You All Meet In A Bar

[The_Fan]

Drinking is allowed after high school. But I'm certain the poster isn't thinking of opening this bar in Seoul, are you????? That would be pretty cool and I might actually visit (from Ulsan), but only if you had nights of pick-up games. It's hard to find enough gamers to get a real game together, which is why I'm assuming this bar wouldn't be meant for Seoul.

On the other hand, I wonder if this sort of thing might catch on in Korea. I DM six games for Korean students (under drinking age) and they absolutely love it. Koreans, as a computer game culture, love gaming stories and understand gaming concepts. Because RPG's are new and more internal, my limited experience is that they LOVE the hobby.

Poster - are you considering this for Korea or "home"?

Definately at home. I forgot I still had Seoul as my location. Even the current location isn't home, that'd be Asheville, NC. My hometown is a pretty good gaming city, since it can support 3-4 gaming shops at any time despite being relatively small. Several major writers for White Wolf live in the general area as well. If that doesn't seem feasible, then I could locate in Atlanta instead. Good sized city, plus there's a lot of conventions in the area.

I wouldn't want it to be just D&D-focused. That's WAAAAY niche. It'd be open to Magic, Monsterpocalypse, Warhammer (ugh...necessary evil, that), and hopefully I could even draw in the local LARPers. The card players and LARPers would probably end up spending more time and money there.

Thanks for the helpful feedback. I realize there's a lot of time and money that needs to go into this, and a lot of kinks I still need to work out. Originally, the idea started as a game store, morphed into a game store/bar, and turned into a game bar. Now I think it's leaning more towards "Bar, plus gaming." That Troll bar is awesome, and I really think I could pick up some pointers from that.

 

[El Mahdi]

Would you frequent a gamer-friendly tavern?

I hate bars so I never go in them.

So, I guess that's a No?

 

[El Mahdi]

Definately at home. I forgot I still had Seoul as my location. Even the current location isn't home, that'd be Asheville, NC...

I've been there before (went TDY there in 2005 so our pilots could get some Mountain Rescue practice). It's the one place in the country my wife and I can both agree upon for settling in. Open the bar and I'd have even one more reason to move there! It is a beautiful town.

 

[Janx]

I've thought its a brilliant idea for years. Just remember bar first, gaming second. You can have miniature gaming tables instead of pool tables and xbox/ps/wii instead of sports on. Private room rentals with a discount based on the food/drink ordered. I've known several restaurant owners who turn themselves into bars when buisness is bad. Bars make money! you dont even have to have the turn over if you can keep them drinking and or eating. One thing... DO NOT HAVE FREE REFILLS ON SODA. Gamers probably wont be drunk at the table so you need to make money on all your drinks including soda.

the point about free pop refills is probably true, and proves the inverse stereotype of gamers and booze.

Most of the gamers I have known were NOT into alcohol. To me, the people who got into gaming were the ones NOT into drinking when they were in school.

So, while somebody may have a notion that gamers love booze, my experience is just the opposite. I wouldn't bank my business on gamer=booze=sales

In the same vein, those non-drinking gamers are going to guzzle a ton of pop. Free re-fills are going to hurt.

the "medieival" themed pub with gaming space upstairs/back room might work. the downstairs might have checker boards, backgammon built into the tables. So the whole place is about games, but the less mainstream (and more space taking) games would be played upstairs in the quieter space.

Locate it near a college, so you can pick up the people old enough to be into gaming and enter bars, and you're set.

 

[cdrcjsn]

A guy I know used to organize regular D&D game nights at the local pizza place.

Large trestle tables and beer on tap pretty much lent a tavern atmosphere. It wasn't designed for gaming, but it still worked, so I don't see why a gamer tavern couldn't either.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I hate bars so I never go in them.

Is it the bar itself you hate, or those tall chairs? Because, man, I hate those things. Stupid tall chairs.

 

[Wik]

Hm. Personally, even if such a bar existed in town, I'd never go there. It's not my thing - if I want to game, there are gaming halls set up. But a gaming bar? Meh. Not to mention the fact that bars have random walk-ins - people who see it and come in off the street. I don't want to be in a bar that is so niche that people can't come in off the street to have a drink.

Now, a gaming hall that serves alcohol could be a great idea - a way to run a gaming establishment that ISN'T just a cheap alternative to day care - but a true "bar" just isn't gonna cut it for me.

That being said, I'm not the target audience here. I love bars, and I love gaming, but never the two shall meet in my book. When I'm at the bar, I am simply drinking my drinks, hanging out with my friends, hitting on random women, playing pool, and watching the hockey game. Gaming is (usually) the last thing on my mind.

 

[ancientvaults]

I would go and I think it is an awesome idea. Just because alcohol is served doesn't mean you are forced to drink it, I go to bars and sometimes I just have tea or coffee, the atmosphere is created by the owner, not all bars are seedy dives.

While teaching years ago in Indonesia I went to a bar that had private karaoke rooms. A bar that was sectioned off into dedicated gaming rooms for rpgs but had big screens for PC/X=Box/PS3 in a main rool would be awesome.