Record GAMA Expo attendance leaves show straining at the seams again, as drive to represent whole board game industry continues trade body’s rapid growth

Editor’s note: GAMA is one of the sponsors of the BoardGameWire newsletter, and BoardGameWire received accommodation and a travel stipend from GAMA as part of its Hosted Media programme to attend this year’s show

Another record attendance at North America’s biggest board games industry trade show, GAMA Expo, has left the event pressed for space once again – just a year after the show was transported to Louisville in an attempt to handle surging interest.

More than 3,420 people attended this year’s GAMA Expo at the end of February – up 26% compared to its first event at the Kentucky International Convention Centre last year, and a 67% jump from the roughly 2,040 attendees at the Expo’s last show in its former home in Reno, Nevada in 2023.

The show has now more than doubled in size since 2018 – a huge success for GAMA, and one partly down to the trade organisation’s recent push to expand beyond its decades long remit of representing hobby game publishers, retailers and wholesalers.

That drive has seen specialist events, show areas and seminars introduced in an attempt to better represent professionals from across the modern tabletop industry, including designers, manufacturers, media, events organisers and third-party service providers.

More than 150 designers attended this year’s GAMA Expo, up 47% compared to 2024 – the first year GAMA put on a dedicated designer track – while attendees in the production category almost doubled to 111, over and above those manufacturers already exhibiting in the main hall. Media and events attendees were up 14% to 129, in the fourth year the group has been invited to visit the show.

In the more traditional categories, almost 1,100 retailers journeyed to this year’s event, up 22% on last year, while publisher numbers were up 24% to 240, and the number of booths in the exhibit hall rose from 300 to 350.

But the impact of that growth has been felt on the show floor, and especially across almost 200 seminars and presentations this year, which – as well as providing publishers with a platform to show off upcoming games to retailers – provided insights on everything from international retail and community building to rulebook writing and media ethics.

Many retailers this year complained that publisher presentations were quickly packed out, leaving some attendees not only missing out on the information, but also making it difficult for them to attend the number of presentations required for them to receive their free ‘retailer box’ of products.

That box contains goods worth up to $1,600 in MSRP, and significantly alleviates the cost to retailers of taking time out from their stores to drive across the country and attend the Expo.

Speaking to BoardGameWire at this year’s event, GAMA executive director John Stacy described the rapid growth as “exciting” – but added that work had already begun to puzzle out how to account for further expected growth of the show next year.

GAMA previously put a cap on the number of retailers that could attend the show in 2019 in an attempt to avoid overcrowding – but Stacy told BoardGameWire he did not want to do so again, saying, “We’re a membership first organization. If you’re a member, I can’t tell you can’t come to your own show – that doesn’t feel right to me”.

On the overcrowding at publisher presentations, he said, “It’s always an issue… because we have so many retailers here now, we have a finite amount of space, and the fire marshal says ‘you can only have so many people in a room’ – we knew that was going to be a problem.

“…we’ve tried to figure out how we could make that work for this year. We extended the hours they can submit their codes [for the retailer boxes], we’re giving codes [to people] who miss certain workshops, that kind of stuff. But it’s a problem every year, because people want see what the publishers have to say, and they also want the box.”

He added that some of the presentations from larger publishers would probably be moved to the main ballroom next year to relieve pressure, and that the Expo would make more use of theater-style set ups in the KICC’s large hallways.

He added, “But the year after that? If we keep growing like we are it’s gonna be really difficult in 2027 to make that work.

“We’re actually putting together a work group this summer of retailers, publishers and our distribution partner to talk about: how is the box structured? How do you qualify for it? What is the purpose of it? Because it was originated 10 years ago as an ‘ethical bribe’, if you will, that people come to the show.

“That’s great, but there’s so much other value with the show now, and is there a better way we can get that product out to the stores, to do something else outside of the show?

“That way they’re still getting that benefit of being a member, and we can focus more on education and other things too. So we’ll try to figure that out, to make that more helpful for people.”

Multiple publishers BoardGameWire spoke to during and after the event were very positive about this year’s GAMA Expo, despite some having issues with pallet and furniture deliveries for their booths.

Scott Morris, chief sales and marketing officer at Lucky Duck Games, told said, “GAMA was great actually, and busy in all the right ways.

“While we did encounter a minor hiccup with setup, however it didn’t negatively impact us in any major way.

“My understanding was there was a delay applying the booth perimeter tape due to leftover chalk from the previous gymnastics event, however it only slowed us down slightly and I don’t blame GAMA for that. It is a very unique circumstance that would be hard for anyone to expect or plan for.

“Overall, I was extremely happy with the event.”

GAMA also faced challenges this year in having to run a compacted exhibit hall schedule across two days rather than three, as part of the fallout from shifting the 2025 event’s dates to accommodate its surprise growth – and to avoid a clash with Toy Fair New York. But the show also managed to solve complaints from last year, such as very long queues for registration.

Stacy said GAMA Expo currently takes up about 90% of the space at the KICC, and could potentially expand into the remaining meeting rooms and small theatre, as well as into meeting space in several of the major hotels nearby.

Ultimately, however, that remains a sticking plaster solution, and GAMA is already well into the process of tracking down its next new home for 2028, when its Kentucky contract expires – having narrowed down its options to three cities since formally beginning the search process last year.

That winnowing process has included ensuring the Expo can handle significant future growth, to avoid a repeat of its significant underestimation of demand when it signed the deal to move to Kentucky.

GAMA has earmarked 300,000 sq ft of exhibit space for year one in its new home, 50% more than is currently available at the KICC, with room to grow to 500,000 sq ft by year three or four at the new site.

Baltimore, Chicago and Minneapolis are the competing destinations, with a final decision expected to be announced by GAMA next month.

The site selection committee said it picked out Baltimore due to its selection of hotel options, reasonable convention centre rate and incentives to bring the show there, saying, “They really want our business and took the time to learn about who we are as an industry”.

Chicago was praised for its airport connections and “surprisingly” boasting the best hotel rates, although said February dates could lead to potential weather issues for attendees driving to the show.

Minneapolis was also picked out for its air connections and “outstanding convention centre” with connected hotels, although the committee said there remained uncertainty around costs as a lot of answers were “pushed off” to the show’s contractor.

Stacy said, “We’re looking at what can support us for five to 10 year growth, because we’re already planning 10 years out now.

“We have a 10-year strategy the board came up with this year, and so my job is to activate on that goal – and part of that is growing this show and our membership up to several thousand more people and companies over the next few years… so my team are very mindful of space predictions.”

GAMA Expo returns to the KICC between March 1 and 5 next year.