Tag Archive for Boardgaming

Boardgame Cafes

May 4, 2014 Board Games, Business, Culture 2 comments

My impending unemployment, along with some recent provocation from a Board Game Breakfast video (#23) has got me thinking. Well, some might call it dreaming. Would a board game cafe be a feasible business in my home town? Could Wollongong support such a venture? I’l get it out on the table now, this would be so very could to have in Wollongong. Though every business has is risks. So I thought about this a little further…

 

Wollongong

Wollongong is a small town just an hours drive from Sydney with great ocean views. The population of Wollongong is just shy of 300,000 (according to Wikipedia). The demographics consist of a variety of cultures, with industry and the university being the largest causes of attraction residents.

So what is the gaming community of Wollongong like? Well, we do have a game store (Good Games Wollongong), which is more than some regional cities. Beyond that I know of a single Meetup group for board games (meets fortnightly), and a university club that plays host to an annual gaming convention (Gong-Con).

 

Board Game Cafes Generally

Board game cafes provide a place for people to come and play board games, obvious. It also is still a cafe and/or bar, which is an important part of the combo that shouldn’t be forgotten. Board game cafes are not a new concept. In fact we already have a few in Australia. Though the bigger name ones (within the board gaming community) can be found abroad. Korea seems to be the first recorded country with board game cafes.

Snakes and Lattes Board Games Cafe

Australian Board Game Cafes/Bars

International Board Game Cafes/Bars

 

The Talk

There has been a lot of talk about board game cafes and what they can do for a community, and the board game community (see here, here, and here). In some cases it can serve to draw new players into the hobby. There again there are also susceptible to the same risk as local game stores (LGSs), most complaints come from the toxicity of the CCG groups. The board game community occasionally have talks about there dreams, and ”must haves” for board game cafes and bars.

 

Board Game Cafe Pricing Structures

To accommodate the  additional maintenance and such of the games most cafes will have some sort of fee. The structure and amount of this fee differs wildly between cafes. Here are the common ones that I have seen:

Cover Entry/ Admission (per person) – One flat fee gets you “entry”, you can play as many games as you want that day all for one single cost. How each cafe deals with people coming and going during the day at this stage is unclear. This model is used by popular leader Snakes & Lattes, $5 (Canadian) gets you all day play.

Per Hour (per person) – This model charges per hour that you are playing a game. This is used by BootyBay (Sydney), and you pay before you leave the cafe. So essentially the patron pays $5 per hour, so for a 1.5 hours you will pay the rate for 2 hours.

Per Play (per person) – Each game fee per person, and the play is not time dependent. So the business still profits the same amount no matter how long it takes a game group to complete the game.

Per Play (per group)/ Rental – Each game essentially has a “rental fee”. The price doesn’t change for amount of player, or how long it takes the group to play the game. This is the model used by Board Room DC, with rental prices ranging from $1 – $5 (from a range of 30+). Interestingly Board Room DC also encourages its patrons to bring along their own games to play (that option is fee-free).

Free – There is no cost to playing the games, it comes as a free offering when enjoying time at the cafe. This model is offered by Board Game Island (Texas).

 

Funding

On challenge to the start of any new business venture is getting the capital. Popular crowd source funding platform Kickstarter has provided an ideal opportunity to raise the required capital to try a board game cafe. Some already have some capital, and just require a few more funds t finish the project, for example Gamehaus Cafe (who have just recently opened doors in LA). Other Kickstarter example include The Uncommons Board Game Cafe and Spielbound.

 

Feasibility & Business Model

While this idea, is exciting and all is it feasible? Could a Board Game cafe survive in Wollongong. There has been some talk on the internet about the ability of these kinds of businesses to survive generally (here and here). Though not all dreams succeed, for example Auckland’s 360 Board Game Cafe is up for sale.

Wollongong has the generation that could serve as a sustainable user base. With university there are a variety of low income people who would enjoy the use of a wide board game library. The already is some competition within Wollongong there is one local game store which would present some competition, and a Games Workshop. However both of these businesses appeal to a slightly different audience. Wollongong has a nice cafe atmosphere, where a cafe “with a twist” could have a lot of potential. The bigger question is will any of the above funding models provide enough profit to keep the business sustainable, given the volume of patronage.

Board Room DC

Conventions – PAX East

April 17, 2014 Industry No comments
Japanime Games - Krosmaster Arena at PAX East

Japanime Games – Krosmaster Arena at PAX East

In keeping up-to-date with the gaming industry I’m currently reading all about the Awesomeness of PAX East. PAX East is a Geek convention, held over three days in Boston, MA. PAX is a convention that can satisfy every geek from board and table top games, to video games, to cosplay. PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) is the brain child of Penny Arcade, it has been growing since 2004. 2013 marked the first year PAX expanded its convention beyond the USA, to Australia, in fact. Which naturally excited Aussie fans, who often feel they get the short end of the stick when it comes the gaming industry.

Greenbrier Games at PAX East 2014

Greenbrier Games at PAX East 2014

For those of you who PAX is unfamiliar, is it on opportunity for industry bodies (publishers, producers, developers, marketers, etc) to exhibit wares, release new products, market to a new demographic, and mingle with their audience, and end-product consumers. It is also an opportunity for fans and consumers to immerse themselves in the culture over a few days, meet new friends, and see what is happening in the industry. While exhibitions serve as a major part of the convention it is also a place of learning and sharing, with a full schedule of panels and talks, given by a variety of speakers including developers, artists and prominent people in the gaming media.

Soda Pop Minis @PAX East 2014

Soda Pop Minis @PAX East 2014

There are some great things happening in table top gaming. The Escapist Magazine covered most of the Tabletop exhibitors (link). It is really good to hear that indie developers are getting as much attention as some of the bigger guns in the board gaming industry (like Iello and Mayfair Games). The slew of successful Kickstarter campaigns have obviously helped in boosting the variety of products entering the market. These kickstarted companies included Soda Pop Minatures (Publisher of Super Dungeon Explore), Japanime Games (well known for Krosmaster Arena), and Cool Mini or Not (famous for the Zombicide Series). While other indie developers seek to develop without the assistance of Kickstarter, with a wide variety of themes and games (link).

PAX 2014 Cosplayer: A hulking Space Marine from Warhammer 40K (click for source).

There were lots of video games, and video game announcements at PAX, naturally as a main stay of the convention. The one for which I found myself most excited is Blizzard‘s announcement of a Story Mode for Hearthstone – Curse of Naxxramas, coming in US Fall 2014. Blizzard had only just recently released an iPad version of Hearthstone for Canadian and Australia (&NZ) iPad users, which I imagine brought back more than a few players to the game. Hearthstone is a free-to-play electronic card game designed by Blizzard Entertainment based off the popular World of Warcraft story line. This online only card game features one on one battles against different live players in real time. Each player choosing a different class to play, which has inherently different play styles (Mage, Warrior, Shaman, Priest, etc), so there is something to suit everyone.

To encourage diversity in a somewhat controversial more PAX introduced the Roll for Diversity Hub and Lounge. News is still coming out about how this helped or hindered PAX. One brave trans person shared their experience in a new blog about diversity issues in the gaming industry. As I write this their is a ragging conversation happening on Reddit. I’m sure more experiences will be shared over the next week or so as the glow and high of the convention dies down.