As an indie publisher, taking on SPIEL is more than just setting up a booth—it’s a full-scale mission. For us at Tablescope, this year’s experience was especially significant as we showcased our photo-assisted tactical shooter Light Speed: Arena while a pre-order campaign was running. It was basically our first time selling something.
This short article provides a concrete look at the figures and insights gained from our SPIEL 2024. We hope sharing our experience gives you a better idea of what it’s like to promote a pre-order campaign as a small publisher at a massive event like SPIEL.
Booth Setup
Our 3m x 5m booth was almost entirely dedicated to Light Speed: Arena, with two to three demo tables and a television broadcasting live gameplay. This year’s location was the best we’ve ever had: While we weren’t in the highest-traffic hall, our corner booth was right along the main passageway connecting our hall to the next, positioned beside the new publisher founded by industry legend Martin Wallace (Brass, Age of Steam, A Few Acres of Snow).
Pre-Orders
We tracked pre-orders for Light Speed: Arena in the month leading up to SPIEL, during the show itself, and the month after, reaching a total of 102 pre-orders. Here’s the breakdown:
- Month before SPIEL: 20 pre-orders
- During SPIEL: 32 pre-orders
- Month after SPIEL: 50 pre-orders
We saw a second spike in orders at the end of October, largely from Germany, likely influenced by a German-speaking content creator discussing Light Speed: Arena. Although we couldn’t pinpoint the exact source, this seems most likely connected to our presence at SPIEL.
Fun fact: on Friday, October 4th—the second day of SPIEL—we received only one pre-order. While a bit discouraging at the time, it was a good reminder to focus on the bigger picture rather than day-to-day results.
For context, the Light Speed: Arena Kickstarter campaign closed in June with 1,274 backers. Since opening late pledges on BackerKit in July, we’ve reached a cumulative total of 179 pre-orders.
Sales
During the SPIEL event and the following month, Light Speed: Arena generated 82 pre-orders. With an average order amount of €42, this resulted in total sales of €3,444.
Costs
Here’s a breakdown of our major expenses:
- Booth Rental (3m x 5m corner stand): €1,994
- Carpeting and Electricity: €405
- Travel and Accommodation
Beyond these direct costs, our team’s time should also be considered.
Final Considerations
In purely financial terms, running a pre-order campaign at SPIEL might seem like a loss-making endeavor. On the other hand, the results had a much more concrete form than our experience collecting email addresses during pre-launch.
More importantly, SPIEL gave us the chance to connect directly with distributors, start spreading the word about an exciting new project (spoiler: it is an app to score popular games with a photo), and, above all, meet many backers face-to-face. Each interaction strengthened the community we’ve been building around Light Speed: Arena, which was our main objective for the event.
Related articles
For a more high-level analysis of what it means to exhibit at fair events with your board game project, check out 10 Lessons Learned by Exhibiting at 4 Trade Shows in 45 Days.