Our Goal

So what’s the eventual goal? It’s pretty simple: to provide an awesome place with great food and drinks for people who enjoy games of all types to come and hang out with friends. Stay as long as you want. Have an awesome time. Geek out a little. Come back and see us again.

Right now, we’re focused on doing pop-up game nights, special events, tournaments, Rookie training sessions, play-testing, party rentals, collaborative ventures, and more.

Eventually, we want to have a more permanent place to call home – a space unlike anything you can find in Des Moines (or anywhere else for that matter)! Our dream is a bar and cafe you’ll love coming back to again and again.

That’s pretty much it! But you probably want a few of the interesting details, right? We have some of those for you, too.

Our Plan

So how do we go from idea to super fun, geeky, wonderfully game-tastic board game bar? We want our process to be completely transparent. We’d also love your help in shaping our vision. To start, here’s an inside look at what we’re thinking:

1. Getting Feedback. Specifically, we want your feedback. The best and easiest thing you can do to help right now is to let us know what you’re thinking. We have a couple of surveys live right now: a shorter one and one with a little more detail. Filling one out would be immensely helpful as we refine our vision. After all, we want to create a space you love, so who better to tell us what you’d like to see than you?!
2. Making Connections. As we begin this process, we want to make connections with like-minded game lovers like us. Whether that’s a game club or the owner of a space that would be perfect for a pop-up, we’d love to chat. Have a great connection? Fill out our contact form or email us at info@therookroom.com.
3. Building Our Library. We want to have all your favorite games available for you to play. We have an ever-growing list of the games we have, the games we need, and the games we need more of. As we build out our library, be sure to let us know what you’d like to see. And if you see a great deal or would even like to donate something, let us know. You would earn our undying love.
4. Pop-ups, Parties, and Playdates. Now for the fun – let’s play! We’re working on arranging pop-up game nights and collaborative events, so stay tuned as we announce our next event. In the meantime, we’re also available for private parties, corporate events, or anything else that you think would be good with games. Want to know more? Let’s connect!
5. Finding a Home. The last step in the journey is finding a permanent home for you to come and play at. Once we get enough feedback, fans, and financing, we’ll be looking for a brick-and-mortar location to build out for your enjoyment! It’s probably a little way off at this point, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Plans change. We know that. But that’s a look at what we’re working on right now. As those plans change, we’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date so you can enjoy this adventure right along with us.

Fill Out a Survey

Probably the quickest and easiest thing you could do is fill out a survey to let us know what you think. We have two: a short survey and a little longer one. More feedback? Drop a line. Feel free to tell your friends about the survey, too!

Tell A Friend

Speaking of telling a friend, spread the word about The Rook Room! The best recommendations come from word of mouth. So if you want to help make this happen, share this site with your peeps.

Follow Along

What’s the best way to stay up-to-date on what’s going on? We’ll be posting updates all over: our blog, Facebook, Instagram, our newsletter. So give us a like, sign up for email updates, or, better yet, like and follow us everywhere so you never miss a thing!

Make a Connection

Like we mentioned above, we love making connections. If there’s a group, club, organization, business, secret society, or a troop of traveling bards that you think we should talk to, let us know. We’d love to become friends (especially with the bards – they know how to throw a great concert).

Donate

No, we’re not just talking about money. There are tons of things you could donate that are more than useful as we build The Rook Room. Time, energy, your social media feed, old games, new games, furniture, and even your ideas. We’d love it all (including money if you really want). If you have something you think would be helpful, tell us!

Wear Your Love

Nothing spreads brand awareness quite like a logo t-shirt, ballcap, or koozie, right? Well, we got you covered. Literally. Whether you want t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, or even tapestries (because, why not?), we’re constantly designing cool new designs that you can purchase right now. So go ahead, spread the love and wear that game geek pride.