Trade Show Booth Ideas: 10 Games That Bring Leads

The booth is booked, the graphics are done, and at some point the question comes up: what do we actually do to make people stop? There are plenty of ideas, from coffee bikes to photo booths. If you want to leave the show with more than a stack of business cards, though, think about the idea from the goal backwards.

That is why the ten ideas in this post are not sorted by entertainment value but by what they achieve at the booth. All of them run in the browser, visitors play via QR code on their own phone, and nobody needs an app. The full overview with package price and FAQ is on our page trade show booth games.

Goal first, then the game

Four goals come up again and again at trade shows:

• Leads: contacts with consent that sales can work with after the show.
• Footfall: a booth that looks busy and pulls people in from the aisle.
• Explaining products: visitors should understand what your product can do.
• Starting conversations: a reason for the booth team to talk to people without a cold pitch.

Most games serve more than one goal. What matters is which one comes first, because that decides the game, the prizes and the required fields.

For leads: games with a prize moment

1. Spin the Wheel. The classic, because everyone gets it instantly. Before spinning, visitors enter their details with consent, and everyone sees the result on the screen. At marke[ding] 2025, around 1,500 people played at the Landtmann’s Original booth in a single show day.

2. Scratch card. On the screen you hold the button, on the phone you scratch with your finger. The result is set in advance, winners collect instant prizes right at the booth, and that is exactly where the conversation starts.

3. Quiz. A few questions about your product or industry. The quiz brings leads and shows how well someone already knows your topics. Cooper Consumer Health uses it at trade shows with vouchers as prizes.

For footfall: high scores and duels

4. Catch Game. Catch falling objects, dodge the bombs. The objects carry your branding and the rounds are short. For Dragee Keksi, the game ran as a campus promotion and won two bronze awards at the VAMP Award.

5. Downhill Ski. With timing and multiplayer, people waiting in line become opponents. Duels draw spectators, and the leaderboard brings people back over the day.

6. Mole Hunt. Figures pop up and need to be hit, and the pace picks up. Short, fast and fun to watch, ideal for busy aisles.

For products: games with content

7. Pairs. Card pairs made of your products or messages. Pairs ran at the trade show booth for OMNi-BiOTiC®: players see the brand again and again without it feeling like advertising.

8. Product Finder. A few short questions lead to the right recommendation from your range, with a voucher if you like. Ideal when the booth shows many products.

9. Custom game. When the mechanic itself is the message. At the RSA Conference in San Francisco, T-Systems sent its hero Cybär through a custom jump’n’run, and Bosch Professional had passers-by drive screws in a drill game.

Without a game: guests create the content

10. Live Wall. Guests send a photo via QR code and it appears on the wall with your brand overlay or as an AI motif. Every post goes through a form with consent, and the wall keeps growing all show day.

How an idea turns into a lead

Whether a game is just entertainment or brings contacts depends on the order. At playvertise it is always the same: scan the QR code, enter details and consents, play, see the prize. Three things make the difference:

• Few required fields. Name and email are often enough. Every extra field costs participants.
• Prizes collected at the booth. Whoever picks up an instant prize is standing in front of your team, and the conversation follows naturally.
• Contacts ready to use. Leads arrive in the dashboard live and go into your CRM as a CSV or via an add-on after the show.

Which legal points matter for a giveaway at the booth is covered in Giveaways at trade shows: the legal and practical side.

What it costs

For one trade show or event of up to a week there is the trade show package: an Essential game such as spin the wheel or quiz in your branding, two screens at once, lead capture with consent and setup support, at a flat price from €1,850 net and without a monthly license. If you exhibit more often, take a license and use the same game at every show. All packages are on the pricing page.

Checklist for the booth

• A screen with an up-to-date browser, from a TV to an LED wall
• Internet of at least 10 Mbit/s via Wi-Fi or LAN, ideally cleared with the organizer in advance
• Prizes with quantities, plus terms of participation and a privacy notice
• A clearly visible QR code, also on the roll-up or counter
• A briefed booth team: who hands out prizes, who continues the conversation?
• One test run on the actual screen beforehand

Already planning your next show? The page trade show booth games lists all formats, the package price and the most common questions, or write to us directly.