#8: The Pros & Cons of a Game Room

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns/businessofgamingretail/businessofgamingretail8.phtml

Summary:

Advantages and disadvantages to gaming space.

Go to the column (http://www.rpg.net/columns/businessofgamingretail/businessofgamingretail8.phtml) for more information.

[Old Geezer]

SO....

Would you, personally, have a gaming space in your store?

[Black Lion]

I've been running a successful Games shop now in Edinburgh, Scotland for nine and a half years. When we opened we dedicated a LOT of our floorspace to gaming tables to draw in customers and provide the social aspect to the store that we felt would be lacking if we just filled it with product.

To cut a long story short, just about everything you said in this column is bang on the mark, and was the main reason that we got rid of the gaming tables just over 4 years ago. We still have gaming space but it is in the basement of the main shop and therefore away from the rest of the customer base. We also only open it by prior arrangement and for OP events. No turn up and play basically.

The main problem we had was customers who would come in, buy some snacks or a can of soda and then settle down for the day. Gauranteed at some point they'd get bored and come pester you when you're trying to work, or worse, when you're with a paying customer. In the long run it was costing us more money in inconvenience, lost sales and lost custom than it was making us.

Funnily enough though, once we got rid of the table and the associated hangers on a lot of our other customers commented that it was nice to come to a shop "without that noisy rabble in the corner". As a direct result of getting rid of the tables our boardgame sales nearly doubled in 6 months. The boargamers could now come and browse without being disturbed by Vampire Larpers in costume or worse... Card Floppers...:eek:

We still sell snacks and drinks, and people still come and socialise, its just on a much smaller scale and when you get busy, most people are happy enough to leave you too it or at least leave you alone.

Would I get gaming tables back in if I was in a larger shop? Probably, but it would take some persuasion. Would I let it be open gaming space that you can just come in and use any time? No. If I'm going to invest the money, time and effort to put a gaming space together I'd like at least to have some say in what happens in it and who's doing what in it. Regular games can book slots, OP runs as scheduled, demo's can be run without problems. These are, to my mind at least, the real reasons to invest in gaming space.

Another thing I noticed when we had the tables is that during the day the majority of the people who used them were also the people who caused me the most problems and they were also (mostly) the ones with no jobs, or students, neither of whom were going to (or did) spend a whole lot of money when they were in. A can of soda and maybe a snack is what you'd sell and then they take up your space and your time.

Don't get me wrong though, it has its benefits too. One summer was particularly quiet for the most part and I had a fantastic time playing Backgammon and Pylos most days with an American student studying here. One winter after Christmas a bunch of us played Axis & Allies every day because it was so quiet. These things all drove some small amount of revenue when we needed it and I guess thats the real problem with gaming space. When the money is rolling in you want to fill it with product and when times are lean you want to fill it with bodies, preferably ones with huge fat Magic collections they bought from you, who pay you £5 per head to play tournaments that cost you nothing to run in terms of outlay :D

When you need money gaming space provides options, but it provides them at the expense of other things. For me ditching the table in the shop and moving them all downstairs worked a treat. For other stores I can easily see that choice going very badly for them.

Thats why running a shop is fun. You never know which gamble is going to turn out well and which isn't. The game is taking the risk without crippling yourself if it goes wrong. Fingers crossed I've been right most of the time so far.

LiAm

[MetalMan]

As a direct result of getting rid of the tables our boardgame sales nearly doubled in 6 months. The boargamers could now come and browse without being disturbed by Vampire Larpers in costume or worse... Card Floppers...:eek:


And thats exactly what keeps me buying my board games online from discounters... all of my local stores are just packed with CCGers being loud and using language that, while I use myself, isn't exactly the kind of talk you use in public. I'm not surprised that your sales went up, we just want some quiet to browse and its a rare thing that board gamers are going to leave with just a single item - we tend to be impulse buyers. I'm happy to hear that things worked out so well for you I just wish more store owners would take your approach.

[LBrownIII]

Would you, personally, have a gaming space in your store?

Absolutely. I did, and I would again.

(I'm glad you asked, actually. I was hoping my bias wouldn't prevent me from writing an objective comparison. That you had to ask implies that I accomplished that).

For reasons of brevity, I haven't fully discussed some of the benefits of the game room. I summarized them as "sales", because sales is the end result of the details. A game room can turn a certain percentage of your $400/year customers into $600/year customers. A game room can increase your conversion rate. It does a lot.

A main problem I've seen with game rooms and their impact is that many game rooms are unmanaged. Owners offer game rooms and let whatever happens happen. They fail to leverage it properly. They don't spend enough time planning events. I know of one multi-store chain that doesn't allow open gaming--scheduled events only. I myself am guilty of undermanaging my game room for the first year or so and never fully took control of it like I wanted.

One big reason in favor of a game room is a topic best explored as its own column: manufacturer incentives. This, I think, is one of the reasons game stores are still around. Unfortunately, it's also very fickle and recedes quickly whenever confidence in the market drops among publishers. I plan to do a thorough discussion on it later. Basically, you get more free stuff from publishers if you have a game room than if you don't.

Just a teaser for now: imagine writing $2,000 in annual marketing expenses on your P&L, but actually spending $10,000. The difference is huge.

