How to choose a game for your exhibition stand

It should bring people onto your stand and start conversations with the right ones. Most exhibitors judge a show on leads: in a survey of more than 100 companies that use modular stands, 43.9% said the number of leads was the most useful measure of whether a show worked (Exhibition News, January 2025). A crowd round a game is good to see, so ask how the game gets you from "that was fun" to someone's details and a reason to follow up.

People walking a show floor give a stand a few seconds before they decide whether to stop. A game with one control needs no explanation, and someone watching over a shoulder can see how to play before they pick up the tablet. My own game, Quali Prix, is one button: hold to go, let go to brake. On its board for the week to 29 October 2026, 36 players took 6,010 attempts between them to set their best lap, about 167 each. Each lap takes about a minute, so the queue keeps moving.

Check before you book. At ExCeL London, the free Wi-Fi is "suitable for light browsing and emails" and isn't recommended for business use, and your own router, phone hotspot or MiFi needs the venue's approval (ExCeL technology FAQs; ExCeL wireless policy). ExCeL advises a dedicated wired connection or its exhibitor Wi-Fi for stands that rely on the internet. Other venues set their own rules, so ask your organiser what comes with your stand. Then ask the game's supplier what happens when the connection drops: does the game stop, or does it keep running and send the scores once the connection is back?

A board on your big screen turns one go into a contest between the people at your stand. Decide whether it resets each day or runs for the whole show, keep it to first names or initials on screen, and ask how the supplier stops fake scores. On my boards every time comes from a run the server has replayed from the player's own button presses, so nobody can type in a fake score (how the board stays fair).

A small prize helps, but be careful with a prize for the top of the board alone. In a one-button game, a well-written computer script can find a near-perfect run, and the name at the top may not be the person you meant to reward. Small instant prizes, or a free prize draw among everyone who plays, are simpler to run. A draw has rules of its own: winners must be picked by chance, either by a computer process you can show evidence of or under the eye of an independent observer (ASA advice on prize draws). Put the terms on the stand before the first person plays.

If visitors enter their details to post a score, you're collecting personal data. Keep the box for your marketing separate and unticked, store the consent wording and the time it was given, and have the game's supplier sign a data processing agreement with you. Emailing people at their work addresses has looser rules than emailing consumers, but UK GDPR still applies to named people (ICO guidance on business-to-business marketing).

• A physical game, such as a reaction wall or a racing simulator, draws people in, and the bigger ones are a spectacle in their own right. It's hired per event, with delivery and set-up, and usually leaves you with a crowd rather than contact details.
• A digital stand game runs on your own tablets in your branding, and can put a leaderboard on your big screen. If the game supports it, it can also capture leads with consent. It needs a working connection, unless it keeps going when the Wi-Fi drops.

Digital stand games are usually priced per show, with hosting included, and physical games are hired per event. Whichever you choose, get the full price for your show in writing: the game, your branding, hosting, support during show hours, and anything you need to supply yourself, such as tablets, a screen and the connection. My prices are on the site: a ready-made game is £495 a show, and a game made around what you sell starts at £1,450, beginning with a Playable Pitch so you see it working first (see all prices).

• Can someone get it in a few seconds and finish in about a minute?
• Does it give people a reason to come back, such as a board on your screen?
• Does it keep running if the venue's Wi-Fi drops?
• How are leads captured, and who signs the data agreement?
• If there's a prize, are the rules written down?
• Is the full price for your show in writing?

If you'd like a one-button game on your stand, have a look at my stand games.