Would you play your game here?

[Dragon Snack]

I like the idea and explored it as an option when I was looking into opening a game store. While I wouldn't use such a service currently (unless X rocked my socks off), there are plenty of times in the past I would have.

Random musings...

Nix the resturant / bar idea. As others have mentioned, you don't want the hassles of running a resturant while limiting your returns. From the research that we did, very few gamers actually ordered food while gaming at a store. While some do, it's not enough to justify the overhead (space, health codes, utilities, stock - food and utensil's, dedicated employees, I'm sure I'm missing stuff) plus the intial capital investment (commercial equipment is not cheap).

Drinks could be a good fit, but find out how far you can go with local codes. Vending should have a low barrier to entry in most places and you may be able to get away with a self serve soda fountain/coffee machine (much like convenience stores). Once you get a bartender type server, you're probably looking at more regulations that will push it into an unprofitable side venture.

Shrinkage. Unfortunately, there are bad people out there and some of them are gamers. While there are ways to mitigate it, never underestimate the ingenuity or brashness of the people that want what you have (and don't want to pay for it). It was strange, most store owners I talked with downplayed theft at their stores, but most employees said that it was rampant (not sure if the owners didn't realize or if they just didn't want to admit it). Sadly, private room = nice place to hide while you stash the loot you just swiped.

Rothe has some good ideas. There are lots of gamers out there who will pay $50+ for a well painted miniature, so there are gamers with lots of disposable income willing to spend it. Those are also probably the gamers who don't spend much time on internet meassage boards...

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Probably not.

In my area, there are four different FLGSes with free, open tables, and, if all else failed, we could probably use a library conference room, too (which I've done in the past). Only one (fairly irregular) member of my group has a good place to play, so we do tend to play at the FLGS. However, I'm sure most of the group would be disinclined to PAY for that space.

The only way I would pay for a place to game is if it had incredible resources - a dedicated LAN network (perhaps with some dirt-cheap built-ins for those without PCs), an old surround sound system tied into the computers, a fully stocked pop machine, central air conditioning and heat, and so on. I might go as high as $40/night for something like that, because it could really enhance the experience (and would be waaaay out of my league to set up, even if I had so much as a square foot of tabletop gaming space at home). However, with such requirements, even such a costly room fee would take a long time to pay for the amenities, to say nothing of the location.

 

[fusangite]

Nix the resturant / bar idea. As others have mentioned, you don't want the hassles of running a resturant while limiting your returns. From the research that we did, very few gamers actually ordered food while gaming at a store. While some do, it's not enough to justify the overhead (space, health codes, utilities, stock - food and utensil's, dedicated employees, I'm sure I'm missing stuff) plus the intial capital investment (commercial equipment is not cheap).

That makes sense. But it does beg the question: why shouldn't people game at restaurants, especially during the afternoon lull between lunch and dinner. I know it doesn't help the OP's business but I thought I'd mention that if my group had suffered some kind of venue-destroying catastrophe, that's definitely the direction I'd go.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Possibly, but...

1. How keen am I really to play in this particular campaign that I would PAY as a player to do so in the first place?
2. How much IS the amount to be paid and is it worth it given my desire in #1 above?
3. What are the SPECIFIC amenities I'm paying for? Nice tables and chairs won't do it - I'll game on dang near anything and anywhere and probably have. It has food? What food? What drink? Is it included in the cost or am I just paying for the convenience? Minis to rent as a convenience or included in the cost? What about other props like dungeon tiles or Dwarven Forge pieces? Etc.
4. Is our table in a large echo-chamber common room where we have to shout to drown out the obnoxious neighbors or do we all get our own private space?
5. Location location location. I've done some serious travelin to keep up my attendance at campaigns in the past, but only becuse the others there are my friends who have travelled even further to get to my games. But if I'm paying for the privilege on top of it all it better be EASY to get to.

Really, there's just too many variables to give a decent answer - and it will ALL be trumped by the answer to #1.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Microsoft Surface

Oh, man, now that is a beautiful thought. I hadn't considered the gaming possibilities of one of those Surface rigs, before. Unfortunately, it'll probably be about a decade before the things come anywhere near my price range, but it's still nice to dream about what I could do with a big Surface table, a copy of Photoshop, and a few minatures. (Better yet, I can imagine miniatures with Surface-active electronics in their bases, for use with dedicated gaming software and OH MY GOD THE AWESOMENESS I WILL BE DREAMING ABOUT THIS ALL DAY.)

