Visit the Board Game Playroom at Winter Institute

At the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute in Baltimore next week, booksellers will have the chance to sample a variety of board games with colleagues or game reps, review discounts, and place orders in the Board Game Playroom, which will be open on Friday, January 24.

John Stacey, executive director of the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) told Bookselling This Week that “GAMA as an organization is excited to partner with ABA to offer this opportunity to grow the hobby games industry by making our publishers and products more available to bookstores.” 

Publishers and distributors participating in the game room include:

• Atlas Games
• GIGAMIC
• Hush Hush Projects/Fog of Love
• Iello Games
• Looney Labs
• Peachstate Hobby Distributors
• R&R Games
• Smirk and Dagger Games
• Storymatic
• USAopoly
• Van Ryder Games
• WizKids

Board game publisher attendees will demo various games that sell well in hobby game stores, bookstores, and mass market stores. Booksellers will be able to both try out games and learn how they can be incorporated into a bookstore’s inventory. Information on sourcing games as well as bestselling games that make up a good starter set will also be available.

“Games are a lot of fun and they’re also a great revenue source for booksellers,” said Stacey. “So, you can have fun while making money.”

The playroom will be held in Key 1 at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor on Friday, January 24, from 1:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. All Winter Institute attendees interested in growing their non-book inventory are encouraged to drop in. Booksellers should also plan to attend the education session “Buying & Selling: Board Games for the Win” from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on January 24 to learn more about how booksellers have incorporated games into their stores. 

The 2020 Winter Institute takes place January 21–24 in Baltimore, Maryland.