Raak

The cost was high sir. The cost was high. btw - sorry for the massive threadjack, Jim - Let's get a bloodhound and find Greyson

I started this thread specifically so that you would have that Epiphany LordH. #missionAccomplished

I completely agree with Kevin on this but only detailed sales data will reveal if the numbers will work. That's whats frustrating. Until there are hard numbers that can definitively prove that plan x or plan y will work it's all conjecture

I did mention detailed sales tracking and some pertinent high value software that could be passed along at "slightly less than MSRP (f.r.e.e)". That sparked interest but I think one needs to firmly understand the connection/relationship between extremely detailed data and the store's continued (tabletop) He was talking about 6-10 PC stations set up for StarCraft, LoL, WoW, Diablo, EVE etc etc etc. and 3-5 x-Box ones in addition to a centralized server for LAN action. It sounded more GameCafe than LAN arcade to me. Co-exist? I would hope. I play those games and like them. I have crap internet in the county and might like an hour or 2 a week of fast framerates up at DTG. It seems like the vive/noise level would be different <You've spent all afternoon mentaly placing yourself in the narrative, things are going swimmingly at the top of turn 3 and then a roar erupts "Kill that motherF863tr!!!, Get Him, Go left!!! Flank him a@@hole!!! wtf! go! Go! Go!" I dunno ambience killer maybe but I'd rather have a LGS with tables and random ambiance than no store. I can't express how deeply I agree with the sentiment that everything needs to be tracked there. Games being played, inventory category and game system etc etc. Knowledge is power. That information will give him the power to transform his business!

<hangs head> ...yes but my 4 year old made me <not really>

same here.

agreed. I don't know the details but apparently places like AFK exist because they are awesome at filling out govt. forms in triplicate. Apparently theres a thing in WA about games and alcohol (casinos, I think?) and that makes getting a liquor license pretty hard. Also I think (guessing) that it means he would have to make the "bar" area 21+ ...not sure I'm not a huge LAN fan (ha) but I do play a lot of those games and having lived in both South Korea and Japan I did use them extensively there as they are ubiquitous, hell-useful and have an off the charts geek-factor that really appeals to me. That said, this is not the orient and I don't think/know that Bellingham has the population numbers / cultural bent to make that fly but then again I don't know a lot of things. I'd certainly rather see tabletops than screens back there, that I do know

pshaw, I just wish it was someone with a little more behind the scenes know-how (yes I think you definitely need to talk to him), because I really had nothing to contribute but an ear. Your ideas above are killer and the closest thing he'll have to a road map for success, imho.

I'm in.

Eli - I can show up early to Friday Board game night and we could get a game of FoW or another play of Combat Commander: Mediterranean or A Distant Plain in before Bgame night starts, if you like. Alternately there's 40k or WFB.

I agree with all of the above to a T; especially that the space to revenue ratio is not as simple as that . I think communicating these things to Nathaniel will go a long way in figuring this out too. Right now I think he just looks at the math and empty space and is feeling very worried.

**Jim could I get this pinned for a little bit please, sir? ** So look. I'm tired. My frickin' shoulder is doing 3 things that it medically shouldn't and to top it off I've stayed up too late again playing ancient strategy games (ADD side note: Word to the Solo and 2 player wargamers - Case Blue is the absolute bees dadgum knees), work tomorrow promises to suck the chrome off a trailer hitch and pre-school starts at what I consider to be an inhumanly early hour of the morning so please forgive if the following message is brief, ill-worded and possibly a little contentious. Today I found out that we are very close to loosing the back of DTG as a gaming space. No; actually I think we might have lost already but may have it for a while until Nathaniel figures out what to do. WTF, you say - how does he know this? Who does this nob think he is? Well here's the deal gentlemen: I was playing a learning game of Fantasy with Nathaniel recently and asked him if he’d consent to another. He agreed and today when I called to say that if I even said the word "game" near my wife today I was going to get shot and that we should reschedule, I ended up spending almost 2 hours on the phone with the guy. Now #1 - He's not going to read this. He's thought about getting an acct. but for his own reasons has decided not to. #2 He does not know that I am posting this but I asked him if I could quote him, use his exact numbers and even explicitly warned him I that was probably going to post about it - he was reluctantly O.K. with it. His rent is $3000 a month. His Electric is ~$500 - now for those in the very back of the room that means Nathaniel spends $3500 a month (not including internet, phone, etc) on that shop. The back of DTG where we game represents roughly 45% of the store's square footage. 
Really Short Version: Nathaniel is running a retail store and is essentially (in terms of financial gain) letting 45% of his available showroom space lie fallow. That is insanity. He has finally come to this conclusion with his wife and has decided that he is tormented by making the correct decision but letting things stand as they are is not, in his words, a viable option. So. It cost Nathaniel $1575 a month to have that back space and he makes no return on what is an $18,900+ a year game room/ labor of love. This is a guy with his first kid on the way. This is a guy with big heart This is a guy who wanted to create something that he thought should exist and did. The thing is, there really aren’t all that many GW or paint sales at the shop. We all know where and why we buy. It is what it is. I don't judge. I'm probably one of he worst culprits! I now feel like I am literally taking food out of this man’s family’s mouth. I’m dead serious. Now the other side of that coin is that it’s his responsibility to fix it if he doesn’t like it but apparently he’s had enough and he now wants to figure out a new situation. Things that were mentioned that involved us still having the game room : Monthly memberships 10% Discounts on bulk GW orders through the shop with a 4 day delivery promise Pay to Play on a by Table basis. Things that were mentioned that involve us loosing the game room: Turning the Room into a NetCafe area for PC/LAN parties and Gaming + console gaming Extending MTG into the back room Anything that will make $1600 a month so that the space at least breaks even If we loose this shop it will mean Bellingham will have no tabletop home. At the same time I cannot for the life of me think of a way for the people who use that space to semi-reliably come up with $1600 a month. That's #54 $30 memberships every month or at $5/hr table rent it would mean 10.6 hours of tables time reserved every day. I’m posting this because I know there is a solution and I know that it is going to take the Hive Mind to figure this out. ps. Don’t shoot the messenger. I want the Status Quo to remain unchanged just as badly as the rest of you, ja?

