Darby's Dungeon (New FLGS)

[Necron 99]

Goodman Games is promoting their second annual DCC Day today, while perusing the participating locations on the GG website, I ran across a new game shop, Darby's Dungeon, down here in Jacksonville that had events planned. I've been to the other main shops in the area, but was never overly impressed with either one; seeing DCC at the forefront was eye-catching so I decided to make a trek down there this morning to check it out.

I was really impressed. The concept behind the shop is that of a simple fantasy tavern, with accompanying décor and such. When I arrived, there was already a session of DCC being run and 6 folks playing. I was able to snag this years DCC Day module, along with the free adventure compilation, also grabbed a few modules that I don't have in print. The selection of the store is small, but seemed to stock a fair amount of the more common RPGs and a few obscure ones, I saw DCC, 5e, WFRP, the Alien RPG, FATE, etc. about 3-4 shelves worth. The rest of the wall space was filled with card and board games, other sections of the store had miniatures, dice, and related gaming stuffs. The places was neat and clean and had an overall nice feel to it that I haven't found in other shops. The owner Darby, was very nice and really cool to chat with, she said that she had the idea for a shop like this for some time before putting things into action, the store officially opened up in November of last year.

Aside from the gaming space and gaming products, they also serve standard beverages, but also coffee, beer, wine, and mead; the website admittedly states that the store is primarily established for adults (ages 25-65+). I'm going to try and make some of the future DCC sessions, perhaps start running some games there too and see if I can get something of a local group established. Been a long while and it would be nice to sling dice, in-person, again without the need to hop on a plane.

Below are some pics I took of the shop while I was there:
The first DCC group playing.

You can just barely make out one of the two, in the upper left corner next to the top of the post, but on the top shelf at the back of the "bar", there is an original cover AD&D PHB and DMG on display stands.

This is what impressed me the most, when Darby was planning the gaming space for the store, she wanted the tables to be not only in the style of a tavern booth but also had 1 inch grids inlaid on the table and covered in clear epoxy so that players can literally use dry erase markers on the table, alleviating the need for battle maps. So frickin' cool. And yes, you can pull the curtains closed to have a slight sense of privacy from others playing nearby.

The treasure I managed to extract from my delve into the Dungeon...

[Ancalagon]

<snip>
I ran across a new game shop, Darby's Dungeon, down here in Jacksonville that had events planned.
<snip> seeing DCC at the forefront was eye-catching so I decided to make a trek down there this morning to check it out.

I was really impressed. The concept behind the shop is that of a simple fantasy tavern, with accompanying décor and such.
<snip> The places was neat and clean and had an overall nice feel to it that I haven't found in other shops. The owner Darby, was very nice and really cool to chat with, she said that she had the idea for a shop like this for some time before putting things into action, the store officially opened up in November of last year.

Aside from the gaming space and gaming products, they also serve standard beverages, but also coffee, beer, wine, and mead; the website admittedly states that the store is primarily established for adults (ages 25-65+). I'm going to try and make some of the future DCC sessions, perhaps start running some games there too and see if I can get something of a local group established. Been a long while and it would be nice to sling dice, in-person, again without the need to hop on a plane.

<snip> This is what impressed me the most, when Darby was planning the gaming space for the store, she wanted the tables to be not only in the style of a tavern booth but also had 1 inch grids inlaid on the table and covered in clear epoxy so that players can literally use dry erase markers on the table, alleviating the need for battle maps. So frickin' cool. And yes, you can pull the curtains closed to have a slight sense of privacy from others playing nearby.

What a great find in JAX! I love that it's intended for adults 25+ yrs of age and not the unwashed Pokemon & Magic players.
Having curtains that can be drawn for a bit of privacy when playing a game is a very nice touch.
If Omaha had a place like that, I'd definitely be dropping in, running games, and supporting the business.
I really hope Darby's Dungeon is successful!

[Captain_Blood]

That's cool, and I hope it works out too! We have a couple places with similar concepts here in Austin, and I know that at least one of the seems to be doing pretty well. It's called The Emerald Tavern. I visited a few times when lived here before Houston. Since then they've taken over the spot the bigger bar next to them used to have. I haven't been back yet due to the pandemic and life, but I was planning to check out the new space at some point. Basically I'm trying to say that the concept appears to work here, so hopefully it will work there.