Dungeons, dragons and drinks: New pub for gamers and geeks opens in Canberra
Natasha Rudra
Tucked away in a corner of Tuggeranong is an old-fashioned tavern straight out of a medieval fantasy game.
Welcome to The Loaded Dice, a new pub for Canberra’s gamers and geeks – where you can grab a beer and a trio of sliders while playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Owners Luke Cox and Brad Scott have expanded their games store Three D6 in Greenway to build a pub in the unit next door.
And they crowd-funded the expansion on Kickstarter, raising more than $30,000 from keen Canberra gamers to build The Loaded Dice.
“The thing that people were asking for was, hey when are you going to put a bar in?” Mr Scott said. “The most requested thing [on our Facebook page] was a liquor licence.”
“We don’t mind if you sit there for six hours and play your game.” Luke Cox and Brad Scott at The Loaded Dice, Canberra. Photo: Elesa Kurtz
Mr Scott said he was inspired by another games store in California, which also crowdfunded an expansion and built a cafe for gamers on the side. “I can’t claim originality, I stole [the idea] but we put a bar in rather than a cafe because we’re Australian.”
Slip through a door at the back of Three D6’s gaming hall and you’ll enter a little old-fashioned wood-panelled pub with tall booths upholstered in green, hanging lamps along the bar, and a (faux) wood-burning hearth in the corner.
You can select a board game or card game from the library lining the walls and sip a local Zierholz beer or Jolly Miller cider as you plot your next turn in a fantasy RPG or throw down in a game of Pokemon.
There will even be breakfast served on a weekend so you can have pancakes or a bacon and egg roll with a side of gaming.
“We wanted an old school taverny feel,” Mr Scott said. “One of the things we’re going to do in the space is run live action role playing games. So your great adventure can literally start in a tavern. The bartender will have a series of quest cards to give out to customers.”
Sip a beer or cider while plotting your next turn. Photo: Elesa Kurtz
Mr Scott and Mr Cox are expecting people to kick back and relax at the Loaded Dice. “We don’t mind if you sit there for six hours and play your game,” Mr Scott said.
Canberra now has a couple of bars and restaurants that cater exclusively to gamers, such as Reload Bar and Guild in Civic but Mr Scott and Mr Cox don’t think it necessarily marks a resurgence in board games.
They say it’s more a recognition of a community that’s always been in Canberra.
“Five years ago there was basically us hiding in a corner of Lanyon,” Mr Scott said.
“People are being exposed more to board games in an online sense, people are playing board games on their iPhones and iPads. They’re seeking it out now more,” Mr Cox said.