Frankly, I would pay through the nose for such a rig - and the software to go with it, which would naturally include programmable sensors to be attached to the underside of WotC plastic minis for pop-up combat stats, movement options (all available move-to squares with AoO's in yellow or red border), use-anything-that-you-can-use-as-wallpaper-as-your-terrain, and OH MY GOD THE AWESOMENESS I WILL BE DREAMING ABOUT THIS ALL DAY! A 30-inch touchscreen... not sure what that would go for but it can't be much worse than a new 40" plasma. It's the software to go with it that is more the determining factor. The gaming applications are UTOPIC. It's holy grail of non-mmrpg gaming territory just a bit shy of holography.

Yeah, I would pay thousands for this - IF I can use it to run a D&D game. THIS is what WotC's Digital Initiative should be about.

 

[vongarr]

Possibly, but...

1. How keen am I really to play in this particular campaign that I would PAY as a player to do so in the first place?

1. 
   
   Well, the place would have to draw DM's more than players. If a DM decides he HAS to play here, that has a lot more weight than if a player doesn't.
   
   

   How much IS the amount to be paid and is it worth it given my desire in #1 above?
   What are the SPECIFIC amenities I'm paying for? Nice tables and chairs won't do it - I'll game on dang near anything and anywhere and probably have. It has food? What food? What drink? Is it included in the cost or am I just paying for the convenience? Minis to rent as a convenience or included in the cost? What about other props like dungeon tiles or Dwarven Forge pieces? Etc.

   
   It depends. A computer to run D&D prorgams would be pretty cheap, but a large touch screen would sure as hell not be. A projector can be cheap, but you need low-light...Which makes gaming hard. The earliest I'd open such a place would be 4 years from now, so larger touch screens would be cheaper. With RFID's being more prevalent then as well, a digital table could be very, very possible.
   
   Price? There would be some kind of club price, where you play a flat rate and get all of the mini's, dwarven forge, and other reuseable items as you want. You would still probably have to pay to rent the table, or there would be a time limit with the monthly membership cost.
   
   
   

   [*]Is our table in a large echo-chamber common room where we have to shout to drown out the obnoxious neighbors or do we all get our own private space?

   
   Well, unless I can find an old office or something, you're looking at a row of cubicle wall in the far end of the store, with kind of a hallway behind them, next to the real wall. There would be a way to close off your location, and I'd make the place as sound dampening as possible. I'd have some kind of camera in there to make sure the customers aren't having sex, or stealing, or doing coke, etc. So I'd also know if you're being harassed, and I could send in the 'boys to take care of the harassment.
   
   
   

   [*]Location location location. I've done some serious travelin to keep up my attendance at campaigns in the past, but only becuse the others there are my friends who have travelled even further to get to my games. But if I'm paying for the privilege on top of it all it better be EASY to get to.

Really, there's just too many variables to give a decent answer - and it will ALL be trumped by the answer to #1.

Hell, location is one of those things. If you live in a place like Houston, pretty much anywhere is a bad location with how spread out people are. Though I wouldn't even start if it has a bad location that isn't highly visible.

 

[Alnag]

I am not willing to pay for a gaming place. Never. It is a matter of principle. I might pay for food, and our group actually did sometimes, because we play eg. in tea room. But never ever for the place itself. It sounds so terribly wrong, that I can't imagine that.

I might pay for renting a battle mat or mins, or food, or whatever... but not a place. Somehow it lacks a possibility of customer choice or something. Sorry.

 

[Mouseferatu]

We used to play in my apartment, which was fine, except that I didn't have a dining table, and so everyone sat in various chairs (or on the floor), and we didn't really use a mat or map. It worked, but, IMO, it wasn't ideal (or even close to ideal).

See, whereas to me, that is ideal. I prefer playing in a more spread-out fashion, with people on various chairs and sofas. And I only use a battle mat for about half my combats anyway, so long as there's room to squeeze it in when necessary, I'm golden.

The bottom line, for me, is that the only way I would pay for a place to play is if I truly had no other reasonable options open to me, and it was the only way to get my regular gaming in.

And even then, I'd have to think about it. I've just got more than enough to spend my money on already.

 

[megamania]

At one point there was a warhammer store owner in manchester that was going to buy a motel. Beyond the normal motel business he was going to save one room just for gaming. The fee was in theory a dollar a person (to cover cleaning fees). No bed, instead it would be a game table. Fridge there to but soda into and a microwave.

People liked the idea but this is Manchester (rich town with spoiled kids of rich people).

Deal fell through so it was never tried.


Would I?

Something like a dollar or something maybe. Having no AC at my place sucks. AC alone would make it attractive in the summer.

Depends on rules, upkeep and how it was shared between groups and interests.

 

[BASHMAN]

This is true. But those LGS's also usually have a hodgepodge of tables and chairs, no privacy (If you want it) and your table could be filled by someone else when you intend to play there. Think of it as a dave & busters for a game store.

If you are willing to forgo the food & drink, a local library will likely have a meeting room that you can reserve to use for free.