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Dreamlike Gaming up in Mansfield have done just this - they have part of an industrial unit full of gaming tables and scenery. They charge £2 to play there in addition to selling snacks and beverages and gaming products - seems to be working for them.

I've never actually been to a store that charges people in any way to game. I'm lucky enough to have a FLGS that has room for 5 or 6 tables and is happy to let us use them whenever we want (even leaves the keys with the guy running friday night magic so we can stay late fridays and saturdays).

I'm not really sure if charging to use the tables would help or hurt their business but I do know that their 10% off is a lot less than I can get things for online so the only reason I buy from them is because I can play there.

 LavuranGuard wrote:
Dreamlike Gaming up in Mansfield have done just this - they have part of an industrial unit full of gaming tables and scenery. They charge £2 to play there in addition to selling snacks and beverages and gaming products - seems to be working for them.

Are they in the old space that Maelstrom used to use?

Never got to the eye of the storm, but the directions ive seen look extremely similar.

How long does £2 get you?

Don't think so, but I was overseas whilst Mansfield was open so never went there. The place is pretty easy to find though, I didn't get lost heading there and my satnav was borked the first time I went there. £2 AFAIK gets you the whole day, so it's excellent value, but mostly I'm up there with the guys from Animosity for their events so the cost is all part of the event cost. Dreamlike have been very supportive of our events too, and will be hosting my team tournament next year, all things going well.

The talk of places charging for access to the gamin tables feels weird to me. I don't know how I would react to that. Every store I've been to the gaming space was free. Just from what I'm used to, if a place is going to charge, it'd better be really darn swank gaming tables and terrain.

 AduroT wrote:
The talk of places charging for access to the gamin tables feels weird to me. I don't know how I would react to that. Every store I've been to the gaming space was free. Just from what I'm used to, if a place is going to charge, it'd better be really darn swank gaming tables and terrain.

I prefer the idea to having to buy something every time I'm in. It just seems fair as I'm probably taking up a 4/6ft table for at least 2-3 hours and I may not actually want to buy anything, but I'm happy to cover my way.

My local club charges £2/evening on their club nights, which goes towards the cost of hall hire and terrain, and seems perfectly fair (even cheap) to me.

 AduroT wrote:
The talk of places charging for access to the gamin tables feels weird to me. I don't know how I would react to that. Every store I've been to the gaming space was free. Just from what I'm used to, if a place is going to charge, it'd better be really darn swank gaming tables and terrain.

I think it's actually a good idea, means that you don't get the scenario where everyone buys everything on the web and then turns up to a store to play but doesn't buy anything in store which was a familiar complaint when I lived in Canada.

From the few GWs I've frequented over the years, it would appear that the gaming tables do end up costing the business money. Yes, people are drawn in by the tables and do end up buying some stuff while they are there. Then there are escalation leagues which encourage players to start new armies to use with the tables.

However, every store has its regulars - some buy things on each visit, but most just use the store as a place to hang out. Far too often do I see the same people hanging around the store all day, use the tables, then leave. You can't just buy a pot of paint each week and a rhino once every few months and think you are supporting the store.

You'd need to present some kind of escalation league / membership fee to the store owner for it to be worth renting out that much space.

 Reaver83 wrote:
They did the same at the GW in Poole - massively reduced the opening times and reduced your length of gaming.

Lots of new clubs have now opened! And lots of non GW games now being played

Ughh clubs with bars. British gaming sounds so nice.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

That's the ticket there. From talking to the owner of my FLGS and hearing stories about other shops, Magic players are the key to success. My FLGS supports every major game out there and lots of smaller ones, but I'm pretty sure it's Magic that keeps him afloat. He recently expanded his store (again) and now has two units, one with retail/gaming space and the other dedicated solely to gaming tables. All of which are free to use whenever they are open.

I think the store being talked about here is my new FLGS. The other important thing is that the owner seems to actively support gaming communities for several game systems. Places like this are a huge for someone like me because I move every few years for work so finding places like this when you get to a new town is awesome. As for the other discussion going on in less than 2mos they've already gotten more money from me than they would get in an entire year if they charged 5$/day for table space.

 gossipmeng wrote:
From the few GWs I've frequented over the years, it would appear that the gaming tables do end up costing the business money. Yes, people are drawn in by the tables and do end up buying some stuff while they are there. Then there are escalation leagues which encourage players to start new armies to use with the tables.

However, every store has its regulars - some buy things on each visit, but most just use the store as a place to hang out. Far too often do I see the same people hanging around the store all day, use the tables, then leave. You can't just buy a pot of paint each week and a rhino once every few months and think you are supporting the store.

You'd need to present some kind of escalation league / membership fee to the store owner for it to be worth renting out that much space.

But those people hanging out can also be good for getting new players and more sales. People are less likely to buy a game of they have no one to play against.