So by strange happenstance I've just acquired a gaming bar...

So by strange happenstance I've just acquired a gaming bar. It's got some video games but it's primarily for board gaming, card gaming, etc. In truth, I'm relatively clueless about traditional games. I grew up playing D&D and the obvious board games, monopoly and so forth, but that's the extent of it. So I figured I'd come and ask you guys, and start to educate myself a bit, and figure out what new stuff to put in the bar.

As it is now it has Catan, Cards Against Humanity, Munchkin, the more mainstream stuff, but, I don't really know what would be good to add, what are must haves, what's new, etc. So, tell me, what would you want to see in a Veeky Forums gaming bar?

I think it's maybe a little early for most people, especially for a Monday. I don't do much board gaming, my mainstays are miniatures and roleplaying and I've recerntly started to get back into Magic: The Gathering pretty casually.

That being said, get Cash and Guns. That's probably my favorite "board game". Easy to learn and casual enough for normies to pick up, but also sometimes silly enough to get a kick out of.

Alright. I'm planning to do MTG events, as well as possibly miniature painting and "learn to play pen and paper" workshops. So I'm definitely on board. I've got a Call of Cthulhu rulebook I'm going to take in, though I'm not sure something like that will be popular because of the complexity and time required.

How much of an actual bar is it?

Very much so. You get people who come in specifically just to play, some who come in specifically just to get drunk, and the vast majority that's somewhere in the middle.

Yeah, this user is asking the right questions. Prior to your acquisition, what did this place serve? Bottled beer? Craft beer? Cocktails? Heck, I've been in 'bars' that were more like coffee shops, and sold pastries and caramel lattes. What kind of games you want to introduce depend hugely on the atmosphere and culture of the establishment.

Well at least you have a means of generating revenue then.

If you want to encourage tabletop gaming, try offering/making a menu that is clean and easy to eat. Stuff that doesn't leave residue on fingers or has a bunch of sauce on it and other such things.

Bottled beer, lots of craft beer. There's obviously soda, juice, snacks. Going to be adding a bit more bar food and doubling down on the craft beers, put a few taps in.

But most of the time, beer. It's groups of people coming in, having a few (or a few more) beers and playing games with their friends. A bunch of whom are regulars/pretty into it board game nerds but definitely trends towards the 'normie' end of the spectrum for heavy board gamers.

What sort of tables do you guys have? Any with a lip around the edges to help prevent dice from falling off?

Nope, just standard 4 legged wooden tables. That's actually a good idea though. Or maybe just offer a drink platter to roll dice into.

Something to keep dice from scattering everywhere. It is already annoying when it falls off the table, can't imagine how bad it would be in a public area.

Makes sense. D20's especially have a tendency to just roll the fuck away.

Fork/knife food then.

ANY kind of finger food would leave behind a residue.

But OP was asking specifically about games.

This is a great opportunity for people to play games they never thought about buying/playing themselves. Games with short play times and way to understand rules will be the go to options for sure.

Zombie dice, for example, has both a minimal set up time, and learning time. It had another advantage of fewer pieces to lose. Few patrons are going to play a game of Arkham Horror. (Not to say they won't, but there are better initial investments).

Cards Against Humanity is very much popular in the mainstream tabletop community, add it wouldn't hurt to have a second box. Or, a card game with a similar theme of being horrible, Gloom. It's a bit more involved, but quite fun.

And of course, decks of cards, chess/checkers boards are nice to keep around as well.

I want to come to your bar, this place sounds awesome.

In general RPGs are pretty rules intensive and not necessarily pickup-and-play things. A few learning days might be good, but you might just want to provide facilities for groups who are already into it to come to your store and become patrons.

In my experience, Magic can be a great thing. It's hugely popular and can pull in a lot of money, especially if you start getting into the secondary market. On the other hand, depending on what the community and such is like where you live, sometimes Magic can kind of "take over" a store. I've seen some owners start to neglect other aspects of the hobby and cater more and more to Magic players as it's consistent and popular and makes a lot of money. Just something to think about if you want to push one aspect of the hobby over another or if you want to be more generalist.

