You cannot really fix to the walls
Shell scheme walls are infill panels in an aluminium frame and are not built to carry weight. Free-standing games sidestep this entirely, which is part of why they suit these stands.
Shell Scheme vs Space Only
Which one you booked makes more difference to what will fit on the stand than the square metres do.
The difference in one paragraph
A shell scheme is a stand the organiser builds for you. You get walls, a fascia with your name on it, usually carpet, and a fixed footprint, most often 3m by 2m or 3m by 3m. Space only is bare floor. You bring the structure, or a stand builder does, and you take on the height allowance, the design approval and the build schedule that comes with it.
For our purposes the practical differences are three: how much floor you actually have, how high you can go, and what you are allowed to fix things to.
How much of a shell scheme a game eats
A 3m by 2m stand is roughly 9.8ft by 6.6ft, so about 65 square feet before you put anything on it. Against the required-space figures from our own kit, that works out as:
| Game | Required space | Share of a 3x2m stand |
|---|---|---|
| Crack the Code | 2ft x 2ft | around 6% |
| Prize Crane Arcade Grabber | 5ft x 3ft | around 23% |
| Batak Lite | 5ft x 5ft | around 38% |
| Grab a Grand | 7ft x 6ft | around 65% |
| Batak Pro | 8ft x 5ft | around 61% |
| Racing Car Simulator | 10ft x 10ft | will not fit |
The Batak Pro is the interesting one. It fits, but it takes nearly two-thirds of the stand and its 8ft dimension runs close to the full 3m width, which leaves you a strip. On a 3m by 3m stand it is comfortable. On a 3m by 2m, the honest advice is usually a Batak Lite or a safe game instead, and it is the conversation we have most often.
Three shell scheme constraints worth knowing
None are dealbreakers, all are easier to plan around than to discover.
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The fascia sets your height
The fascia usually sits around 2.5m. Most of our stand kit is under 7ft and clears it, but taller items and anything inflatable will not, and the organiser will say so on build-up day if you haven't already.
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Open sides change everything
A corner or peninsula stand with two or three open sides gives you far more aisle frontage for the same square metres, which is worth more to footfall than the extra floor would be.
What space only unlocks
Height, mainly. Once you are building your own structure you can usually go well above the shell scheme fascia, subject to the organiser's height allowance and a structural sign-off. That is what makes the bigger items viable - the inflatable basketball at 16ft, the 10ft Saloon Bar Shoot Out, a pair of simulators side by side, or a full fairground package of the kind that has gone into the NEC and Telford.
It also unlocks layout. On space only you can put the game on a corner with the queue running along a side you control, rather than fitting around walls somebody else positioned.
What it costs you is lead time. Space only stands need design approval and a longer build, and our kit has to slot into that schedule rather than turning up when the hall opens. If you are on space only, tell us early and send the stand drawing.
A rough rule
On a 3m by 2m shell scheme, budget one compact game and nothing else. On 3m by 3m, one substantial game plus a leaderboard works well. On anything larger or on space only, the constraint stops being floor and starts being what you want the stand to do, which is where the footfall guide and trade show games are more use than a tape measure.
Full footprints for everything are in the power and space guide.