The Tabletop Scotland Experience of Games on Demand

The year was 2018 and the Dewars Centre in Perth saw the first Tabletop Scotland convention. A small gathering but still a cavalcade of Board games, War games, Card games and Roleplaying games.

Because the RPGs were next to the bar, occasionally, board and card gamers would wander in. They'd heard of RPGs, didn't know much about them but were interested in giving them a go.

Of course, any table would be happy to provide their first taste of roleplaying but they instantly balked at a 3½ hour slot. It's a substantial investment in time for a taster.

One of our number had seen Games on Demand being run at UK Games Expo and wondered if they might hold the answer.

The idea was mooted with the convention organisers for the following year. The difficulties of spinning up a new convention and nurturing it's early growth meant they were not able to consider it straight away.

As such, it was 3 years later (ignoring the phantom years of COVID19 lock-down), in 2023 that the first GoD track ran.

We operate on a different scale and with, potentially, different goals to UK Games Expo and GenCon so our method may differ from what you're used to.

Each game slot is 2 hours. The duration was chosen because it allows enough time for a meaningful adventure while being around the length of a typical board game.

The hope is that it will feel like something interested people can try, without committing more time than they are confortable with.

In the first year, we ran two tables only. The problems with this include players for the next slot hovering around a table as the previous slot is concluding. And woe betide the GM who runs over!

The third table allows a game to overrun a little without causing trouble.

Tables are run with a maximum of 5 people, a little different from the common 6 person maximum for scheduled games. This is too help keep sessions short and because a fair few one-shotable indie games are not designed for 6 players. It also gives more space to explain what's going on to neophyte players.

The ticket is the prospective player's seat reservation and gives access to the next available table.

The schedule starts an hour before the first game because the tickets for that game have to go up, and interest stoked, an hour beforehand.

There's no need for a greeter after tha last game has started, which is why none are scheduled for the last 2 hours.

The first year we ran with too few GMs, which meant those we had ended up jumping from finishing one table to starting the next. This is extremely punishing and leads to painfully full bladders, so now we have more GMs we always organise at least an hour's gap between their sessions.

How many game a GM prepares will depend on what they hope to get out of running. Authors hoping that players will buy my game will likely have one each of what they're selling. Others may like to have a good spread of stuff to appeal to a wide audience.

The fact that we're targetting new players means the same stable of games can be brought each year. Which also means that the stable can be built up over the years. There's less imperative to retire old games from the menu.

As to what makes a suitible game, almost anything will work but don't expect to run a full 3 act structure. Two is likely the most you'll fit in. Also, if you can, make sure your adventure is modular with sections which can be dropped out if things are running long, or added if they are coming up short.

If you plan to run something similar you should be prepared for the odd empty table. Also, when only 1 or 2 people have taken tickets, be prepared to harang any bystanders (particularly any spare GoD GMs) to sit in and bulk up the table.

Location, Location, Location

Recently the convention moved to a new venue where we are no longer next to the bar, instead we're on a mezzanine of our own (along with the longer form games and the organised D&D). This has advantages for the other games but GoD suffers from being out-of-the-way so we aren't seeing the board and card gamers.

That being said, the old RPG hands also appreciate what we're doing.

Grognards

For some, the shorter slot can be welcome, particularly towards the end of the day. If you've played 2 full length slots and have a bus to catch shortly, a 2 hour slot can fit the bill perfectly.

We also see good trade from people who have been unable to get into the scheduled games.

Sometimes the lucky dip quality of GoD is appealing to established players. Particularly since GMs will often have something a little unorthodox among their offerings.

We have also found that the local Indie collective likes to run their games as part of GoD. It gives them a chance to run for real players, and potentially direct them to the stand where they can buy my game.

An alternative approach would be to add some number of tables and start slots more frequently. e.g. An additional table would allow 3 tables in flight at a time, so games starting every 40 minutes.

One potential solution is to set up the ticketing board and the greeter away from the tables, in a higher traffic area. This potentially makes the greeter's role a lonely one but that might encourage them to talk to more random attendees.

A more immediately actionable solution is to write better advertising copy for the convention programme. Currently we are using the placeholder written by the con organiser while he was waiting for something proper, 3 years ago.

We might even look at having two greeters per slot, to provide moral support. Just not too much moral support that they are always chatting and not approachable.