9 Things We Learned at Dice Tower West

Well, it’s been a week since we got back from Las Vegas and the Dice Tower West board game convention. It was such a great time, we made many new friends and we learned a LOT! Some of what we learned was "insider" stuff that most people would find pretty boring, but here's a list of ten things we learned that might be of general interest...

9. The 6-2-1 Rule: This was included in the convention program, and I asked around, it's definitely a "thing." Each day of the convention, everyone is strongly encouraged to get 6 hours of sleep, eat 2 meals, and take 1 shower! I guess people get "in the zone" of game-playing and forget everything else!! (I thought about including it in the PLAAY-Dot-CON program, but I'm afraid someone wouldn't get that I was spoofing! So maybe we'll have a different 6-2-1 rule...)

8. Don't write off sports board games yet! We went into the convention thinking that the interest would be in the PLAAY NOW games, maybe a few people would be into the sports games, but not many. We didn't even bring hockey and soccer with us! As it turned out, although we had good interest in PLAAY NOW, there was even more interest in the PLAAY Classic titles! In retrospect, I am thinking that probably makes sense: the hotel was filled with thousands of general board game titles (like PLAAY NOW), but we were the only sports game presence in the building!

7. A board game's title doesn't have to reflect what the board game is about! The most popular titles at DTW (those checked out from the library the most over the five days of the convention) were these games: Cascadia, Furnace, Chai. Now, I own Cascadia (great game!), so I know what that's about. But without that, would I? Old school marketing suggests that you want some "sell" in the product title, but that doesn't necessarily apply to board games?

6. Mike Fitzgerald knows everyone and everyone knows Mike Fitzgerald. We are so fortunate to know Mike, and even more fortunate that he now lives in the Denver area! Mike introduced us to people like Stephen Buonocore (Stronghold Games, Terraforming Mars) and Randal Lloyd of Eagle-Gryphon Games, as well as a host of the most interesting and popular new board game titles (like Cascadia!). Love ya Mike!

5. The fuller the box, the better the game? I know that's not true in every case, or even in MOST cases, but it does seem like sort of a stereotype that maybe (subconsciously?) guides people's thinking. A box stuffed with tokens and cards and chips and markers and little plastic blocks seems to get a lot of interest. I saw table after table filled with what looked to be basically the same game.

4. Sports Fan + Board Gamer does not = Sports Board Gamer: You would think that equation would work (i.e., if you like sports and like board games, you should like sports board games) but it doesn't. There were numerous people walking around the convention wearing various jerseys, t-shirts and hats with pro sports team logos (Raiders and Golden Knights, of course, but we also saw of Rams, Ravens, Yankees, Red Sox, etc.) We'd someone in a jersey walking down the aisle toward our booth and we'd think, "HERE's someone!" But then they'd walk by, with only passing interest. Not always, but often enough. Go figure.

3. People come to board game conventions to play board games. Seems like a "no-brainer," but hear me out. We went into DTW with the mindset of introducing a new group of board gamers to our games, specifically our PLAAY NOW Games. I see now, in the rear-view mirror, that our goal didn't really match up with the main priority of most people, which was to play games, as many as possible, as much as possible. Heck, that's what WE did when the exhibit hall closed at 6pm! That's not to say we "failed," we did, in fact, hand out a couple hundred of our business card games. And, more to the point, we learned something and will keep this "play games" mentality in mind as we plan PLAAY-Dot-Con. I mean, we've always put the focus on playing games, but in past conventions that's meant numerous organized conventions. Which means that, due to time constraints, some games don't get table time. I think we are going to make more of an allowance for open gaming at this year's con--have some dedicated time to let people play WHAT they want, with WHOM they want.

2. The "buffet-style" game is VERY popular. I pulled the name out of thin air, "buffet style," after playing several games at DTW that operated the same way and wondering how to classify it. Basically, it's like going through a cafeteria line where you pick and choose what you want to eat. In game terms, you're picking and choosing what you want to do from among numerous potentially appealing alternatives. We played "Seven Wonders," and then "Obsession" (another game whose title doesn't communicate the theme of the game, but I digress), and Cascadia--all of them use the "buffet" concept to some degree. I'm going to try to design a game like that myself, given how probably 80% (wild guess, could be way off?) of the games played at DTW borrow from it.

1. Hot Lists are HOT! I attended a seminar on content creation, which was super informative! One of the main take-aways for me was the "hotness" of "hot lists" and "top tens," "top fives," etc. I guess it's no secret. In the sports world, think of all the content you see that's titled "Top Five landing Places for (such and such a free agent ball player)," or similar. Right now in NFL.com. "Free agency needs: 3 biggest priorities for each team." That kind of thing draws people in. It's easy to digest, usually pretty quick and straightforward, it resonates with people. Yup, that’s what you’re reading right now, a “hot list.” We'll try to do more of that going forward!