Welcome

Looking for a café with some engaging reading material? (Read Section 1)

Section 1: Over to your right we have a fine selection of cafés to choose from. Each café comes with its own set of directions for finding it in the wilderness of New York City, a brief preview of it’s atmosphere and menu, and a comprehensive list of games available for your perusal.

All you have to do is pick one. And in no time you can find yourself sipping a sumptuous beverage and sampling the rare delights offered by the world of role-playing.

Interested in a particular game? (Read Section 2)

Section 2: Choose from our menu of artisan games on the right. There you will find the handcrafted key to unlocking the untold worlds of your imagination. And practical advice on which coffee shops have the games of your choice in their library.

From there, it’s just a matter of choosing which of those cafés to visit. (Read Section 1)

Looking to purchase a game you’ve seen at a café? (Read Section 3)

Section 3: An excellent choice! Simply click on the title of the game in the menu on the right and look towards the bottom of the page. There you will find links to a publisher and online shops for the game. If you get a chance, please let the publisher know that you found their game through the Café Game Exchange. Enjoy in good health!

Want to know how you can help? (Read Section 4)

Section 4: What a delightful idea! The most pleasurable way to do this is to patronize one of the coffee shops listed to the right. (Read Section 1) Be charming, witty and gracious, a paragon among gamers. And perhaps find a subtle way of letting them know that Café Game Exchange is the reason you’re there.

Spread the love. Link to us. Discuss us in your blog or favorite forum. Bring us up at dinner parties or while enjoying tea with friends.

But if you insist on doing more, this post should tell you all you need to know.

The Bicoastal Exchange

Barely a week into going live, and Café Game Exchange is already outgrowing New York City.

Over here on Story Games we’ve got our first volunteer on the West Coast. So if you’ve got a game and you want to give it a lovely, warm home at a café in sunny Santa Monica, California, send me an e-mail or comment below. We’re going nationwide, and no one can stop us.

How Can You Get Involved?

The little ship Café Game Exchange is going to sink or float entirely on the hard work of its volunteers. Which is quite fortunate because, as it turns out, there’s not much hard work to go around. If you’d like to lend a hand, know that you’re my personal hero and take a gander at some of these options.

Looking to put games in cafés?

If you’re in New York City and you know a café just begging for games, drop me a line, and we’ll hook something up.

If you’re elsewhere, which admittedly is most of the world, you can do this yourself and I’ll help. It’s easy.

• First, you let me know you’re interest via the e-mail address linked to above or by posting a reply here.
• Then collect some games. I’ll post here to try to drum some up for you. But you should probably spend time on some of the finer internet forums frequented by independent and small press game designers.
• Once you have enough games (a good number is six per café you expect to visit), let me know, and I’ll send you a fistful of these striking stickers to put on the front covers of the games.
• Drop the games off at the cafés in a courteous manner.
• Come back to us on the internet and post about it all.

Truth is, there’s a little bit more to it than that, but the first step is the important one. Once you do that, I can help you through the rest. And I was shocked at how painless it all was when I first did it.

When selecting cafés, try to focus on ones that have a strong sense of community, especially ones that regularly exhibit local art and talent. Most of these cafés already have a bookshelf or case available for folks to leave random books on. Just ask them what their policy is for such things and let them know what you’re up to. No real sales pitch involved.

Looking to contribute games?

Wonderful! At the moment, we don’t need any more new games in NYC, but that shouldn’t stop you. Others are starting up exchanges with coffee shops in other cities. To donate some games to the cause, just post here or e-mail me. Or better yet, get directly in touch with someone who has volunteered to put games in the cafés.

Or even better yet, find some cafés in your area that would make great homes for your games. I’ll even send you some free stickers to mar the front cover of your game!

Is there anything else I can do?

Yes, there’s plenty you can do. Talk to local cafés about holding gaming events. Events that are welcoming to strangers and illustrate the joy of role-playing. And again, tell all our gaming friends about cafés carrying the games their curious about. Generally get the word out. And then come on back and let us know what you’re up to. Share your experiences so we can live vicariously through you and perhaps learn a thing or two.

NerdNYC Boardgame Night, Dec. 2nd @ Think Coffee

This Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008, NerdNYC will be holding their monthly boardgame night at Think Coffee from 7 to 11 PM. Come on down, bring a boardgame if you got one you want to play, or just bring yourself. And while you’re there, check out Bliss Stage, Breaking the Ice, Dread, Maid the Role Playing Game, shock: social science fiction, and Shooting the Moon from the Cafe Game Exchange library.

Admission is free, but the good folks at Think respectfully request that you purchase something from their wide variety of drinks and vegan-friendly foodstuffs.

The First Three

Ozzie’s, ‘snice, and Think Coffee have officially become the first three cafés to house part of the Café Game Exchange library. We still have dozens of more games that need to find homes, but it’s only a matter of time.

I was struck by how friendly and helpful the staff of all these cafés were. All of them already had bookshelves for folks to leave reading material on, but many of the people I spoke to showed a personal interest in the project, which definitely bodes well for the future of the project. No hesitation, just full-blown enthusiasm.

The Greatest Adventure . . .

. . . is what lies ahead. Today marks the end of all the planning and the beginning of the Café Game Exchange proper. Like indie Kris Kringles, we’re packing the games into satchels and checking our list of all the good little cafés and tea rooms of NYC.