UberCon 3 Report

[Luke]

UberCon 3 was this weekend. In the past, there have been a number of problems with this con -- low attendance and non-existent organization were the big demons -- but the organizers seemed sincerely interested in getting it right and trying again.

They nailed it this time. UberCon 3 had their above board gaming fare -- console games, LAN network, CCGs, RPGs and demo tables. What they did right this time, I think, was promoted the event and booked it in a space perfect for its size. (The other hotels were too big). Of course, they had the weight of their third try behind them, too. I am certain that the repeat factor helped.

I'm sure many people will complain about Saturday being too crowded, but I was in heaven. Shoulder to shoulder gamers who all were either in sight or earshot of my table. H-e-a-v-e-n.

The experiment this time was: Run constant BW games, but sell from the dealer's room (at the NerdNYC table). (It should also be noted that the UberCon staff essentially bestowed me with a demo table without my asking. For that, I am eternally grateful. That is the hallmark of attentive and caring con organizers.)

I ran demos starting Friday at 6 pm until Sunday at 4 pm. We packed up at midnight every night and started again at 10 am. (I consider that running straight through.) We had a full table the entire weekend. In fact, we had 18 or 19 people show up for our Saturday night game of Poisonous Ambition. I was extraordinarily proud that we got everyone of them who wanted to play into a game of PA right then and there (16, if my count is right).


But it's hard to tell if the experiment worked, because the con was so busy. The Nerd boys didn't have a demo table for their t-shirts, but they sold extraordinarily well. Their best con to date. Burning Wheel also sold incredibly well -- our second best weekend with 17 sets sold.

So did we sell well because of the demo/dealer gestalt? Or was it just a busy con. Considering how many people who demoed the game went bought it in the dealer's room, I'd have to say the two-fold approach had some influence. And it was great to be able to really focus on just running and only have to do soft-sells. People left my table happy and satisfied and I was reassured that they were going to see our spread in the dealer's room and think well of us.

In addition to BW sales, I sold two more copies of Sorcerer and a copy of Kill Puppies for Satan. We had requests for Orbit and Sex and Sorcery that I could not fill (and was thereby very disappointed). I am certain I would have sold a few copies of Universalis, too, but Ralph's package arrived today -- a day after the con, of course.

Lastly, I met more incredibly nice and supportive folks at this con. I continued to be completely amazed at and humbled by how cool the rpg community really is. Thanks all, you know who you are.

I-CON up next, that's going to be a big one.
-Luke

[Mike Holmes]

Congratulations. Sounds like you did incrediby well, and that the con was a real success in general.

Mike

[M. J. Young]

Luke, I don't know if these points will help your analysis, but I'll offer them all the same.

We sold some Multiverser stuff over the table at demos, and had other people note the web site (who said they'd blown their budget before they got to us); so the demo seems to have made a difference, and assuming I do the next one I'll probably push for wall-to-wall demos.

Meanwhile, one of the other vendors commented on Saturday that he was not doing so well as he would have expected for the volume passing through the dealer room, so it may be that NerdNYC benefited in part from you sending people their direction. On the other hand, I did buy from that vendor on Sunday, so I don't know how many others were (like me) waiting until the last minute before blowing our budgets.

Oh--I like the set wrappers; very nice. I've already got BW, of course, so I didn't buy another. I was looking particularly for Universalis, MLwM, and the Sorcerer supplements (having already purchased the core rules). So let me tell those out there who are not refilling your stock that there are potential sales out there.

--M. J. Young

[Dregg]

It went well for Chapter 13 Press as well.
Granted I had only time to do one Bad Muthas Demo (I was supporting my home con at a fan table), but the Demo was full and everyone who played loved the game, and unlike previous demos actully liked the new mechanics. People were recptive to play in indie games, there are too many cons where people come to play D&D and thats it.

