Reading list Forge Booth Postmortems
Compiled by Vincent Baker
7/27/2003 Michael Hopcroft: I've just got to know -- how was GenCon
GenCon is over at the time of this writing, and I wasn;t there. Probably just as well as I would have been miserable with all that standing on an injured back. Nonetheless, I am very interested in finding out what happened there and how oit all went for the various Forge members who attended in whatever capacity they attended.
In Publishing
Participants: Michael Hopcroft, hardcoremoose, abzu, Jeffrey Miller, Gordon C. Landis, jdagna, Space Cowboy, Cynthia Celeste Miller, GMSkarka, Paul Czege, Valamir, Lxndr, Troy_Costisick, Mike Holmes, lumpley, Jonathan Walton, ethan_greer, Gold Rush Games.
8/8/2003 Valamir: Gen Con 2003 Spreadsheet summary
Ok, I finally finished digging through the various receipts and cash sheets and cobbling together a master spreadsheet of GenCon 2003 Forge Sales. I will make it available to anyone who actually had products for sale at the booth, but you'll have to contact me, since I don't have everyone's email handy...and well...I'm too lazy to track them all down.…
In Publishing
Participants: Valamir, jrs, Ron Edwards, Armin D. Sykes.
8/23/2004 Valamir: Forge Booth Triumphant
[b][size=18px]GenCon Sales Results and Comparison[/size][/b]
In 2003 we had 287 separate customer transactions
In 2004 we had 360 separate customer transactions
This is an increase of 73 customers or 25.4%
In 2003 we sold 513 individual products, averaging 1.79 items per transaction
in 2004 we sold 780 individual products, averaging 2.17 items per transaction
This is an increase of 267…
In Conventions
Participants: Valamir, abzu, Ron Edwards, Christopher Weeks, smokewolf, Lisa Padol, Bob Goat.
9/3/2004 lumpley: Sad GenCon
I have never seen so many unhappy people in one place as at GenCon.
What's up with that? You look at the people passing by and they frown all the time! Exhibitors, customers, everybody. Maybe one person in ten looks happy. I can't imagine that I'm the only one who noticed.
Even at the Forge booth, which was overall an…
In Conventions
Participants: lumpley, ffilz, Matt Wilson, Ron Edwards, Blankshield, Ben Lehman, JSDiamond, Valamir, Gordon C. Landis, Chris_Chambers, jdagna, Andy Kitkowski, Mike Holmes.
8/28/2005 Valamir: Forge Booth Triumphant 2005
[b]GenCon Sales Results and Comparison[/b]
Click [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=12402.0]here[/url] for last year's detail.
In 2003 we had 287 separate customer transactions
In 2004 we had 360 separate customer transactions (+73 Customers +25.4%)
In 2005 we had 516 separate customer transactions
This is an increase of 156 customers or 43.3% over last year.
In 2003 we sold 513 individual products, averaging 1.79 items…
In Conventions
Participants: Valamir, Troy_Costisick, Nev the Deranged, Jürgen Mayer, abzu, iain, Christopher Weeks, Eero Tuovinen, Mike Holmes, Matt Gwinn, Meguey.
8/15/2006 abzu: Gencon Feedback [Designers/Boothies]
OK folks, let's talk about what worked and what didn't. Share your stories of success and failure here, too.
For the fans, please use this thread:
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=20864.0
Thanks,
-Luke
In Conventions
Participants: abzu, TonyLB, Tim C Koppang, Meguey, jasonm, Blankshield, Justin D. Jacobson, Jake Richmond, Malcolm, Valamir, iago, Matt Wilson, Nathan P., jrs, Iskander, Lxndr, Paka, segedy, Gregor Hutton, inthisstyle, eruditus, lumpley, Clinton R. Nixon, Paul Czege, John Harper, DensityMan, timfire, Troy_Costisick, iain, Jonathan Walton, Jasper the Mimbo.
8/17/2006 Valamir: Forge Booth Triumphant 2006
[b]GenCon Sales Results and Comparison[/b]
Click [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=12402.0]here[/url] for 2004 detail.
