Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2007

By Brent Mair and Paul Burdick

Here are a couple of reports from the GAMA Trade Show 2007 which took place from April 23-26, 2007 in Las Vegas, U.S.A.

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Headlines

May 11, 2007 - Paul Burdick: GAMA 2007 Report
April 30, 2007 - Brent Mair: Coverage of the 2007 GAMA Trade Show
April 30, 2007 - Scott Tepper: A Glimpse of GAMA 2007

Articles

Paul Burdick: GAMA 2007 Report

A giant hawk circled above Bally’s in Las Vegas on the opening day of the 2007 GAMA trade show. Similarly, hundreds of eager retailers and industry types waited for the signal to enter the trade show floor to discover what new releases lay ahead for them to sell and play in the coming year.

Many board game publishers had a number of releases on display, but many of them also crossed over with Toy Fair and have been adequately covered previously. I have chosen to highlight one new board game release from each major publisher.

Brent Mair: Coverage of the 2007 GAMA Trade Show

This year I was able to attend the GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas for a few hours, and I have finally gotten around to writing a report for you. This was my third trip to GTS in the last five years and unfortunately my shortest trip as I had only one day off of work with which to make my visit. At five p.m. Monday afternoon, I got off work, jumped in the car, and headed for sunny Vegas. I arrived well after the sun went down and finally reached my room at midnight. On my most recent previous trip, I had not attended any seminars so I hoped this year I might be able to attend a few before the halls opened at noon. I got up after fewer than six hours of sleep in order to get my badge early and see what was going on in the hospitality suite. The result? Not much at that early hour.

At nine I was able to attend a session by Michael Stackpole entitled “Breaking into Freelance Writing.” It was an informative 50 minutes and if I heard correctly, that presentation and others will be available through the Pulp Gamer podcasts.

It appeared the show was less attended than last year, likely due to a number of retailers attending Games Expo in March. There were still enough retailers to crowd the two halls early on, especially in the larger booths.

I was able to spend only four hours on the floors before I left the convention center, but I did get a chance to look at most of the booths. Here are details, with pictures below for some of the items mentioned:

Scott Tepper: A Glimpse of GAMA 2007

This week’s column comes to you from sin city itself, Las Vegas.

Ahhhh, Las Vegas. Home of showgirls and indecent proposals. What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.

Usually…………But I’m a sharer.

I was in the city of lights demoing for Rio Grande Games at the annual GAMA (Game Manufacturer’s Association) trade show. This convention is not open to the general public, but rather is a chance for retailers and distributors to get together and see what’s new from the manufacturers they represent, and also attend seminars on how to improve their business.