Two recent gatherings of hobby game retailers showed increases in participation by both retailers and manufacturers.  GAMA Trade Show, held in Las Vegas in March, attracted representatives of 231 unique stores, according to GAMA Executive Director John Ward, up from 215 in 2011.  There were another 45 stores in the new store program this year, vs. 32 last year.  Exhibitors were also up at GTS, from about 100 in 2011 to around 125 this year. 

ACD Games Day, held a couple of weeks ago in Madison, Wisconsin attracted representatives of around 175 stores this year, vs. 160 in 2011.  Exhibiting companies were also up this year, from 59 to 63. Both trends had some headwinds: ACD rescheduled its annual event to spring this year from fall last year, meaning there was only six months between events; and its event was scheduled head to head with C2E2 and the Diamond Retailer Summit in Chicago. 

Trends at both shows are in the context of a growing hobby game business (see "Hobby Games Grow 20-25%"), with more stores opening, retailers looking for the latest trends, and the time and money to pursue that kind of knowledge at trade events.