gary Con (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with reported attendance of 2,000 to 2,500), KublaCon (San Francisco, California has 4,000 fans), or GameHole Con (Madison, Wisconsin with “at least 5,000 badge-wearing people at Gamehole Con 2022”). These are the RPG-centric tabletop cons that have the largest existing fanbases and highest likelihood to grow into large shows.
RPG Publisher Location
If you’re an RPG publisher, is there a best location for your business? If you want to connect with RPG fans face-to-face, then, yes, there is a “best” location to be an RPG publisher in North America.
Gen Con is in Indianapolis, Indiana. PAX Unplugged is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Origins Game Fair is in Columbus, Ohio. Gary Con is in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. GameHole Con is in Madison, Wisconsin. Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Kentucky also sport small RPG conventions like Lexicon (Lexington, Kentucky), Con on the Cob (suburban Cleveland, Ohio), CinCityCon and Ice & Dice (both in greater Cincinnati, Ohio), AcadeCon (Dayton, Ohio), CharCon (Charleston, West Virginia), GrandCon (Grand Rapids, Michigan), and Chaosium Con (Ann Arbor, Michigan). If a publisher put these on a map and ignored PAX Unplugged since it’s outside of the cluster of conventions, there’s a location that puts a publisher’s business between eleven of these large and small gaming conventions: Indianapolis, Indiana. Considering only convention logistics and not the city’s resources or infrastructure, Indianapolis is 5.5 hours to Madison, Wisconsin, 4.5 hours to either Grand Rapids or Ann Arbor, 3.5 hours to Lexington, Kentucky, 5.5 hours to greater Cleveland, Ohio, 5.5 hours to Charleston, West Virginia. Every other convention in this area falls within that perimeter meaning you’re no more than 5.5 hours plus stops to any gathering of RPGers. At a maximum of 5.5 hours away, it’s possible to get up early on the day of the convention and get to the show. As well, it’s possible to get home on the last day of the show, though it’ll be late. Cutting out two nights of hotel stays and food makes a difference in the company’s budget.
PAX Unplugged is 10.5 hours away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but that’s once a year and for a larger show making the drive warrants the investment. Beyond expressly tabletop conventions, you’d have great access to a number of Fan Expo conventions as well as C2E2 in Chicago. While not tabletop RPG conventions, they are in the geek family and may present their own opportunities.
Is Indianapolis the only option? If you want to hit the big three (Gen Con, Origins Game Fair, and PAX Unplugged) and don’t care for the rest, Columbus is better located. If you want those three as well as the two medium options (Gamehole Con and Gary Con) plus the smaller cons, it’s Indianapolis, location wise. While Columbus would shorten your travel for PAX Unplugged, Con on the Cob, and CharCon, it’d increase your travel time to Gamehole Con, Gary Con, and GrandCon. Then there’s the convenience of being in the same city as the biggest gaming con.
If you have enough product, these conventions could be a real part of a publisher’s operation. The publisher will need enough content to be able to fill a table with wares. That may be RPGs, accessories, or dice, but they’ll need enough product to consider this a full time gig. In addition to content, there’s a need for a van or rental truck for the big conventions or spacious hatchback for the smaller ones. The publisher likely needs a permanent convention employee, they’d need more tasks, but they’d be the individual that goes to all of the conventions, while the owners would go to some but not others. The goal for that employee is to get them out to the small conventions to give your company a presence and to make sure the big shows are smooth affairs. At the larger ones, the full staff would attend. If the convention is sub-2,000 attendees, one person can handle the setup, sales, and breakdown.
Now, this isn’t foolproof. The concept of setting up in Indianapolis revolves around making conventions a core part of your company’s business plan. If the tabletop RPG convention scene collapses or moves and a publisher is in Indianapolis specifically to work with those cons, it’d impact their bottom line. But, assuming the scene does not fade away then it’d make sense to build on its centralized location and grow gaming as the conventions grow.
DISCLAIMER: Egg Embry attends many tabletop gaming conventions as a member of the press. He participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
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