Hello, Goulburn Valley Gamers' Guild members!
We hope you are all well and playing plenty of games. As you know, we recently wrapped up ShepparCon 2023, our favourite board game convention of the year. The event was a resounding success, thanks to your participation, support, and feedback. And speaking of feedback, we've received the results from our attendee survey, and we are excited to share them with you all.
We're thrilled to announce that the event received an average rating of 4.12 out of 5. That's amazing! A massive thank you to all our attendees for this positive rating. We're also pleased to see that out of the survey respondents, 88% are keen to attend again next year, with no respondents saying they definitely won't be back. Every year, we strive to create an event that brings our gaming community together and fosters positive experiences, and these numbers are a testament to that.
The attendee demographic was a wonderful mix of ShepparCon veterans and newcomers, with 52% of respondents attending for the third time or more, 20% attending for the second time, and 28% being first-timers. We're grateful for the continued support from our regulars and equally welcome our new attendees. We hope to see you all at future ShepparCons.
Relocating to a new venue this year was a significant leap. The feedback on the change was overwhelmingly positive, with a majority of attendees showing an appreciation for the new venue. Many attendees praised the space, the quality and variety of food options, and the helpful and friendly staff. Some attendees expressed concerns about noise levels, availability of food by Sunday, and the amount of available space at the event's peak on Saturday. We see these as realistic areas of improvement. Rest assured, we are committed to addressing these points and all other suggestions you gave, and refining the experience for future events.
Among the things you enjoyed most were the community and social interaction, the variety of games, the event organisation, and the special activities (Wits & Wagers, Crokinole, Tumblin' Dice). These are the aspects that make ShepparCon special and we're glad they resonated with you. "Terraforming Mars," "Earth," "Concordia," "Heat," "Wonderland’s War," and "Splendor Duel" were some of the favourite games this year. A huge shout-out to all the game developers and publishers whose creations sparked joy among our attendees.
We've taken note of your suggestions for improvement and we're keen to work on them for the next ShepparCon. From venue concerns, event organisation, games library enhancement, security measures to healthier food options, and better scheduling and announcements, we've got them all on our radar. And for those who expressed concerns about the cost of our commemorative pins, with 70% of respondents not interested and 14% finding them too expensive, we're looking into making them more accessible in the future.
Before we sign off, we want to express our deepest gratitude to our volunteers who did a stellar job in facilitating check-ins, and even more importantly, helping foster friendships and game-playing amongst newcomers and veterans alike. This strong sense of community is the cornerstone of ShepparCon and we're overjoyed to see it resonate in the feedback.
Finally, to relive some of the best moments of ShepparCon 2023, we've put together a highlights video, which you can watch below. Enjoy the memories, and here's to making more in the coming years.
From all of us at the Goulburn Valley Gamers' Guild, thank you once again for making ShepparCon 2023 a fantastic event. We're already excited for the next one!
Happy Gaming,
Goulburn Valley Gamers' Guild Team
ShepparCon 2023: A Retrospective and Looking Forward
