I had a thought... and yes it hurt put a gamer space.

[frost890]

I was wondering if You all would help me with working out an idea. I have heard a lot about things like maker spaces, what would it take to make a gamer space? A place that you can come and rent tables and play or create your own games. Has anyone had any experience with building a maker space or a non-profit?

[Tvtyrant]

What exactly do you need help with?

My friends and I have discussed renting a space at a mall for something like this. They are cheap because malls are dying, secure, and have water and electric hookups. We were aiming for a time shared space where we would each split the space costs and it would have a gym area and game area, but it would take a fair number of members to be cheaper then going to a game store or gym. Same concept as a food coop but applied to other areas.

For instance where I live office spaces cost 1/5 what the same thing in an apartment would or less, so this is quite affordable.

[frost890]

I was actually looking at buying a property to live on and have a building space for people to do different things on. I am medically retired so I have a set income and do not need to worry as much about having a job. I also have all kinds of tools for different things and was thinking of doing a non-profit space for people to come and play/create. This would be to kill time and have something to do. So I am looking for any possible speed bumps that I may have to look out for. The place I was thinking of buying has a couple of commercial buildings on it already and is near a highway. As for starting the thing I am not sure where to look for everything that I will need.

[tomandtish]

it's a concept that is already out there (at least in major cities). Just some quick googling found 3 locations in Austin where you rent table space by the hour (at least one of them also has private rooms). You can either play the games they have there or bring your own. For example, Vigilante has private rooms you can rent for $100 for a 5-6 hour block (depending on when you rent it) and hold up to 12 people. You can also come in and just pay the game fee of $5 and view all their games or bring your own in the public area. And they have dining (which is where they probably make their money by not allowing outside food except a dessert for special occasions).

[HandofShadows]

Check the local hotels. Many larger hotels have meeting rooms you can rent for an afternoon or evening.

[farothel]

With our game club we have an agreement with a bar/restaurant to 'rent' their upper floor room (we play 2 times a month). We don't pay for the room but we of course take drinks (and food) from them. Sometimes there are only 5-6 people, sometimes there's 20. We even keep our club owned games in some closets we have at the place.

[Algeh]

I know of at least one group that uses the local Pythian hall for their game nights. A lot of those fraternal organizations have buildings and are open to renting them out for various things. They usually want at least one member of the group to be a member of their organization, but at least in my area a lot of these organizations are also pretty enthusiastic about getting new members so it's less of a bar than you'd think. Someone's starting up a monthly filk circle there, too.