I agree with Abzu about the organization.  People were wandering aound lost, but on the other hand dynamic demoing such as Abzu's BW Melee demos thrived off of the Chaos. The Quality of players was really good, and I did not have any problems with anyone. I did not care to much for the Prize support methods, it seemed impossible to get anything cool. Like for example to get a RPG book at a Wild Gazebo event is not hard, even Double Exposure events are great places to come home with neato swag. Ubercon had some very high goals to get prizes that were worth anything. I have my own support so I did not really care, but It is noce to know that you could come home with a nice prize, and not have to mug people or friends for thier Prize tix.

Would I uber again? Well yes and now I know what I am in for, so I can prepare.

[Brennan Taylor]

I too had success at Ubercon. Bulldogs! is currently at press, so I didn't have any to sell, but I got a good reception from the players, and got two pre-orders on my site after the con. All in all, I was glad I went. Next time I will schedule more demos, but I didn't sweat it as much this time without actual product.

[taepoong]

I was working the seller's table in the Dealer Room for Abzu, while he was demoing. I made it a point to ask people that bought the game if they had just played the demo. Almost all of them replied "Yes."

Also, when I pitched the game and sensed some hesitation, I highly encouraged them to try the demo first and then decide. This ability to try the game immediately was definitely responsible for more than one of BW's sales.

I would think that this was the way to go for any indie at a Con. A constant unscheduled demo table where anyone interested could play at any time plus a dealer's table equals good sales.

In regards to UberCon's prize tickets, I found they were only good for earning Peanut M+Ms. This was especially true since there were no visible vending machines on the first floor and even if there were, they would've been really expensive.

[nerdnyc]

so it may be that NerdNYC benefited in part from you sending people their direction.

or maybe it was the fine quality of our t-shirt line =)

It was a pretty young crowd, to whom a $15 t-shirt seems like a better deal then a $34 board game. We also had the best spot for our products.

It was a great convention for us and the team-up with BW, The Forge and NerdNYC works well. I love pushing indie RPGs, but wish that I knew a little more about the products, so I could pitch them better.

The ability to send people to a demo table that close was very helpfull. I would give people the quick sell (if taepoong was not around). If they still didn't get it - pow, over to the BW table. Luke had several people watching the demos. One kid bought the book from watching a demo and then later signed up for an adventure.

Next UberCon I'm planning on getting a bigger table so we can spread out and have the chance to demo some game mechanics of the different Forge games on the spot. I hope to learn a couple of the games before the next Con, to increase my ability to pitch them.

[M. J. Young]

I love pushing indie RPGs, but wish that I knew a little more about the products, so I could pitch them better.

I'm guessing this is Aaron. I hope to be at the next Ubercon; you're welcome to join a Multiverser demo, and if I can run another game I will (probably Legends of Alyria, but I also hope to have become sufficiently familiar with Sorcerer by then).

Off topic, are you guys going to be at DexCon? I am trying to figure out how I can manage New Brunswick, but my wife likes the idea of trying to turn it into a family vacation, so it might happen. Just trying to figure out what I need to cover to make it work, and your presence there would be a big help.

Thanks.

--M. J. Young

[Dregg]

Off topic, are you guys going to be at DexCon? I am trying to figure out how I can manage New Brunswick, but my wife likes the idea of trying to turn it into a family vacation, so it might happen. Just trying to figure out what I need to cover to make it work, and your presence there would be a big help.

Thanks.

--M. J. Young

I cannot Speak for all nerds, but this one will be at Dexcon and If things go as planned there will be a large force there doing demonstrations of various Indie games. I won't say too much more on that until details have been hacked out.
Dexcon wants to offer indie forgers some nice perks to come out and strut our stuff, I know I have touched bases with the head Nerd on this, but I have yet to talk to Abzu.
I plan on taking a Forge game under my wing so I can Demo it at cons to help out the forge, I just don't know which one tickles my fancy. I have 2 of my own I wish to whore out "Bad Muthas" and "Paths of 5 harmonies" but to do one more should not make my head go all spinny. Not to mention I also Demo for Atlas and SJ Games.