Aethermon Studios attended our second PAX Aus in October 2023. This post is a breakdown of how that went, and the first post about this year’s conventions. You can find the second post here, and last year’s PAX Aus series starting here. Both of these are written for fellow creatives contemplating their first PAX Aus as an exhibitor.
In 2022 we won our Pax Aus exhibition space as part of the Indie Showcase tabletop award, where we were previewing/playtesting Aethermon: Ascent (then titled Tower of Darkness). This year had some major changes. For one, we bought our space rather than winning it, and for another, it wasn’t just previewing – we had games to sell! But not the ones we previewed a year ago – we launched a smaller project this year called Aethermon: Collect – a set-collection strategy game featuring our same Aethermon creatures. We successfully crowdfunded that on Gamefound over four weeks in August – crowdfunding allowed us to manufacture a mini-expansion too.
Let’s pretend that you’re a curious enquirer asking all the interesting questions, and I’ll provide the answers. Okay? When you’re ready…
Q: When did you need to reach out to PAX Aus to secure a space?
We expressed interest in about February, before applications were open. We wanted to make sure that we didn’t miss out when they were accepting applications. We asked about both a booth and a table – booths were already sold out, and tables hadn’t yet opened applications. I guess the lesson is, open that conversation early and be prepared to wait for confirmation.
Q: So you had a table? Or a booth?
We had a table. A booth at PAX Aus is a roughly 3m x 3m space with walls on two or three sides (depending if you have a corner position). A table is a 2m x 2m space with no walls – although you do get a nice big poster behind the head of your table.
Q: Was a table suitable for you?
Yes, it was excellent this year. There are different advantages to each – for example, by not having any walls, a table doesn’t present the same psychological barrier to passers-by who might be interested in your product (but then again might not be, and would rather avoid having to commit to walking inside a booth before they’re absolutely certain).
The 2m x 2m description is a bit misleading – PAX Aus is very generous and the Indie Tabletop tables can actually be used a bit beyond that allocation, so long as you don’t impede upon foot traffic zones. This enabled us to offer a bit more to PAX attendees than just a flat demo. We did have two games of Collect being demo-ed throughout the three days of the convention, but we also offered giveaways with a spin wheel which certainly drew a crowd, and by keeping our sales to one side, passers-by could watch a demo game even if they didn’t have time to try it themselves.
Q: What did your table setup look like?
On the table, we had an Aethermon branded tablecloth, and two games of Aethermon: Collect to demo. Collect plays for 1-4 players and we could just about squeeze a 2-player and 4-player game in at the same time. At the back of the table we had a little pyramid of games below our poster. Underneath the table, we stacked our boxes of games, merch, and our coats and backpacks.
Aside from demo games, we were also running giveaways and taking sales. We set up our spin wheel to the side of our table next to the walkway, taking advantage of our corner position. Right next to it was our merch stand – a self-assemble set of drawers that held prizes, giveaways and smaller merch items, and also functioned as a sales counter. Directly in front of the stand was our pull-up banner (1.5m high), allowing a secondary line of sight for our main poster, and conveniently hiding the sales counter when it inevitably got messy.
Q: I’m thinking of exhibiting next year. Would you recommend the same setup for me?
Not necessarily. Obviously you want to consider the demands of your product, but after that, its worth thinking about what you can offer. If you can provide something a bit special, note-worthy, or uncommon to attendees, you’re more likely to get from them the attention you’re looking for.
For example, Jye and Baden from Alien Frenzy had a giant bucket of lollipops to keep demo-ers/playtesters energised, as well as giving away pins. Although yet to launch their crowdfunding campaign and thus unable to sell their game, they did a roaring trade in email addresses.
Jett from Wrong Answers Only dispensed with the table and chairs that came with his booking, and brought his own retro sofa and living room decorations, which was not only eye-catching but totally on-brand for his party game.
