Conference games: 8 ideas to energise breaks and networking

Every conference has dead time: registration, coffee breaks, lunch, the last minutes before dinner. These are exactly the moments when networking happens — and when sponsors in the exhibition area make or break their investment. A well-placed game gives delegates a reason to come over, talk and stay.

The key is to choose formats that are quick, quiet and understated. Here are eight ideas that work with medical, scientific, technology or corporate audiences.

1. Batak Pro with a conference leaderboard

The Batak Pro is a 30-second reflex challenge that needs no casual clothing or physical effort. With a leaderboard visible throughout the conference, delegates come back to try again between sessions.

2. Virtual reality to demonstrate products

Virtual reality can show an operating theatre, an industrial plant or the inside of a device. At medical and technology conferences it is much more than a game: it is a demo delegates remember.

3. Giant games in the lounge area

Chess, Connect 4 or Jenga in giant format decorate the space and are played standing, coffee in hand. Perfect for starting conversations between strangers.

4. Capsule dispenser at registration

A capsule machine with gifts or invitations at registration offers a friendly, quiet welcome.

5. Reaction ring on small stands

For sponsors with little space, the reaction ring takes up 2 × 2 m, uses 12 W and builds a queue.

6. Simulators for automotive and mobility sponsors

A driving simulator featuring the sponsor’s car or track turns their stand into the most visited in the exhibition.

7. Casino at the gala dinner

In the evening the tone changes. Casino tables with croupiers and chips with no cash value mix delegates elegantly and keep the evening going.

8. Gamification between stands

If the conference has an app or coded badges, we can link participation in each sponsor’s game to a final prize draw. Delegates tour the whole exhibition and sponsors get measurable traffic.

Fitting it in with the organisers

We work to the conference centre’s or hotel’s build-up schedule, with the technical secretariat and the stand builder. We send the technical sheet of each game for the exhibition floor plan. Tell us about your conference and we will suggest a combination.