It's a little strange, actually. I notice in my FLGS that besides me and my group, most types don't tend to mix with each other. Boardgamers boardgame on their days, minis people do minis, Magic guys do Magic, RPers RP, and that's kind of that. Except our crew who does literally everything and bounces to a new flavor, game, or genre every couple months.

Zombie Dice? I'll look into it.

I'm actually in Poland, Krakow specifically, and so I want to get some Gwent decks in. I definitely want to do a big event for the release of the standalone game they're doing.

Yeah it's definitely a casual crowd here. Casual by Veeky Forums standards anyway. I'm interested in getting an MTG community/regular event going for sure. Hadn't thought about going into card market but now that you mention... I had considered doing swap/sell events where people can swap and sell their old video games, consoles, cards, miniatures, whatever.

In truth, miniatures aren't a big thing here because it's such an expensive hobby. Which is too bad, I was really into WH40K when I was younger and I'd love a business excuse to buy a pile of Tyranids. Or maybe Imperial Guard....

I definitely think that board games and card games are the biggest draw of the place (along with relatively cheap beer and craft beer) so I want to put my focus on, as you say, easy to pick up and play stuff. I think a lot of the more specialist/niche stuff would be ideal for regular events. And/or become the meeting place for existing groups for it. The Nintendo 3DS Streetpass Society thing meets at the bar for example. All 8 nintendo fans in Poland. Could do the same with wargaming.

We have a boardgame café here in town, a pretty casual and comfy place serving coffee, sandwiches and the usual stuff lunch places do.
They also have a literal tonne of boardgames you can use at your table for like 7 bucks, no time limit.

I'm sure they'd be happy to answer any questions another professional might have?
cafetaktik@ gmail.com

Careful drawing in the MTG community.

Your primary revenue stream is the bar, and MTG, while it does have an older fanbase, will still be divided simply by the locale. The space required for a tournament may also force aside other patrons who would be more readily purchasing food and drink during their stay.

Although, tournaments could be a good use of the space outside peak hours. Lunch-time events could prove popular. But I do say this only with my experience in the US, but even lunch time can see taverns fill to capacity in busy areas. And that's just people who want a sandwich and a pint.

Infinity pretty big in Poland, isn't it? It's also a game not taking as much place as the GW ones do, and fewer models means easier to set up/transport. Sort of Necromunda-sized?
Perhaps there aren't any players in your local area, just a thought?

Oh, sweet. Thanks man.

Yeah. Right now we're not open during the day. I'm actually looking to be renting the space to small seminars, marketing groups, etc. They think doing professional events in a bar is fun and quirky.

Wouldn't be a problem to do daytime MTG events, particularly on Sunday.

Selling MtG might be a good idea. It sells really well and if you organize Friday Night Magic you will make sure your bar has a loyal customer base and that it has people in it most of the time, which is vital for a game bar. People are more likely come inside to play if they see others inside. If your bar is small you can set up two events (Modern & Standard) alongside drafts in different days. This is so MtG players don't take up all the space.

Drafts can be a particularly good idea because it benefits the "come in, spend and play" dynamic that benefits your business the most.

If you sell beer you might want to set up Commander events. Commander players love to get smashed while playing cards.

I don't know. I'll look into Infinity though. It looks fun to me at least.

My younger brother is actually quite into MTG back in America so I should talk to him a bit more. I don't know shit about it, besides that I played it super casually back when I was a teenager. But I never got into stuff like drafts and modern vs standard and whatnot.

What do you think about Sunday daytime MTG events? That way it's on the weekend so people can attend, during the day, and Sunday is a really slow day here.

I think Friday is a bad day for events because people are in there on Fridays regardless with no extra prompting from me. The thing for me is to get Sunday-wednesday numbers up. Thursday is the student go out night here so I'll do some student oriented events but mostly thursday/friday/saturday take care of themselves, and will do so even more once I have more games and activate my marketing chick.

Also I will check out Commander.

>My younger brother is actually quite into MTG back in America
Seems like you've got a chance to tighten bonds. Don't squander it, you never know when you'll need a spare kidney but really, brotherhood is more precious than gold

Traditionally MTG events are held on fridays, but like all things, just talk about it with your patrons to see what day is best for them. Whatever choice you make, they'll remember you cared about them enough to ask.

