Friend's Gaming Pub Idea (survey)

[Shorty]

See for me, a membership fee would actually be a plus. The big advantage of membership fees is always keeping out idiots and people who aren't taking it seriously. The suggested options aren't exactly high either, compare £3-5/mo to how much it costs to say... hire a tennis court for an hour.

 

How much would you pay for one off entry? Might feel a bit pointless paying £3 for one-off entry when it's only £5 to come back whenever you like for a month.

[Rummy]

Well, as I said probably only a quid or two - but if you've got a crew of folks coming to game for the day that could add up quickly, no? Given the travel for me, I don't SEE myself making it there more than once a month, if even that. I don't go to brighton often, though if it turned out it was really awesome that could change. I love the idea, I just wish it was easier/cheaper for me to get to

 

I should add, I'm not against membership - this is in addition. Maybe any members bringing friends get discount on their entry? If you're just turning up for the day it's a quid or two(too much and you might not even get people through the door). It'd be something that would likely have to build up via word of mouth too.

[Shorty]

Makes sense yo, although it's worth mentioning the questionnaire says to answer "as if you live nearby"

[Rummy]

Oh maaaan, I did NOT see that bit. I suck.

[jayseven]

^what shorty said! Imagine it was going to open near you - how far would you be willing to travel?

 

They are looking at guest fees, i.e. a member brings guests and either has a limit of free guests per day or they pay a nominal fee. If you don't come with a guest then there'd be a nominal fee, but as suggested it'd be a few quid cheaper than getting a membership and the perks that will come with it. The perks don't necessarily come with a monthly membership or not (one model is to have that month membership be the nominal one-off fee anyway, to encourage return), but with the massively reduced cost of getting a yearly membership i.e. £3 for one-off, £5 for a month and £25-30 for a year membership (but don't quote me on those figures).

 

Income would be from memberships, food and booze, from commission of selling games/peripherals and stuff like that. The guys are looking at how to make it feasible.

 

They've also said I've got the job behind the bar :P That may be a dissuading feature...

[EEVILMURRAY]

Doesn't Yahtzee have one of those things in Australia?

 

Ah yes, here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mana_Bar

 

Is he aiming for something along these lines?

[jayseven]

Yes - only board games, not video games.

[MoogleViper]

but with the massively reduced cost of getting a yearly membership i.e. £3 for one-off, £5 for a month and £25-30 for a year membership (but don't quote me on those figures).

 

Maybe something you've already thought about, but it would be a good idea to be able to reimburse your ticket against a membership. So for example, somebody goes to try it out and pays £3, then if they decide they like it, the first month's membership is only £2. That way, it'll encourage people to purchase a membership, as it's only a little bit more, and then you'll have them coming more often. Also, they're more likely to pay to try it out if they know that they can get that money "back" if they like it. People don't really want to pay money to try something, and then have to pay again to come back.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Yes - only board games, not video games.

 

There's a pub in town which does something vaguely similar. In the sense that they have a few board games available to pick up off the shelf and play if you want. Drunken Guess Who and Connect Four were entertaining for awhile but the novelty wore off quickly. I did see one group playing what I think was The Game Of Life once, they seemed to enjoy it.

[jayseven]

Maybe something you've already thought about, but it would be a good idea to be able to reimburse your ticket against a membership. So for example, somebody goes to try it out and pays £3, then if they decide they like it, the first month's membership is only £2. That way, it'll encourage people to purchase a membership, as it's only a little bit more, and then you'll have them coming more often. Also, they're more likely to pay to try it out if they know that they can get that money "back" if they like it. People don't really want to pay money to try something, and then have to pay again to come back.

Good idea - I'll check with my mate to see if he's considered it

There's a pub in town which does something vaguely similar. In the sense that they have a few board games available to pick up off the shelf and play if you want. Drunken Guess Who and Connect Four were entertaining for awhile but the novelty wore off quickly. I did see one group playing what I think was The Game Of Life once, they seemed to enjoy it.

 

I think you've been missing the point of the thread a little bit -- there's plenty of pubs around with games behind the bar. This is meant to be more about having a safe space to play a geeky game without feeling socially odd, whilst being able to order alcohol. But then I don't know if you're being opaque or not in your replies!

[EEVILMURRAY]

I think you've been missing the point of the thread a little bit -- there's plenty of pubs around with games behind the bar. This is meant to be more about having a safe space to play a geeky game without feeling socially odd, whilst being able to order alcohol. But then I don't know if you're being opaque or not in your replies!

Technically they're not behind the bar at the place I've seen them. There's a bookshelf with some books and the games on them. I never understood why they thought having Buckaroo was a good idea. And noone seemed to feel socially odd about it at all. But this is coming from a guy who has played Pokémon TCG in a pub which plays live rock music every week.

 

What's being described sounds more like the comic shop I normally play Pokémon at (because they have role players and DnD guys almost every day), but with alcohol. Which doesn't sound like a bad idea but if there aren't many gamers in the area it would sound better to just be a bar which can hire out the function room to role players.

Do you know what the place is gonna look like? Sounds like a fantastic idea. I can imagine quite enclosed booths, (or at least, wall adjacent tables with high seat sides) for games that require a more enclosed atmosphere, and then lots of open tables for ones that don't blahb lahbsa;b.

 

 

Yeah. Awesome.

I'd say no to the enclosed booths, some of these tabletop role playing games need a shitload of table space for boards, character sheets etc. And who knows how many people will be playing in a certain game.

[Rummy]

^what shorty said! Imagine it was going to open near you - how far would you be willing to travel?

 

They are looking at guest fees, i.e. a member brings guests and either has a limit of free guests per day or they pay a nominal fee. If you don't come with a guest then there'd be a nominal fee, but as suggested it'd be a few quid cheaper than getting a membership and the perks that will come with it. The perks don't necessarily come with a monthly membership or not (one model is to have that month membership be the nominal one-off fee anyway, to encourage return), but with the massively reduced cost of getting a yearly membership i.e. £3 for one-off, £5 for a month and £25-30 for a year membership (but don't quote me on those figures).

 

Income would be from memberships, food and booze, from commission of selling games/peripherals and stuff like that. The guys are looking at how to make it feasible.

 

They've also said I've got the job behind the bar :P That may be a dissuading feature...

 

I'll have to do it again, I did it with my current situation in mind :p