The Games Table, Norwich

In this blog entry I'm going to shamelessly plug The Games Table in Norwich and take a look at it's new venue in the centre of the city.  Some of the photos and the video are nicked from their Facebook page.  I have no connection with the shop other than being a very happy customer and Kickstarter backer.

Background

Those of you who have have been reading this blog over several years (and surprisingly there are some!) will know that I've developed from someone who thought about gaming into someone who actually gets quite a few games in.  There are two factors in this.  Most recently, due to the COVID pandemic there has been a lot more on-line RPG sessions (and my monthly games summaries show I've been playing a lot!).  But before that came The Games Table.  It was The Games Table that got me back sitting down at a table and playing.

The Games Table opened in (July? August?) 2018 in Anglia Square, Norwich.  From the start it aimed to build a welcoming venue (dare I say, a 'safe environment') where people would come and play table-top games (or even buy a few).  Because of the hard work of Keiran, the proprietor, it took off really well and quite a solid community of gamers has built up.

The old shop

A New Location

Earlier this year, Keiran acquired new premises, twice the size of the old shop and right in the centre of the city.  He ran a successful Kickstarter to raise funds to refurbish and expand the facilities on offer.  It was all very exciting.

Quoting from the Kickstarter pages, here's what was promised.

• Create an amazing space for tabletop gamers.
• Expand our board games library, sorting it into categories that make sense.
• Offer mouth-watering hot food from some of the best local restaurants. 
• Serve the tastiest hot drinks provided by businesses run by military veterans.
• Host other independents, allowing them to showcase (and sell) their products.
• Maintain our unblemished reputation for providing a welcoming space.
• Keep our focus on community-building activities.
• Create expertly painted scenery setups for a variety of miniature games.
• Events, events, events and more events! Constant events. 

That was in March.  Then Lockdown happened.  Keiran was left with two venues, one of which needed a huge amount of work, and an almost complete cut in income.  

Other people would have given up or seriously cut-back on the plans.   Kieran persevered.

He's delivered on what he promised in the Kickstarter (except for the sofas and lounging area, which have temporarily fallen foul of social distancing), and he's coped with the changing regulations.

The new venue opened on 16 September.  Because of work commitments, I've been unable to visit until today.  All I can say is that it looks fantastic!

The Games Library

As of this afternoon (2 Oct 2020), there are 297 board games in the library.  Currently, of course, after play they are removed from the shelves, cleaned and quarantined.

The Games Tables

These are photos of the larger tables (there are several smaller ones for more intimate games).  Future developments will include an upstairs area.

There are perspex screens everywhere - I don't think they came out in the pictures.

This was set up for Painting Night

There are a lot of Warhammer players 
- and a lot of scenery for them to use.

Stuff to Buy

There's that as well!

Photos With People in Them

There was no-one in when I visited on a wet Friday afternoon (though I was glad to see that some passing trade was interested).  Here are some suitabliliy populated photos nicked from The Games Table Facebook page.

And Finally...

Keiran takes COVID regulations seriously.