As May comes to a close, we find ourselves under a new, slightly more flexible, executive order. Issued on May 28th, this order allows us to adjust our DEFCON status from 1 to 2.
The new order still places significant limits on what we can and cannot do in the shoppe. For example, due to our size, we are only allowed to have 32 guests in the shoppe at any given moment. Additionally, we still must enforce social distancing for non-cohabitating guests.
Limited Gaming Returns
So, what does that mean for gaming? We're going to start by opening up four of our wargaming tables. Since we have a strict limit on the number of tables, and the number of guests we can have in the shoppe, this will be done by reservation only.
Reservations
Reservations will be limited to three hours. On Monday – Friday, reservations can begin at 6:00 PM, and can last through 9:00 PM. On Saturdays, we'll have the tables open the full day – from noon until 9:00 PM.
And, yes, that means that beginning on June 5th our hours will be expanding to 9pm each night, Monday – Saturday.
There are two types of reservations available – both begin on June 5th, and are available for booking now.
The first is Cohabitating Gaming. This is for families or other groups that already engage in close relationships outside of the shoppe. These reservations are limited to up to four players.
The second is Socially Distant Gaming. This is for individuals who do not cohabitate, but would still like to get a game in at the shoppe. These reservations are limited to two players.
Socially Distant Gaming
So, how does socially distant gaming work? As you may know, our large tables have a 4-foot wide playing surface, and are 8-feet in length.
Thanks to the magic of Triangles, we can compute where each player would need to stand to remain six feet apart during their games. And, as it turns out, it's basically slightly off center of one another. This handy graphic shows the basics, but it's basically keeping 4.5 feet of left-right separation between each player.
Cohabitating Gaming
The Georgie Executive Order does not require social distancing between cohabitating individuals. That allows us to raise the number of players to four for these reservations.
You may ask why we can't provide accomodations for 5 or 6 cohabitating individuals, since that's also allowed under the order.
The reason is capacity. With four tables available for gaming and, at most, four players per table, we are already at half our guests capacity. To have tables of six would make it difficult to have other Guests shopping and browsing while folks were at the tables.
We'll be monitoring our numbers, of course, and will make adjustments when we can.
Requirements for Players
For guests browsing and shopping, our requirements remain the same – groups must maintain social distance between themselves and other guests. Masks are encouraged but not required, and all guests will be asked to wash their hands upon entering the shoppe.
For players who are staying at our tables for up to three hours, we are implementing some additional requirements.
Masks
All players will be required to wear masks during their reservation. We know there are some concerns over the efficacy and necessity of masks. Guidance from the WHO and CDC differ, and arguments can be made (rationally or otherwise) for either stance.
We did not come to our decision on this lightly.
If you are just visiting the shoppe to browse or purchase, masks are still recommended, but are not required.
Hand Washing
All players will be required to wash their hands upon entering the shoppe. This is already a strongly recommended practice, and most guests already do this. For game play, however, it is an absolute requirement.
Food
This is a little bit odd, but because masks are required for players, we must insist that no food is consumed at the tables while playing.
While there is debate about the efficacy of masks, it's very clear that touching and removing masks frequently not only reduces their potential effectiveness, it also increases the risk of cross-contamination.
Health Self-Assessments
When you make your reservation online, you'll be asked to confirm a few things. First and foremost, you'll be reminded of the rules above, and you'll need to check each box confirming that all members of your group agree to wear face protection, will wash their hands upon entering the shoppe, and will limit their stay to no more than three hours.
Beyond that, we've provided a basic set of “health screening” questions that you should review the day of your reservation. We do not review these with you; this is a self-assessment that we encourage you to do.
Private Shopping
With the additional people in the shoppe playing games, we recognize that some folks may have increased concerns about dropping by to browse and shop.
To assist those guests, we have added a Private Shopping experience alongside our existing Fast Pass.
Private Shopping is a 30-minute experience that takes place between 10:30am and noon, before the shoppe opens each day. During your private shopping experience you, or your group, will be the only guests in the shoppe.
Furthermore, we will ensure that no more than two Staff members are in the shoppe during your visit.
Phew
We know this was a lot of reading to go through, but we're doing our best to be as informative as possible.
As always, if you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask.
David, Priya, and the Meeple Madness Family
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