Reflections on Game Market 2025 Spring

Ichidai from AsobyTukoos writes about his thoughts after finishing Game Market.

AsobyTukoos?

AsobyTukoos is a circle where the married couple Ichidai and Elisa create board games together. We have been active since the Autumn 2025 Game Market. Our works include "Morino Kaerimichi (Arclight Game Award Honorable Mention)," "Uchiage Hanabira," and "Trapez."
At the Spring 2025 Game Market, we announced new expansion cards for our latest work, "Nossete Katamkero."

Good: Things I felt went well this time

Introduction of a portable megaphone

I always lose my voice at events, not just at Game Market, so this time I finally introduced a portable megaphone.

To put it simply, I'm glad I introduced it. I was able to keep speaking all day, and perhaps because my throat wasn't crushed, my breathing was also easier.

As for how I used it, I didn't use it constantly, but only to call out to customers passing by. I didn't use it for people who stopped by the booth, instead responding with my natural voice. I only used it for those who stopped by when the surroundings felt noisy, but in those cases, I would say, "I'll be using a megaphone, please excuse me," before speaking. I had the impression that being spoken to through a megaphone is more unpleasant than being spoken to with a natural voice.

I made sure to speak in a low voice myself, adjusting the volume so that it sounded like normal speech through the megaphone.

I operated it while occasionally checking to make sure it wasn't bothering other nearby booths. There were no explicit complaints, so I don't think there were any issues, but I intend to continue using it with caution in the future.

Displaying "Morino Kaerimichi" and "Trapez" side-by-side

Both of these works are in similar categories: "2-player only," "15-20 minute play time," "ages 8 and up," and "cloth mat and tiles." However, when you line them up, it naturally becomes clear whether someone prefers "something cute (Morino Kaerimichi)" or "something more inorganic (Trapez)."

Furthermore, for those who aren't looking for a 2-player game, we suggest "Nossete Katamkero (2-6 players)," for those leaning more toward party games, "You and My Desired That (Quiz)," and for those looking for something for elementary school students and younger (such as preschoolers), "Kandata and the Merry Sinners (something closer to building block toys)."

It functioned like a litmus test to see what kind of games we could suggest.

Bad: Things I felt were issues for the future

Making too many flyers

Recently, we have been operating with a style of handing them out to those who show an interest in our booth, rather than just handing them out randomly. People who aren't interested at all won't take them, and it gets in the way of foot traffic (and besides, leaving the booth to hand them out is prohibited).

Because of this, we had quite a lot of flyers left over. Previously, I printed them with the booth number section blank and wrote the booth number only for the day of the event (using a handmade rubber stamp, etc.). Since the manual work for hundreds of copies right before Game Market was a hassle, I printed the booth numbers this time, but it backfired.

If I leave them blank, I can reuse them for other events, so I think I will go back to the stamp method in the future (probably).

Cash transaction flow

When settling with cash,

1. Receive money from the customer
   At this time, place the money where the customer can see it.

2. Return change
   Place large bills on top. Count the number of bills aloud while handing them over.

3. Hand over the product
   Wait for the customer to finish putting their change into their wallet.

Setting aside the finer details, I believe this is the proper flow, but it was quite difficult to implement thoroughly.

In particular, step 1, 'placing the money where the customer can see it,' was not being followed, and I would often inadvertently put it into the back area. Since this becomes a problem when issues arise (such as making a mistake in the amount of change), the money should always be placed in a visible spot, and I should have made it a point to receive the money at the same time as returning the change.

I would like to make improvements, such as properly preparing a designated place to put money and establishing clear procedures for staff, including myself.

Side note: Personally, I find PayPay payments to be the easiest right now. Although there is a transaction fee, it is cheaper than others, it has a high penetration rate in Japan and customers are used to it, it eliminates the need for change management, it is faster than cash, it can issue electronic receipts if necessary, and it keeps a payment history. Also, there are people who say, 'I don't have any cash, so I'll use PayPay,' so it helps avoid missing out on opportunities.

English

Recent Game Markets have seen a real increase in visitors from overseas. It seems like a good idea to prepare English rules in advance, even if it's just machine translation. It would be even better to prepare an FAQ for commonly asked questions.

To be honest, unless you are very used to using them, it is difficult to use translation apps on the spot.

Inventory

At this Game Market, despite making the following statement just before the event, I ended up selling out.

• Before Game Market
  Because reservations exceeded expectations, I increased the inventory brought to the event at the last minute.

• Day 1 of the event
  I released the stock intended for the second day, but it sold out around the evening.

• Day 2 of the event
  I replenished the stock for the day, but it still sold out around the evening.

This time, although I released an expansion card, it was not a completely new game, so I kept the inventory on the lower side. However, considering past results, it was a quantity that should not have sold out, so this situation was unexpected and a first in my six and a half years of activity.

Deciding how many items to produce and bring is always a struggle, not just for Game Market. If there are too many, the transportation costs cannot be ignored. That said, the appearance of the Game Market and the trends of the visiting customers have continued to change over the past six and a half years. I hope to continue my activities while paying attention to recent trends.

Random thoughts on Game Market

According to the official announcement, the number of attendees for this event was 15,000 on Saturday and 12,000 on Sunday. Since the Sunday attendance has increased compared to before, I suspect that a large number of TRPG fans were in attendance. Asobi-Tsukusu's works are in a genre quite different from TRPGs, so I felt a significant difference in the number of visitors between Saturday and Sunday.

That said, there are people who only attend on Sunday, and others who attend both days, saying, 'I visited the booths I wanted to see on Saturday and wandered around on Sunday,' so I believe there is value in exhibiting on both days.

With the number of exhibition booths well over 1,000, honestly, I don't think one could visit more than about 50 booths (less than 5%) even if they tried their best over the two days. Promotional activities will become increasingly important.

However, promotions do not reach everyone. I want to focus on creating a look that catches people's eyes the moment they happen to pass by the booth, making them think it looks interesting in that instant.

It's a cliché, but 'looks interesting, plays interestingly' is what matters.