Event reflections: Doujima 2025

Vlog version of the blog below!

I’ve finally had time to reflect on Doujima 2025: an ambitious, exhausting, and unexpectedly moving weekend that marked Thorn & Key’s first ever foray into running a physical escape game at a convention. This was an event held in May 2025!

This post isn’t a recap so much as a debrief: what went right, other things not so much, and what I’m learning about how and where Thorn & Key fits into events like these.

📍 Set-Up Weekend: Stress, Setbacks, and a Very Big Tent

Despite having done markets before, this one felt different. The escape tent was a brand new addition, and with it came new logistics, player flow uncertainty, and unexpected supply gaps. (I had made a super rookie mistake and discovered I had only two (2) copies of The Strange Artefacts of Wisteria Hall left two nights before the event!)

I spent much of Day Zero wrangling last-minute print jobs and wringing my hands about the tent. My biggest fear was whether it would go up properly on-site! Thankfully, my setup crew and some truly expensive counterweights saved the day.

🎭 Event Reflections: A Mismatch in Format?

Doujima is packed with creators and content, especially in the anime, games, and fanworks space. While there was a significant tabletop section, I learned that time-based experiences like escape games don’t necessarily align with a convention crowd that’s there to browse quickly and widely.

I’m incredibly grateful to Doujima for supporting Thorn & Key with a complimentary booth space, but I’ll be honest: if I had paid full price, I would have lost money. The escape tent saw limited traffic, and much of that came from folks who already knew my work.

Lesson learned: context matters. Conventions may not always be the best space for time-intensive interactive experiences, even if the content is a good thematic fit.

📖 What Did Work: Games, Zines, and People

My puzzle zines and tabletop games were the true stars of the weekend. People were genuinely excited to discover new indie RPGs, and several came up just to tell me how much they loved a past title or wanted to introduce it to friends.

One of the best moments? A returning player dragging a friend over to the booth, pointing at Whisk & Wonder, and launching into a full explanation of the game before I could even say hello. Those are the kinds of moments that keep me making games.

🔎 Looking Forward

Would I do Doujima 2026? At this point, I’m unsure. Unless I scale down the setup and focus on more accessible, compact product offerings, it might not be viable for Thorn & Key at the moment.

But that said, the weekend reminded me how much joy people find in immersive and interactive stories, and in finding something surprising tucked between merch tables.

So I’ll keep creating... more zines, more narrative games, more immersive things you can hold in your hands. And hopefully, I’ll see you at a future event where those stories can unfold again.

Until then, thank you for your kindness, your notes, your visits, and your time. It means the world.

— Alanna Thorn & Key