Almost every collector’s convention has a moment when you realize the hobby isn’t really about the cards, somewhere between the crowded aisles and the excitement of people leafing through binders. It has to do with who is holding them. During the inaugural Collectors Court, a two-day event hosted by The Magic Rain that brought trading cards, collectibles, community events, and tabletop gaming under one roof over the weekend of June 6 and 7, that sentiment seemed to descend upon Summit USJ Shopping Mall in Malaysia.
Both days of the event ran from 11 AM to 9 PM, which is a longer time frame than most local performances typically provide. That additional time is important. The energy is altered. Instead of hurrying in and out, people stay, converse, and play games. From the beginning, Collectors Court appeared to comprehend this.
According to the organizers, it was their first session, and they were genuinely encouraged by the turnout. They later wrote, “We truly hope you enjoyed hanging out with us,” which sounds more like something a person would say than corporate jargon. This event seems to have been designed to give a niche a place to belong rather than to take money from it.
That was reflected in the programming. On the convention floor, Malaysia Boardgame Design conducted a playtest session for contestants in their Design & Play boardgame design competition. Aspiring designers were surrounded by people who genuinely care about games and received real feedback in a real setting. That is not an incident. That’s the whole idea. A type of cross-pollination that doesn’t occur online occurs when creators, collectors, and casual players are all present in the same physical location.
It may seem insignificant, but First Cup Coffee was one of the sponsors. Conventions that put an emphasis on ambience and comfort are more likely to attract repeat guests. A good cup of coffee in a tidy area shows that the organizers considered the experience rather than just the inventory.
Here, it’s important to observe what’s going on in the larger context of hobbies. The National Sports Collectors Convention in the United States has been rapidly growing, adding international pavilions with dealers from Europe and Asia that cover global sports, soccer, and Formula 1 in ways that weren’t available on major convention floors even three years ago. The National’s management company, JBJ Promotions, recently reported that the hobby is expanding both domestically and internationally. Local manifestations of a global surge in interest, such as Collectors Court in Malaysia, seem to be a part of that same wave.
It’s not as simple as it seems what Collectors Court accomplished in its first weekend of operation. Local hobby events frequently struggle to balance being welcoming enough to foster a sense of community with being profitable enough to support themselves. A flea market results from having too many vendors without programming. There is too much programming without inventory, and collectors cease to appear. Sales, gameplay, design, and community are all in balance, which suggests that the organizer had a clear idea of how the weekend should go.
It remains to be seen if Collectors Court can develop from this initial session into something truly enduring. The market for collectibles in Malaysia is expanding, and demand is evident. However, repeat attendance is crucial to the success of conventions, and it is contingent upon attendees leaving with a compelling tale to share. There’s a good chance they do, based on what emerged from Summit USJ that weekend.