Jono and Anderson from Quokka Games had a QR code and rules written on their poster, so passers-by could quickly grasp the flow of the game before having to commit to a demo. Time is precious for attendees, so this is a great way to remove the friction in a potential customer’s interest.
In all of these cases, their visual design (poster, setup, uniform) was really strong. So get things right for your needs, but also figure out how you can be part of someone’s great convention experience.
Q: What was the best part of the event?
As an exhibitor, without a doubt it was meeting people. We don’t get a lot of downtime when we’re demo-ing at exhibitions, so every single person who spends time at our stand is extra special because they bring the convention to us. And as with the previous occasion – people are so lovely at PAX Aus! What a truly generous crowd!
Q: Worst part?
The actual setting-up. We’re not the fastest, and this year Chris had a badly sprained ankle, so it was a physically demanding day getting all those boxes from the car to our stand with only one set of arms to do the lifting. Then there were three days of very little physical rest while said ankle ought to have been healing. But hey – we did it! No regrets!
Q: How did you run your demos?
Our game, Aethermon: Collect, is very quick to play, so we basically just invited attendees to play a game. We tried to keep a full table, so very often we sat strangers down together. It’s a testament to the culture that PAX Aus staff has generated at their event that people were so friendly and willing to share this time with each other. Of course, if a family wanted to play together we didn’t split people up. Blessedly, we had a very good conversion rate from demo to sales, and with demos taking on average about 15 minutes, our sales figures were fairly encouraging. These did vary between days – Friday was quieter, Saturday was very busy, and Sunday was a little more toned down.
Q: Did you offer last-day discounts?
No, out of respect for those who bought our game on day one, we didn’t offer discounts two days later. Discounts are frequently applied by stores who don’t want the hassle of returning unsold stock to their home location, and it’s cheaper for them to sell it at lower price. We didn’t have that problem, and besides, our product didn’t get worse in two days.
We did however offer convention incentives – we offered bundle packages of “game + pin” or “game + pin + t-shirt”, the pins being event exclusive colours that we aren’t planning to manufacture again. This definitely boosted our sales figures.
Q: Was it financially achievable for you to attend?
Yes, we turned a profit at this year’s PAX Aus! This is factoring in hotel accommodation, booth hire, travel, staffing, stock, and sundries. We were benefited in this by booking our accommodation well in advance, driving rather than aeroplaning all our stuff from Sydney to Melbourne, and being able to stay a few nights before/after the convention with friends and family. In future we would expect to have additional staffing expenses. We thought three people would be enough: the two of us, plus one very awesome friend helping us who was there half the time and exploring the convention the other half. This was definitely not enough – once again we had absolutely zero breaks, and the days were even longer than last year.
Q: Any further suggestions for future exhibitors?
- Drink plenty of water. Keep at least one bottle at your stall per staff member. Rehydration tablets or sachets can be helpful in the evenings between convention days. Apples, muesli bars, etc for snacks. Huge gratitude to our friends who stopped by with snacks or offered to get us refills. We didn’t have time to leave and that was a godsend.
- You can book long-stay parking under the MCEC which could be quite useful if you can get around Melbourne for the weekend without a car – leave your backup equipment and merch in a car parked downstairs under the exhibition hall and it’s like having a storeroom from which to re-stock.
- You need high-vis on set-up and on pack-up days. This year they had vests available at the door but that isn’t always the case so if you have your own, bring it in your kit on Sunday morning so you can start packing up your stand immediately after close of doors on Sunday evening. Otherwise, you will need to leave the exhibition hall and source a high-vis vist before you can return.
- Consider joining TGDA – Tabletop Game Designers of Australia. They have a Facebook group, a website, and they’re very welcoming. They have a wealth of knowledge to share, be it about exhibiting, game mechanics, sales, product feedback… Tap into that wisdom, and then, in a few months or years, give some of yours back.
Let me end by saying, we are by no means experts at exhibiting. At every new convention or expo we attend, we are learning and changing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them, and I’ll do my best with an answer. Likewise if you have any of your own advice, feel free to share it.
