Clifton Road Games COVID-19, In-store Gaming

Pandemic +465

1st July 2021 … 465 days since lockdown began

Status = Confused. Plot = Lost.

Social distancing requirements still exist, unless we pretend that they don’t. “Mitigation” remains the magical business safe word, which is probably fair on many levels but mostly just comes down to the politics of financial necessity.

As it stands, the law still restricts indoor gatherings to groups of 6 (or 2 support bubbles) in retail/leisure premises and all social distancing requirements still apply (eg. 2m separation, masks, table service, mitigation, mitigation, mitigation).

Legally, we can host 24 players, as a minimum of 4 separate groups (at 4+ separate tables), provided that people are vaguely responsible in terms of complying with appropriate personal responsibility, social distancing, and risk mitigation rules/guidelines, … and we all just agree to pretend that you are somehow not breathing the same air. The current thinking appears to be that “surfaces” aren’t much of a transmission vector, provided that you keep your hands out of your mouth and eyes (which is generally considered basic good manners for anyone old enough to be out of a high-chair).

In effect, we (as a society) seem to have reached the point where we are primarily relying on vaccines and personal responsibility:

  • Health Service capacity remains a finite resource.
  • Please do not share the COVID virus.

In short, and to crowbar this back on track, the message is to: PLAY SAFE!

19th July 2021 … 483 days since Lockdown began

As of today, the Prime Minister remains, “upbeat about easing lockdown in England on 19th July”, with media reports that, “it’s going to be very close to a return to normal life, and “an announcement laying out these details could come as soon as next week”.

19th July remains our target date for resumption of in-store play.

I understand the financial pressures that many businesses are under, I get that a lot of people have basically just “had enough”, but I remain inclined towards the argument that it doesn’t really make sense to have in-store play in an environment where large scale social activity restrictions remain in force.

  • Wizards of the Coast’s embargo on in-store play across Europe is officially lifted from tomorrow (2nd July).
  • Pokemon have yet to announce a date for lifting their current restrictions.

Assuming that nothing changes1 in the next couple of weeks:

  • In-store gaming will resume from Monday, 19th July 2021.
  • KeyForge will resume on Tuesday, 20th July 2021, perhaps alongside something for Arkham Horror (if enough people are interested).
  • In-store Friday Night Magic play will return from Friday, 23rd July 2021. WotC have also just announced changes to the MTG Arena @ Home programme, so I’ll make a separate post for where we are with Magic Organized Play in general. WotC have something planned from 16th July, but this appears to be the earliest date on which we could receive it – and when does that ever happen – so, even if it turns out to be true, we’ll probably resume on 23rd July 2021.

Note that, across the board, this will not simply be a return to normal. It is not practical to just pick up where we left off after a 16 month interuption. Under normal circumstances, things would have changed during that period and, in some sense, we are now effectively starting again from scratch.

What we run, how, and when we run it, will inevitably be a little different, but that’s all too long and complicated for this update.

More to follow …

––Steven @ Clifton Road Games, Exeter

1 “Assuming nothing changes”. Oh, how we laughed! Still, we can only make plans based on the information we have (or can maybe sort of guess at).

Clifton Road Games COVID-19

Pandemic + 200 … and counting

200 days ago, I switched off the drinks cabinet at the shop, cancelled all in-store play, furloughed the staff, locked the door and wondered when (or if) I’d be back.

I wrote at the time how weird it seems to remove the constant background hum of the drinks cooler. At the time, I figured it would be two, maybe three, possibly 4 weeks? 200 days later it is still silent. It has a new home, is basically empty – ‘sugar free’ drinks have a painfully short shelf-life – has been stripped down, pressure cleaned and reassembled, but there’s still no in-store gaming, so it doesn’t make any sense to have it wasting electricity.

Business-wise … we’re okay, still. Should probably do a more thorough analysis but it all trundles along well enough. The shop itself has never really closed. There was a period of 6-7 weeks when we couldn’t let anybody in, but we’ve been able to trade throughout. Both Rebecca & Marnie have returned from furlough. The latest pandemic developments have resulted in a conspicuous slow down since the beginning of October but everything seems basically fine as people adjust and readjust to LIFE 2020.

It’s clearly still not sensible to encourage people from separate households to sit around a table together for hours at a time, which rules out pretty much everything as far as in-store gaming goes. Instead, we carry on as normal, -ish, plan for the future and keep moving forwards, slowly, under the ever watchful hex-vision of Mr Flibble.

—Steven

Shop Open: 10-6pm, Monday to Sunday.

Clifton Road Games In-store Gaming

In-store Pokémon TCG suspended until 2021

Pokémon have taken the decision to suspend all official face-to-face Pokémon TCG organized play for the remainder of 2020.

Dear Retailers and Organizers,

In the interest of the safety of everyone involved, all sanctioned Play! Pokémon events (including League session, Club, Prerelease, League Challenge, League Cup, Premier Challenge, and Midseason Showdown) will remain suspended until the end of 2020.

The safety and wellbeing of our competitors, organizers, employees, local communities, and partners continues to be our top priority and is the primary consideration with every decision we make. 

We are closely monitoring health mandates, guidelines, and recommendations from appropriate government agencies to determine when the resumption of events and operations will be safe for our communities. We will keep you updated.

The Pokémon Company International

Clifton Road Games In-store Gaming

MTG PRERELEASE – ZENDIKAR RISING

Magic Prerelease: 18th-20th September 2020

There will be no in-store gaming at Clifton Road Games before 1st October 2020.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation, there is guidance for schools, guidance for business, guidance for team sports, … None of which are exactly applicable, but all of which have some common ground with the in-store gaming situation. Every time I go through the guidance, I come away with the same thought:

“I can tick those boxes, but ultimately I know it’s a lie.”

Which is doubly weird because at some point, likely in the next few weeks, I’m going to look at a functionally identical situation and make the exact opposite decision.

The Bottom Line: Now is NOT the right time to re-start in-store organized play.

The right time might not be very far away, but it is not this weekend.

As was always likely following the population shuffle with the returns to school and university, COVID-19 infections are currently on the rise. Serious infections appear to be very low but the trend is up/increasing. We are all being asked to take measures to mitigate the risk of transmission and, for us, that means placing a further delay on the return of in-store gaming.

Financially, this one stings. The September Magic prerelease event is, without question, the largest single in-store gaming event of the year. It would be really nice, possibly really smart – for some, perhaps absolutely necessary – to take the business decision rather than the social decision, but …

Magic Prereleases are social events.

Gathering as many of the local Magic playing community in one place at one time, for a shared activity is the whole point. Prerelease is the best opportunity for us to reinforce playing Magic as a positive social experience.

Prerelease kits and Booster boxes will be on sale in-store from 10am Friday morning.

In-store gaming will resume at a later, safer date.