Gen Con 2025: Trade Day

Trade Day at Gen Con is one of the most productive of the convention for me.  I get to hang out with my people. Yes, they are gamers, but they are educators, librarians, game publishers, and store owners.  It is the fourth year that I have presented with my colleague and podcast co-creator/host, Dan Reem.  It has been a good outlet for us to share our model for a school game club as well as our RPG Summer Camp.  It isn't just presenting that makes this day worthwhile; however, I get to attend the sessions of other educators and librarians to hear how they are using games in their schools and libraries.  Public librarians share how they use games to increase usage of their resources and build community with games.  

Trade Day also allows everyone the opportunity to talk with vendors on a more one-to-one basis.  I have learned about new games and how they are designed to meet the needs of educators and student learning.  I get to talk game mechanics and the business of game design.  It is a unique opportunity for both parties to talk and share ideas and needs. 

Finally, my favorite part of Trade Day is the evening social after I have enjoyed dinner at the food trucks.  The social is a great time to wind down after learning all day.  It is at the social that I get to socialize with the other educators and librarians.  I also take a good chunk of the time to get game demonstrations and talk about the business side of the game design.  There are also opportunities to play some games that are still in development and on Kickstarter.  This year I got to play a prototype of Goats and Goblins, a fun, competitive card game that involves strategy and luck to win.  

There are less important benefits to participating in Trade Day, but nice conveniences all the more.  First, there aren't long lines to pick up badges.  We walked up to the check-in table, got our badge, and moved on in less than one minute.  We also got to visit the Gen Con store.  This year we had to wait about 45 minutes in line, but that is nothing compared to the hour to hour and a half lines during the convention.  Finally, we get to walk around the Indiana Convention Center.  The vendor and play halls are closed, but we get to look around the long corridors where the signage is already up.  At the end of a long Trade Day, this walk got me pumped up for four days of convention fun.  

Trade day is a great opportunity for learning and networking.  Trade Day is also a great way to acclimate to the next four Gen Con days ahead.  If you are a librarian, educator, game developer, or game store owner, I highly recommend attending this day.