Thought I'd start the thread for boardgame night. I thought I'd bring Netrunner & Evil Baby Orphanage for fillers - I wouldn't mind a seat at Corey's Zombicide Fest though. How did Eclipse work out last week? I'd like a go at that if anyone's interested.

Your happiness was infectious! Cant wait to see what you do with that breastplate (and breasts? - never did settle that, were they attached?)

Thanks for all the record keeping Eli!

just played my first few real matches of X wing. One game with the box set and another with some additions on both sides. Pretty sure we missed a lot but it was great fun.

Sherbert? Dost thou know?

I'll be bringing the Level 99 - Minigames Library down with me tonight. It's got a little something for everyone. Don't know if there will be time but I'm totally willing to loan them out for the evening because I know every one there takes such good care of games.

I did man - You did a great job. By "miss anything" I meant did I miss that we were stopping or adjourning the session because Jim's comment about no Pathfinder for a month made me wonder. Loving your DM work. Thanks for all the effort - it's not unnoticed nor unappreciated.

Thanks!

Just to muddy the waters....with my uninformed newbie opinion: What about competitive tournaments? As you all know Intrizic and myself went to LVO... Well only Intrizic actually competed; and while I spent my tournament in food-poisoned hell - not competing, I plan on going to more tournaments because I like this game. Notice didn't say I was proficient at it; but I really like it. I like garage games and as Jim said I'm cool with facing a Titan army if I know it;s comming and have something fairly equal. Do I like this game enough to put up with GW? Probably! As someone recently pointed out to me, you eventually hit a point of critical mass in your collection when you don't really need anymore of GW's stuff and at that point they are nothing more than rule-set generators, right? Heck I've even heard tell of some interesting ideas in this area that might fall under the "Homebrewed and Awesome" category. Hopefully this isn't heresy resulting in apostasy but I'm 100% O.K. with setting games with people like this: "Yeah, no problem - we'll do my High Elves vs. your Empire @ 2500 pts - 5th edition Codex but I need to do a tournament prep for 40k at 1850, 3 codices, D weapons and 2 Data Slates...oh and one has a 2++." "....Oh, O.K., sure! but can we make the next game a narrative based 2000 pts of 40k, 3rd edition? Yup, no sweat." I think that, thankfully, there are enough hard-core awesome gamers here that such an absurd exchange might actually be seen and accommodated on ordo. So I guess my real question, and it's somewhat of a Devil's advocate mind you, is: "Does any of this really matter once everyone feels comfortable with the local meta situation or is it just another reason to get all hot an bothered on the interweb?

Back from tow-duty. Still slush on solid ice out on Smith, Ev-Gosh, Hemmi and the like out in Mid county. Same Same w/ Blaine area. Everything in Bham looks good(ish). Even if it freezes later tonight the main arteries will be O.K. tomorrow afternoon I would think.

Ditto - I'll be rpg'ing this Tues but would like to play some 40k next Tues if you're headed back in.

No way we'd play w/o you, Eli. Re: FoW - 2500pts. / British / 4:00pm-ish?