A funny thing happened to me on the way to breakfast...

As I was driving to breakfast this morning, I passed by a large empty lot where there once stood a mushroom factory in my youth. Then I thought to myself:

Self - "You know what would be cool there?"

Me - "What?"

Self - "A place where roleplayers could go to game."

Me - "YO!"

Self - "And not just tabletop. I'm thinking a place large enough to have its own LARP areas; indoor and outdoor."

Me - "Damn! That would be awesome!"



I remember when I was heavy into LARP that we always had a difficult time finding indoor facilities during the colder months. Right now I'm trying to figure out the best location to be able to run my Pathfinder game without having to beg one of the local shops for space that they would rather give to people who play Magic or Warhammer.



I've always had a dream of someday owning a RPG/comic shop that would have space enough for gamers of all types. Now I'm thinking of a space that would cater specifically to gamers who need a place they can go without the hassles of being pressured into buying things when they game, and comfortable enough to be able to relax when they do so.





I know this sounds like a huge pipe dream, and it may very well be. Let me address some concerns right off the bat: (From this point forward, I'm going to refer to this idea as the "facility".)

• What I am proposing would, in no way, directly compete with any of the local stores because the focus wouldn't be on selling products.


• As far as actual sales go, there would be food and beverages as well as incidentals items that gamers may need from time-to-time such as pens, paper, dice, other items to be determined.


• There would be dedicated rooms for tabletop RPG's and areas designed primarily with LARPing in mind. Landscaping around the building would also be used as LARP environment.


• There would be no direct involvement with hosting tournaments/events around games that are already locally supported by various stores. (i.e. no pre-release Magic: The Gathering stuff, no qualifying tournament stuff for any other CCG's.) If there is a need for space to host tournaments of this nature, it would be arranged with the facility and the supporting store.


• There would be a membership fee of some kind to help differ the costs that will be associated with the facility. The actual cost and privileges of membership are yet to be determined.

My thought was to initially set this up as a crowd sourced project. While I am good at coming-up with ideas, implementation and design are qualities I lack. Here's what I'm thinking I would need help with to get this off the ground... if enough people think this would be a worthwhile project:

• Project Designer - Someone who can see past the idea and help to figure-out what the path to success will take.


• Facility Designer - Someone who has the ability to take the ideas and put them down in an illustrated format. Some CAD, some illustration based on CAD designs.


• Crowd Sourcing Engineer - Someone who can help us get initial funding for the project.


• Financial Adviser - The realist who has a firm grip on the concepts of money in, money out. Also someone who can assist the Crowd Sourcing Engineer find alternative methods of funding. (i.e. grants.)

I know there's probably more that needs to be considered, but that's where my idea begins to get blurry. I'd love to hear your ideas on this concept.