How to booth
Save Against Fear, Trash Pandas, Boothing 101, and Cthulhu: Death May Die
Welcome to Exeunt Omnes, the official newsletter for loyal fans and sworn enemies of Exeunt Press, creator of games such as Exclusion Zone Botanist and Eleventh Beast. You can find digital games at games.exeunt.press and physical products at shop.exeunt.press.
TL;DR Summary
💀 Save Against Fear this week!
🦝 Feesh, nanners, yum yums
🚀 How to booth
🎲 Recently played: Cthulhu: Death May Die
💀 Save Against Fear this week!
Exeunt Press will have a vendor booth at the Save Against Fear tabletop convention this week! Come visit us and see some new and exciting things!
What’s going to be new at the booth?
New zine editions: Zine editions of both Exclusion Zone Botanist and Eleventh Beast. These are versions with improved layout, more art, and a few tweaks to the text. Same content, but in the form they deserve! I’m extremely proud of how they turned out!
Custom notebooks: Conveniently sized A6 notebooks to go with both Exclusion Zone Botanist and Eleventh Beast. Dot grid, because that’s the best grid. Available in bundles with the games.
CY_BORG heist bundles: Get all three CY_BORG heists in an iridescent package: Burned Hackers, Prophet of Eternity, Heads Frozen.
Art prints: Ever wanted to hang the sad bucket fish on your wall? Now you can!
When and where is the convention?
The main gaming days at Save Against Fear are November 10 - 12, 2023. There’s also a professional conference for therapists and educators on November 9.
This year’s convention will be at the York Expo Center located in York, PA.
Badges and tickets are available at www.saveagainstfear.com.
What if I can’t attend?! Can I still get this stuff?
Yes! Everything is launching at Save Against Fear, but most new items will be available on the Exeunt Press Shop after that!
See you then!
Attend: Save Against Fear
🦝 Feesh, nanners, yum yums
Skeleton Code Machine now has well over 1,100 subscribers and shows no sign of slowing down! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and sharing the posts each week!
Two weeks ago we looked at Trash Pandas (Bandita et al., 2017), a little push your luck game with adorable art!
What started as a quick post about rolling dice, turned into a Python simulation and some really interesting concepts! The way Blammo! cards (re-rolls) impact the game is fascinating, as well as using Yum Yum cards to force opponents to continue rolling.
As always, there are some things to think about at the end!
Read: Fish, nanners, and yum yums at Skeleton Code Machine
Skeleton Code Machine is a weekly publication that explores tabletop game mechanisms in board games and roleplaying games. It’s been called a “Seemingly endless source of gaming ponderings” and a “Goldmine.” Check it out at www.skeletoncodemachine.com.
🚀 How to booth
I recently watched “Boothing 101 with Robert Panetta” hosted by the Meeple Syrup Show. Robert is the person behind Rock, Stone & Dice Games and designer of the upcoming Gems of Iridescia (2024).
Here are my notes:
Know your purpose for having a booth: Raise awareness or sell copies of your game?
Might need to do the same show 4-5 times to get the impact you want. This is a long game, and not a one time thing.
Consider sharing a booth, but know that many conventions do not allow this.
Flights, hotels, food, and expenses can be thousands. Drive if you can to reduce travel and shipping costs. Consider only going to shows you can drive to.
Vendors often buy furniture and signs and then leave them behind! This seems to be common at Gen Con.
Consider volunteering or working at another company’s booth to learn how it works. If you do, get clear expectations up front. You may not have time to see the convention, but might get free access or other benefits.
Treat the convention like a crowdfunding campaign. Use your email list to let people know what you’ll have at the booth.
Have a way to attract people to the booth, such as a promo card. Recommend things that do not impact gameplay, such as a foil version of a card. Could also use some print and play content.
Consider the accessibility and flow of your booth for wheelchairs, people with kids, and others. Make it welcoming. L-shape might work.
Virtual shows might be hard to organize, and not aware of many examples. Tend to be linear vs. “walking around”.
Collect leads and emails (with consent) from those who visit! Get the email addresses of those who playtest your game, and consider giving them credit.
Stickers might be banned at Gen Con and PAX Unplugged. Check with venue before attempting to hand them out. [ I have not confirmed this. — E.P. ]
Big, expensive booths and events may not be worth it. Can make it special by having times for signed copies and thematic design.
Bring some friends to help if you can and try to take breaks.
Prize wheels and mini games might not be worth it, and could be hard to do well. Need to be thematically tied. Be careful about prize types.
If you do share a booth, be clear on expectations and know who is bringing what. Might end up missing items if not careful.
Theft is a real concern. Cash boxes, bags, and laptops are the top things stolen. Guard your inventory and leave things in the hotel if possible.
Don’t count on the venue wi-fi working.
Have a plan for if/when you run out of stock. Consider online shipping discounts.
Prepare your booth kit: water, packing materials, tape, scissors, price tags, pens, first aid kit.
Instagram backgrounds and photo opportunities work if you can make one.
Make sure people at the booth have a unified look so it is clear who is working there.
This was a long, but extremely helpful interview and thanks to Meeple Syrup for making it happen! The above is just a tiny bit of what was covered, so I recommend watching the entire thing.
Watch: Boothing 101 w/ Roberto Panetta
🎲 Recently played: Cthulhu: Death May Die
Was able play another episode of Cthulhu: Death May Die (Daviau & Lang, 2019) recently, and the game continues to be really enjoyable! This time was a two player game using the Danse Macabre scenario.
I’m always surprised at how simple the mechanisms are in Cthulhu: Death May Die, but at the same time it provides tough and interesting choices for the players. Each scenario (i.e. “episode”) adds new rules and actions that feel meaningful and thematic.
While Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape (Olteanu & Portugal, 2022) might still be my favorite co-op game, the fact that Cthulhu: Death May Die has less rules, less setup, and a shorter playtime means I get it to the table more often.
Thanks for subscribing to Exeunt Omnes!
Check out games.exeunt.press for all the latest games and resources!
- E.P. 💀
Fantastic newsletter, keep up the good work!