It’s May. Can you believe it? Not sure if it’s the sunshine, the light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, or a combination of the two, but I feel an optimism I haven’t felt in a long time. Since things are changing very quickly with restrictions in the state and county, there have been a ton of questions from you guys about when and where we are going to re-open. Unfortunately, we don’t have the answer you guys are wanting: a specific date and address. So, in lieu of that we wanted to give you the next best thing: an update and our future plans.

So, for the first question, when is Gamagora Geekhouse going to get a physical location again? Soon is the best we can give. Our entire family will be fully vaccinated by mid June so that is the first hurdle to getting reopened. The next is the easing of restrictions. Because of the nature of the Geek Lounge, we need to be in a position where people from multiple households are able to mingle on a single table without masks. With the vaccination levels increasing and the new CDC guidelines, we feel like this will be cleared up soon (possibly even before we are fully vaccinated). The next, and probably the most difficult time factor because it is the most important, is the building. We have not found the perfect home for Gamagora 2.0 yet and until we do, we won’t be able to re-open.

That brings us to the second question, what are we looking for in a new building? The first and most important factor is a bigger space. We need to at least double our previous square footage. Our retail offerings have quadrupled since we closed, and the Geek Lounge was at it’s max capacity, forcing us to limit the number of Members we had at any given time. So at minimum we need 1800 square feet, but are hoping for somewhere between 2000-2500. The second aspect is parking. With the increase in space, the number of people in the building at any given time will also increase, so three parking spots isn’t going to cut it. The third is an open floor plan. Offices that break up the space just isn’t going to work for the Geekhouse. From the beginning we have said that the number one goal of Gamagora Geekhouse was to create a community and having an open floor plan is the only way to accomplish that. As far as the location, we are not picky. Just needs to be in Corvallis. This is home and shall remain so. But, be it downtown, up 9th Street or in some hidden commercial pocket, it’s all fine with us.

So, I know that’s not the answer you all were wanting, but it’s the only answer we have as of yet.

Okay, now to give you guys something to look forward to, as if re-opening wasn’t enough …

Since we closed down in March of last year, we have quadrupled our products, growing our graphic novel, wargame, kid game, and … game game sections. We added puzzles, metal and gemstone dice, and plan on ordering more before we open, as well as classic games like Backgammon, Go, Chess, etc. We will continue to offer next day delivery, even after we open, but will add “pick up in store” as an option for online shopping.

With the increased space in the Members Geek Lounge, we will end up having a lot more room for tables, a bigger lounge area with couches and comfy chairs. This will allow us to increase the number of members we have. We’ll have more info on registering or renewing your memberships once we get closer to opening. We will also be opening up a little cafe with REAL coffee and more substantial snacks. And, even though we technically got the beer on tap up and running, it was about a second before we had to shut down, so you all have beer on tap to look forward to as well!

We are really excited for the events and tournaments we are going to have all year long. Over the last 5 months, we have been hosting online game leagues. Once we re-open we will continue to host the Versus Tournament (Versus) online. It will have the same format as we currently have. Each month a quick, two player digital board game will be selected to be played during the first three weeks of that month. You will play a number of players during the first and second weeks. The top players will advance to a playoff bracket in the third week. Participation in Versus games will earn you Versus Points (VPs).

The Wednesday Night Game League (League) will move to in person play on Wednesday Nights at 7pm. Each month a game will be selected to be played on the first three Wednesdays of that month. Participation in League games will earn you Competition Points (CPs). You do not have to play in every game to participate, but the more you play (and the better you play), the more points you will receive.

For the next season, we will be adding the Strategy Game Series (Ultra) for in person play on Thursday Nights at 7pm. It will have the same format as the League, but the games will be a bit heavier and a little bit longer.

Versus, League and Ultra will pretty much line up with the school year, starting in September and going through March with a break for December because of how crazy the holidays are for everyone. We’ll also take a break in April because of my Birth Month and it will probably be when we take a vacation. May will have a bunch of different events, including the awards ceremonies for the Versus, League and Ultra tournaments. Then in June, July and August we will have our Passport again, but unfortunately, we’ll have to skip it again this year (I know it sucks) and kicking it off again in the summer of 2022.

Anyway, I hope you guys are all excited as we are for the re-opening, whenever it’ll be. Stay tuned for more info and be assured we will let everyone know as soon as we have some news!