Being close to your patrons, enough that they may consider you a friend will make your business bloom explossively from good karma alone (nevermind sales).

The Wednesday problem is rather tricky tho. At morning / early afternoon most children and adults are either at school or work, so your target demographic are probably college students, young enough not to have jobs, old enough they run off class every now and then or have the afternoon shift.

People in that age range (18-20) probably won't be lured in by something they have to pay for, so drafts are out. On the other hand, odds are they've been playing magic from around Mirrodin onwards, so Modern tournaments are likely to be effective, specially if you get your hands on useful, valuable cards and offer them as prizes to get things rolling the first weeks / months.

That would leave Standard for Friday. Commander players then can be allocated to any day because more often than not they are a group of friends that set up their own tournaments. You only gotta support them and not only will they come to you, but they'll bring more of their ilk.

Just like sand people.

Also, for Modern Wednesday: Give out a cold beer with the inscription fee. Also give out some free ones every now and then.

College students love beer. Also if you are generous they'll stop seeing the place less as a business and more as a home. The same way, they'll humanize their view of you, which will make them that more loyal.

>College students love beer. Also if you are generous they'll stop seeing the place less as a business and more as a home. The same way, they'll humanize their view of you, which will make them that more loyal.
No. That's a good way to get a bitchy demanding customer base that refuses to pay for anything. Offer reasonably priced beverages. Craft beer is usually easy to do. If you want a leg up, I live in a small town in ontario with two separate breweries, and at least 5 other independent beers that are awesome. Bring in a wide variety of high quality, reasonably priced beverages and you'll be successful. Give free beer to college students, you'll wind up owning a bar that plays beer pong and cleaning vomit off your carpet.

A "smoking" lounge could be quite popular if it's separate from the main gaming area, and that sort of thing is legal in your country.

Why don't you print out some basic question-airs and ask your customers if the bar is operating still.
No one better to ask than the people who are frequenting your bar.

Also, try having specific evenings dedicated to a popular game that gets played alot at your bar.

Yeah the balance between familiar but not letting them take too many liberties is a tough one. The former owners had regulars who are some liberty taking motherfuckers and I'm in the process of gently but firmly letting them know the boundaries.

I definitely agree, and have been talking to customers like crazy to get their ideas/opinions. I think facebook polls is gonna turn out to be really useful here. Anyone who hangs out in a bar, even to play Veeky Forums games, has and uses facebook so I think it might be a good way to get this information.

And craft beer sells like mad, and everyone loves it. One thing I hear a lot is "I'd love it if you guys brought in new craft beers regularly" so I'm definitely gonna make that a priority as well.

>I'm interested in getting an MTG community/regular event going for sure.
> I'd love a business excuse to buy a pile of Tyranids. Or maybe Imperial Guard....

I might have some bad news for you. MTG is more expensive than warhams (at least as long as you stop at 1500-2000 points army)

>No. That's a good way to get a bitchy demanding customer base that refuses to pay for anything.
Not in the old continent. Also entitled little fucks will remain such beer or not and are extremely problematic. If one such individual decides to come, he is to be swiftly disposed of. By doing so, your patrons will only respect you more.

Kraków?
I will probably visit your place soon, if I'm not already one of clients.

Select.

You may well be.

Portland? Oh man, this is going to be trouble.

Lots of wesen there, pain in the ass to keep the peace in your own establishment. It's no wonder that this bar fell in your lap.

If you do magic, restrict it to friday night magic for booster drafts. As a bar, you might not be eligible to do release events, and you shouldn't do those anyway. (The fast track of MTG takeover, which you don't want)

Since MTG is going to be your biggest moneymaker regardless, perhaps consider some sort of drink discount to attract both sides. A free (select) draft for anyone who buys into boosterdraft. (Or fountain drink for those who don't drink booze, which is even cheaper for you to serve)

I misread Poland as Portland, my mistake.

Less wesen problems there.

>by strange happenstance
Well...?

How do board game cafes deal with broken/stolen/missing/stained components?

bump

Probably just buy replacement decks/parts with breakage money

Yeah. New/replacement shit is just cost of the business like replacing the occasional chair or glass.