D&D General Would you fequent a gamer's hangout/bar?

[Neonchameleon]

They can work - and pre-Covid many of the local pubs used to find that although they weren't run for gamers having gamers take over one of their rooms was an excellent reliable source of income on week nights - and give warning to saturday groups if you've hired the function room out. It's really a case of knowing your audience.

One thing you definitely want to do if the whole place is for gaming is keep the place fairly quiet - no ambient music and padding on the walls (we're not talking library here - just sound damping). If there are RPG conversations and the like then no one wants them to fight to be heard at their table.

 

[J-H]

Probably not. I have two small children and not a lot of spare time.
I also don't like to spend a lot of money on eating out, and I don't drink alcohol, so I would not be a profit-generating customer.

 

[Marc_C]

That is pretty much our local gaming club. They have private rooms for RPGs. As soon as the restrictions are lifted they will serve food & alcohol.

Would I frequent it? Depends of who is there! Hygiene is sometimes an issue. I'm looking at you smelly cat-piss-man.


Seriously, I organized many tournaments for wargames from 2000 to 2016. It was fun era but too demanding. I don't frequent them anymore. We play at our homes instead. But I buy from them because I want them to stay open. I drop in from time to time for a chat with the more interesting employees.

 

[R_J_K75]

Hygiene is sometimes an issue. I'm looking at you smelly cat-piss-man.

I played at a game store for awhile and there were a few people over the years that showed up pretty ripe. I failed my save vs. death more than a few times. One of the drawbacks of playing with random people you dont know well.

 

[Matchstick]

Last time I was there my local gaming store had worked out a deal with the restaurant next door so that gamers could submit an order to the restaurant and the food would be run over. They shared a wall and literally ran a wire through the wall from the restaurant and hooked up an ordering machine to it in the game store.

 

[dragoner]

Pre pandemic we played at a pub, it has brick-oven pizzas too, thursday night the whole club of 30+ people would descend on there.

 

[The Green Hermit]

I wish there was ANY place for gamers in my town. I would prefer a cafe to a bar, but have no objections to either.

 

[dragoner]

I wish there was ANY place for gamers in my town. I would prefer a cafe to a bar, but have no objections to either.

There is a cafe here too, called merlin's beard, I think the worst thing about all these places, is that they can get too loud.

 

[Lanefan]

If there was a gamers' pub in town I'd go to it, provided it wasn't a complete hellhole, not specifically to play or run games but just as my local watering hole to hang out with friends for a beer. And that's the trick, I think, to making these places work: focus more on the pub/social aspect and don't even really try to provide space to play, as you're just asking for conflicts between people who are there primarily to play and thus want to hear each other clearly and those who - like me - just want to hang out and party.

There is (or was?) a great game-oriented pub in Vancouver called the Storm Crow, but nothing in Victoria.

 

[el-remmen]

I am halfway with Lanefan on this issue. I am much more likely to go to a pub to just hang and drink beer and maybe play some casual games and shoot the naughty word but unlikely to run actual D&D or other RPGs there (I prefer privacy and all my minis and battlemats). I also think fostering a gamer hangout vibe without necessarily requiring any gaming is a better business model for continued patronage. But I do think it should offer places to play for other folks to enjoy.