Game Store Day gets more time, more publishers – and bigger ambitions – for year two

Editor’s note: GAMA is a BoardGameWire sponsor, and has advertised Game Store Day on the site – but this article is not a paid placement, I just think it’s interesting enough to cover editorially!

Game Store Day, GAMA‘s annual initiative aimed at getting more people into local game stores to play, shop and take part in events, is growing for its second year after retailers and publishers were given substantially more time to prepare than for its debut.

Almost 300 retailers are currently signed up for this year’s Game Store Day on November 7, while nearly 60 tabletop publishers have committed games to a new promotional box, as GAMA looks to establish the event as a long-term fixture on the tabletop industry calendar.

GAMA board member and Red Raccoon Games owner Jamie Mathy told BoardGameWire that rising retailer participation was the clearest measure of success for Game Store Day at this stage, with this year’s 297 sign-ups already ahead of last year’s total with over a month to go.

But he believes there is scope for the event to grow significantly bigger in future years – and said GAMA had already learned lessons from 2025’s relatively short-notice launch.

He said, “Last year, Game Store Day was something [GAMA’s] Team Retail had been advocating for, and then suddenly it was announced and launched with less than eight weeks to prepare. That wasn’t enough time for a lot of retailers to really build it into their calendars or plan meaningful events around it.

“This year stores have had roughly four months to prepare, and we’ve had substantially more time to bring publishers into the program. The Publisher’s Box and other publisher initiatives give retailers additional reasons and tools to build something around the day.

“I think we’ll learn from this year as well. Ideally, I’d like stores and publishers to have even more lead time in future years.”

He added, “There are estimates of roughly 5,000 hobby game stores across North America. If we could eventually get 500 stores participating, that’s approximately 10% penetration and I would consider that a tremendous accomplishment. Getting to 1,000 stores – roughly 20% – would be amazing, even if that’s an ambitious long-term goal.

“More importantly, numbers like that would demonstrate to publishers and retailers that Game Store Day isn’t a one-time novelty. It’s something that has become part of the industry’s calendar.

“There’s a comparison to Free RPG Day here. It started relatively small, retailers can purchase a box of promotional products if they want those materials for their customers, and over time it has become something stores and consumers recognize.

“But ultimately, the part that excites me isn’t the box or even a particular participation number. It’s seeing hundreds of independent stores across the country celebrating our industry on the same day and giving people a reason to come together and play games.”

The short notice for last year’s launch left no time to run a Publisher’s Box – but 59 publishers including Leder Games, CGE, Blue Orange, Capstone Games and Bezier Games have agreed to contribute this year, with another four waiting to take part and others having approached GAMA after submissions had closed.

The $179 box will contain games, demos, promotional items and other material for participating stores – and Mathy said physical weight and shipping limits had now become the main constraint on adding more publishers.

“Probably, and that’s a wonderful problem to have,” Mathy said when asked whether GAMA would eventually need to rethink how publishers participate if interest continues to grow.

“This is only year two and the first year we’ve even offered a Publisher’s Box. Let’s learn from what works and what doesn’t this year.

“But if publisher interest continues growing, we’ll obviously need to think creatively about how publishers participate rather than assuming everything always has to fit into one physical box.”

Publishers are also beginning to build their own initiatives around the event aside from the promotional box.

Allplay is making 4,900 copies of new game Woo available exclusively to retailers participating in Game Store Day, with COO Joe Wiggins saying, “Allplay has been looking for new ways to work closer with our brick and mortar partners. When GAMA announced Game Store Day, we knew this would be an amazing opportunity. Allplay is all in.”

Mathy told BoardGameWire he believed part of the publisher interest was the difficulty some have in reaching hobby game retailers.

He said, “Game stores are incredibly diverse. We have different ownership styles, different product mixes, different customer bases and very different areas of specialization.

“Red Raccoon, for example, goes much deeper into board games and RPGs than many stores do, and that’s part of what has made us a regional destination. Another successful game store may have a completely different mix.

“That fragmentation makes it difficult for publishers to know where to spend their marketing dollars if they’re trying to get a product in front of retailers.

“Game Store Day gives them a self-selecting group of engaged retailers. A store willing to spend $179 on a box without knowing exactly what will be in it, because they believe in the idea and intend to build an event around it, is probably a pretty attractive audience for a publisher trying to get its products noticed.”

The increased publisher involvement brings Game Store Day closer to events such as Record Store Day – which GAMA has cited as an inspiration – where exclusive products, offers and other incentives have become part of the draw for customers.

But Mathy said, “I don’t personally think Game Store Day needs to become Record Store Day for games. The Publisher’s Box is a great addition, but to me it’s a bonus rather than the purpose of the event.

“I participated last year with essentially an idea, a logo and a store-locator website, and we had 35 people come specifically for our Game Store Day events.

“At its core, I think this should be a day when we celebrate local game stores, bring people together and play games. Publisher exclusives and promotional items can absolutely help stores make the day special, but they aren’t the reason Game Store Day exists.”

That vision has been taken up by participating stores including Oddwillow’s Game Haven in Wisconsin, which is partnering with its local library for activities including button-making, storytimes, miniature painting and game demos.

Pennsylvania’s Lookin’ For Games, meanwhile, is combining its first Game Store Day with game demos and a special Blood on the Clocktower event with a 24-hour gaming fundraiser for Extra Life benefiting Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Neil Goldberg, the owner of the New York-based Main St Board Game Cafe, said the event was a chance to focus customers on the experience offered by their local game store while also encouraging people to think of board games as gifts ahead of the holiday season.

Mathy said, “GAMA provides the umbrella, publishers can provide additional support, but individual stores make Game Store Day their own and use it to celebrate the communities they’ve built around games.”