Click [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=16573.0]here[/url] for 2005 detail
In 2003 we had 287 separate customer transactions
In 2004 we had 360 separate customer transactions (+73 Customers, +25.4%)
In 2005 we had 516 separate customer transactions (+156 Customers, +43.3%)
In 2006 we had 671 separate customer transactions
This is an increase of 155 customers…
In Conventions
Participants: Valamir, Troy_Costisick, Blankshield, Lxndr, Justin D. Jacobson, timfire, Paka, iago, Andrew Morris, Ron Edwards, Tim C Koppang, Mike Holmes.
8/22/2007 iago: GenCon: Launching a Satellite Booth
The Forge booth was definitely interesting, and I'm glad we have the post-mortem thread going for that. That said, I think it's possible others may be considering launching their own satellite booths for next year, and I'm interested in finding out what we can all learn about this year's satellites in order to assemble a "guide to leaving the nest"…
In Conventions
Participants: iago, Paka, abzu, TonyLB, jasonm, GreatWolf, JustinB, RobNJ, Ron Edwards, Michael S. Miller, Gregor Hutton, Paul Czege, nikola, Ben Lehman, Wolfen.
8/23/2007 Paul Czege: canned heat
At Gen Con The Ashcan Front moved 265 ashcans for feedback and playtesting, across 11 different games. A daily break-down:
Thursday: 86
Friday: 40
Saturday: 50
Sunday: 89
Friday was slow purchase-wise, as expected, and felt slow traffic-wise. Saturday was surprisingly slow, as other booths have reported. But overall, Gen Con broke open the can! And I'm seeing great post-convention…
In Conventions
Participants: Paul Czege, Matt Gwinn, Gregor Hutton.
8/21/2008 segedy: [Gen Con 2008] Post-Mortem
I've found these post-Gen Con discussions interesting and helpful in the past, so let's start a new one for Gen Con Indy 2008. What worked in the booth (and in the extended "diaspora" game space) and what didn't? What can we improve on for next year? Also, while there are celebratory threads elsewhere, feel free to share the best things…
In Conventions
Participants: segedy, iago, Tim C Koppang, JustinB, jenskot, Ron Edwards, rafael, Nathan P., Andy Kitkowski, jasonm, Gregor Hutton, abzu, SirValence, wunderllama, Paul Czege, TonyLB, Darcy Burgess, buzz, inthisstyle, tonyd, Jonathan Walton, Paka, Adam Dray, Graham Walmsley, RobNJ.
10/17/2008 Ron Edwards: Independence, Adept Press, and Indie Press Revolution
This is a companion thread to The New Thing and The Forge Booth 2009.
Over the years, I've posted about issues of fulfillment and distribution, including The Nuked Apple-Cart, Channel conflict with distribution-retailers-manufacturers, What the industry needs (by me!), Fulfillment houses in the role-playing industry, The merits of fulfillment houses, and Poison pages. It's past time for an updated look…
In Publishing
Participants: Ron Edwards, iago, Jonathan Walton, greyorm, nikola, Valamir, Pelgrane, Meguey, lumpley, inthisstyle.
10/17/2008 Ron Edwards: The Forge Booth 2009
This is a companion thread to Independence, Adept Press, and Indie Press Revolution and The New Thing.
Well, as painlessly perceived and agreed upon during GenCon this year, IPR won't be part of the Forge booth next year. For those of you who don't know the history, the first Forge booth was in 2002, with the possible "first draft" being…
In Conventions
Participants: Ron Edwards, Eero Tuovinen, jag, nikola, Valamir, Darcy Burgess, Paul Czege, Gregor Hutton, RobNJ, Nathan P., JustinB.
1/22/2010 Ron Edwards: [GenCon 2010] Forge booth, first thread
Hello,
Last year's booth showed me some things.
1. The popular interest in the Forge and whatever might be at the booth is undiminished. People showed up, bought stuff, participated, and so on. Most importantly, a number of people arrived and wondered what "this" was all about, which is an important part of the booth's purpose.
2. Economically, the original…
In Conventions
Participants: Ron Edwards, Eero Tuovinen, SaintandSinner, Ben Lehman, Troy_Costisick.