General Impressions
The Milwaukee Gaming Classic is primarily a video game convention in Milwaukee that’s usually around April. It’s seen incredible growth, starting as a con that was in a few hotel rooms to now filling up a good portion of Milwaukee’s convention center.
This year they had a revamped tabletop presence and I signed up to be one of the guinea pig vendors for the space. The price was lower than the main vendor hall one and I live in Milwaukee, so it was kind of a no brainer to try it out.
Pros
There were some things that worked in my favor at MGC:
– I was in the “Table Top Village” which was concentrated with table top gamers and other table top creators. This helped increase the likelyhood that someone interested in playing my games would see them (but also see cons on this one).
– I had basically zero transportation cost (though I did pay for parking for one day a couple blocks away) and I had no lodging costs. That was huge for making it profitable and worthwhile and a huge bonus.
Cons
– While the concept of the Tabletop Village is solid, I feel it may have had a visability issue. It was on the first floor where the majority of the con is on the third floor. There were signs, the biggest issue was that their were only a couple of doors open with limited visibility inside. I could totally see a casual person glancing in and seeing mostly just tables with people playing games and keep on walking by.
I really feel like the convention organizers could have done a bit more with social media boosting of the room. Aslo, maybe there could be some alliance with vendors in the main hall to send people down to us and vice versa.
– I didn’t really get to see the con! I turned something I enjoyed doing ever year into a job. I got to meet Jonah Ray from Mystery Science Theater, briefly run through the vendor hall and all that.
– I had limited help to watch the con so bathroom breaks were about the only time I left aside from running to see Jonah Ray.
– The Convention center wanted an insane amount for power an electricity, which makes sense if they’re hosting huge corporate events, but not for struggling artists and the like. It was $199 for a power cord and $450 for internet access. I got a hotspot from the library and had an electric power bank that carried me through it.
Sales!
Everyone loves money talk! I’ll keep it a bit vague, but I made a fairly decent profit at Midwest Gaming Classic. It was my second highest con after Fear the Con, but this time I wasn’t selling used games which was the majority of the money I made at Fear the Con.
Biggest Sellers (By Revenue):
1. Street Wolves USB Tape
2. Street Wolves Turbo Edition Core Book
4. The Wicked Forever King Hungers
5. Savage Worlds Adventure Edtion
If you go by units sold, dice comes in second after my games.
It’s suprising to me that the USB Tape is doing as well as it is. I sold double the amount of themed Street Wolves USB drives than I did hard covers. It has two major things going for it: 1. A coolness factor. 2. It’s cheaper than the hardcover.
I was surprised to have sold two “Street Wolves Mega Bundles” which is pretty much all the Street Wolves stuff I have on sale. One of them the guy negotiated a discount and normally I don’t give an extra discount, but he also bought all the Wicked Forever King stuff too. The other was purchased by a couple and my offer still stands to them that they can play Street Wolves online with me for a session, so if you’re reading this send me an email!
The Forever King is still hanging strong. Not everyone falls in love with it when they see it, but there are folks that pick it up and really dig the vibes. It’s one of those things that just needs some love through seeing it and also explaining it a bit more.
Finally, a few folks picked up the Savage Worlds core book, which is great. They liked my Savage Worlds pitch enough to invest in a hard copy of the book.
Worst Sellers:
– The $10 and $15 price point dice. Wow, this one was a shocker! These things normally keep me afloat during a convention, yet sales were super low. I do have to attribute some of this to getting a new $20 dollar dice tier that drew a lot more attention, so I’m thinking the sales of the lower cost dice went to the higher priced ones.
– The Street Wolves Jumpstart. The Jumpstart is a pretty big dud. Why? It’s priced relatively high, $18 bucks because it cost a good amount to print. And if you’re going to invest any amount, the usb tape is only seven bucks more and you get the full book (albeit in pdf form). The best thing about the Jumpstart is it has a pretty meaty adventure in it. It’s about half the book! That means that completionists and those getting the bundle deal have a reason to pick it up.
– Magnets and Pins: Despite matching the vibes of Street Wolves, I didn’t sell a single magnet or pin this time. They were pushed the the side a bit, which did not help. I’m thinking I’m going to have to lower my prices on them. I’ve also been meaning to make some custom magnets for the display that are themed towards my games directly, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.
– Other Savage Worlds titles. I decided to carry some other Savage Worlds titles and I didn’t sell any. That’s okay though! I had a hard enough time pushing my Savage Worlds title on folks who had never heard of the system in the first place. They served their main purpose which was to get the word out there that there are a lot of other fun settings/companions that you can use with the base rules.
Putting Sales Aside for a Moment
While I did say I did okay at the Con sales wise, it wasn’t bonkers crazy. Table Cat Games is still bobbing along and just treading water. I’m making enough to keep going, but not enough to make me feel like I should even think about making it a full time gig… even though I probably will.
A lot of the value of going to Midwest Gaming Classic was in face to face interactions with people. Even if they didn’t buy my stuff, I was able to hand out cards for this website and Monster Truckers reminders. I was able to at least try to get them interested in my games. Yes, I’m expecting the majority of people to completely forget about me or throw my flier in the trash as soon as they got home. Still, there’s likely a good amount of folks that will follow up, or at least be moved to make a purchase the next time they see my booth.
I also think it’s good to show people that there are folks making games in their own community or at least in the Midwest. And there’s more games than just D&D.
Lessons Learned
Would I do the Midwest Gaming Classic again? Yes. Mostly only if I could do it in the Tabletop Village, I feel like I had good luck meeting folks that were into table top games there. And only if I could get the discounted pricing for being there.
One lesson that I have learned yet I haven’t really been able to do much about because time is a factor is to make more games. Having two or three more games from Table Cat Games would help a lot.
Another lesson, again which I’ve learned but need time to do something about it, is I need to get Street Wolves into a system that doesn’t require another book. As much as I love Savage Worlds, it’s a huge hurdle in trying to make sales. Having two versions of the book would greatly help sales for those that don’t want to invest in Savage Worlds.
And also, I really need to demo Street Wolves, or more ideally, get someone else to do it. I need to either look at seeing if I can get help running the booth so I demo or hire a pro GM to do it.
Finally, further refining my sales pitches will go a long way. I feel like I’ve gotten better. Still, there’s a lot of room to grow on that one.