I think the competitive edge is a strong advantage, too. In fact, starting with Pokemon, stores like B&N started having tournaments, and this scared me more than anything. They're taking away a huge edge that game stores have vs. the big chains. That's a customer service on which we can no longer claim to offer an exclusive advantage.

[LBrownIII]

I can also see myself in a store in certain circumstances with no game room. With limited space, high rent, a non-competitive market, off-site management maybe--a couple of things could push me to that side very quickly.

Like I said, both sides of the debate have valid points and many people wish they were in the other position from time to time.

[Spectral Knight]

A main problem I've seen with game rooms and their impact is that many game rooms are unmanaged. Owners offer game rooms and let whatever happens happen. They fail to leverage it properly. They don't spend enough time planning events. I know of one multi-store chain that doesn't allow open gaming--scheduled events only. I myself am guilty of undermanaging my game room for the first year or so and never fully took control of it like I wanted.

I've seen game rooms in three stores, two of which were comic book stores at their roots. The first was a small store in a mall, the second, a standalone storefront, the third, a dedicated game store in a large mall store, though it had previously been another standalone storefront in another part of town. And all three had their own methods of handling the game room.

The first was basically free-for-all, unmanaged gaming in the room. It got a lot of CCG players and a few roleplayers, and moved a fair amount of product, mostly CCG-related. But it also stunk up the store, literally. Roleplayers get a bad rap for poor personal hygiene, but the local card players could make a skunk reach for the clothespins. While I don't know of this driving off any business, I saw my share of upturned noses while I was there from comic-book customers, and even a few roleplayers. The game room ended when the store did, a victim of some shoddy local reporting after a fire in the mall it was housed in.

The second wasn't much different, but it did have some store-sponsored (and WizKids-supported) Mage Knight and Mechwarrior tournaments, and also moved product because it gave the local players (and even a few not-so-local players) a spot to practice the game and to buy pieces at a discount if they were card-carrying patrons of the store. The downside had nothing to do with the players, but with the co-owner of the store, who managed the gaming part of the business: he considered the gaming space the personal property of himself and his D&D-playing friends, even to the point of 'forgetting' about scheduled events and not mailing in supporting documentation on such events on time, if at all. The game room didn't last long after the sponsored events dried up, half due to WizKids support getting decidedly less nice, and half due to the co-owner's 'poor memory'.

The third was one of the better-managed bits of space in the area. Free play was allowed, but scheduled events took up the bulk of the game space's time on weekends. The gaming space drew customers for both the collectible games and roleplaying games, but definitely more of the former. Pity the rent in the mall was so high, or it might've kept the place in business.

One big reason in favor of a game room is a topic best explored as its own column: manufacturer incentives. This, I think, is one of the reasons game stores are still around. Unfortunately, it's also very fickle and recedes quickly whenever confidence in the market drops among publishers. I plan to do a thorough discussion on it later. Basically, you get more free stuff from publishers if you have a game room than if you don't.

It also happens when a manufacturer cheaps out on the official tournament support, as WizKids did less than a year after the release of Mechwarrior: Dark Age. The store tournaments dried up in my area when the prize support started to reek.

I think the competitive edge is a strong advantage, too. In fact, starting with Pokemon, stores like B&N started having tournaments, and this scared me more than anything. They're taking away a huge edge that game stores have vs. the big chains. That's a customer service on which we can no longer claim to offer an exclusive advantage.

Hastings did this in my area for the Pokemon CCG with scheduled weekend events, and did so fairly regularly until the bottom just fell out of the game. It irked a number of game store owners, though it was on a game they didn't sell. Pokemon was out of their age bracket. The local B&N never did get into Pokemon except to sell the occasional card, so there've been no game tournaments in my area. Most of the gamers I know wouldn't attend them, anyway. Too much individual pride.

[Harmast]

Coming late to the party with some questions.

--Brief intro removed because I forgot I'd posted on the Bizaro thread--

Anyway, on gaming areas, what are your thoughts on access control with a low banister type arrangement with a gate? Also, do you have thoughts on various payment methods (be a store club member, get an entry token for every $x spend, $x to enter but refunded 1-1 in store credit)?

[LBrownIII]

I don't recommend charging for game room space in general, but I've seen several methods work in other stores. One involves paid entry into whatever event is going on; in this case, the store doesn't allow open gaming. Another allows entry with any $5 purchase in the store. I think a version of those would be best, but store club membership might work, too--I just haven't seen it in effect.

Your entry token idea might work, but if it's a physical token, you'd have to worry about them being handed off to others who didn't "earn" them. Remember that 90% of your customers won't use the game room.

I think I like the gate idea for those who want to control access to the game room. It sets a clear border and sends the right signal. You can get in, but not freely.

[Harmast]

Your entry token idea might work, but if it's a physical token, you'd have to worry about them being handed off to others who didn't "earn" them. Remember that 90% of your customers won't use the game room.

I think I like the gate idea for those who want to control access to the game room. It sets a clear border and sends the right signal. You can get in, but not freely.

Even if tokens get passed around it still ties usage to purchases somewhat.

And the gate actually was less about charging for it (although it does come from that) but general crowd control, somewhat similar to how some restaurants have a ring of booths or tables around the bar to segregate bar customers from non-bar customers. For one, if it's several feet from the counter and most racks I think it would impede the "hang out then bug the staff" problem.