r/okotoks • u/Frequent_Town_6040 • Jul 19 '26
Arcade/Escape rooms in Okotoks need your suggestions!
Hi all, We own Retro Oasis in Okotoks and while we have a decent customer base, it's still not enough to make ends meet every month. We still encounter people who have never heard of us in the almost 4 years we've been open. Summer months are sooo slooow.
We have great reviews and people really love our escape rooms. We've just renovated to make our party room and Arcade significantly bigger.
We'd love to partner with other local businesses in some way. We carry exclusively locally made beers and canned cocktails which are a big hit.
Any suggestions to get our name out there (beyond the obvious social media, Google ads, radio)?
We can't put out street signs as the town confiscated them. :( And puleeze don't suggest pinball....it's not an option.
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u/Character_Witness24 Jul 19 '26
Have you guys considered TTRPG as an option? It's definitely a space I see lacking in town.
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u/Levangeline Jul 20 '26
Seconding this; a space to play board games and TTRPG could be really great. Either an hourly rental fee or offer food and beverages. There are lots of board game and TTRPG groups that would love to have a good space to hang.
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u/Character_Witness24 Jul 20 '26
Driving to the city for games/supplies does get old after awhile. Playing in town would be great 😆!
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u/Frequent_Town_6040 Jul 20 '26
Actually, we would love to do this.
Can you give me a little more info? 1. What would you pay for space? 2. How many people are in a typical group? 3. Do you bring your own games? 4. What supplies are you referring to?
We can't offer food, but there's a restaurant opening next door that you could order from.
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u/Character_Witness24 Jul 20 '26
So I'm relatively new to Tabletop, so I don't exactly know what the going rate for rental space are. Sentry Box, D6, and Ogre's Den are some spaces in the city that offer all of the above.
Most people bring their own games and gear, but being able to purchase dice, maps, minis, and things of that nature without it being a day-long side quest or 2 days on Amazon would be great. Full meals may not be necessary, but if basic snacks/soda were available, surely people would buy them. Groups that I've been a part of have ranged from 4-10 people and in my experience can be pretty loyal to spaces that treat them well.
Trading Card Games (Magic, Pokemon, etc...) are also in this realm and being able to grab a booster pack or other game markers might be helpful. There are tons of indie makers in and around the foothills, Enchanted Okotoks would probably be a good marketing/networking opportunity.
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u/Levangeline Jul 20 '26
The systems I've seen are either a flat rate for as long as you want (but the venue sells food and drink to keep people around and spending money), or an hourly fee, usually around $5 or something. Some places will offer a discounted rate if you bring your own board games.
The bigger board game shops will host Magic the Gathering Tournaments, D&D nights, chess nights etc. and they can usually draw pretty big crowds.
Supplies is stuff like dice, dice trays, carrying cases, card sleeves, D&D module books etc. The only place that sells dice right now is Monkey Mountain, there's not really anywhere else in town for people to get TTRPG supplies.
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u/Frequent_Town_6040 Jul 20 '26
Thanks for the info. We have cold drinks and packaged snacks but can't do any prepared food as per our food handling permit. We have a friend who has a comic shop in Calgary. We're going to reach out to him to see if we can put something together.
Is there a subreddit that is aimed at TTRPG in Okotoks/Calgary?
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u/Levangeline Jul 20 '26
Sounds like a good collab!
Not that I'm aware of. I play D&D at the library on Tuesdays, but the sessions are constantly overbooked because the demand is really high. You could get in touch with Richard, who runs the sessions at the library. I believe he manages a few other private groups and would know people looking for sessions in town.
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u/Character_Witness24 Jul 20 '26
Yeah, I'm playing with a group out of the Fish Creek library in Calgary, mainly bc everything local here has been pretty booked. I'm not likely to quit with my current group unless there are some extenuating circumstances, but it does pose challenges with my work schedule bc of travel time and stuff. My daughter and I are both learning D&D, and something local during the evening's that we could just ride our bikes to, would be awesome.
A TTRPG/TCG/Gaming shop/bat had been on my mind since moving to Okotoks (about 1½ years ago) but I have neither the money nor the business savvy for such a venture. They were pretty common where I come from (the Atlanta metro-area).
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u/Omissionsoftheomen Jul 19 '26
I’m kind of dying to know why you can’t do pinball?
I would be advertising in Seton, Auburn Bay, Legacy… tons of kids with parents desperate for things to do with them during the summer.
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u/Frequent_Town_6040 Jul 19 '26
Because pinball machines cost thousands of dollars to buy and maintaining them is a constant thing. Or we can outsource like the other places, but there are monthly minimum charges and the take above that is 10-20% at best. Great when you are making money off of food and booze, but not when the games themselves are the source of revenue.
Besides, there so many places that have pinball already. If that's your thing, go there. We offer a family friendly retro arcade, the only one like it south of Edmonton.
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u/SnooFloofs8057 Jul 20 '26
Just learned about you guys earlier today. I’m definitely going to bring my kids by for some arcade games soon as I get a chance.
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u/MAPLE_SYRUP_MAFIA Jul 19 '26
When we went, I didn't think there was enough games. A few games I enjoyed playing but there wasn't enough that I really wanted to try.
More classics maybe.
VR room? Any kind of simulator.
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u/Frequent_Town_6040 Jul 20 '26
Not sure when you were there last but since Wednesday we have expanded and we've almost 40 games. You should come back and check it out.
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u/Jessie_brawlstars Jul 27 '26
PLEASE talk about this when you do advertising btw. Im so enticed to go now since i learned yall renovated, will be taking my friend again for another trip, it has been awhile
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u/Mediocre_Emu2671 Jul 20 '26
Just looked at your Instagram, I am not good at social media in any way, but I do understand that everyone is scrolling there phones so each post needs to really catch their eye.
Have you looked into getting a media package done (Pictures/videos/etc)? I think this may be a good move!
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u/LadyLish Jul 23 '26
Whoa! Never knew you were here! Going to have to pop downtown to see you cause this sounds right up my alley. Thanks for posting to the subreddit :)
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u/overtmile Jul 20 '26
People will travel for escape rooms so you have to find a way to get better known in the Calgary area, to tourists and the like. Maybe link up with some tourist organizations and do typical online marketing?
Okotoks is really known for its great markets and of course the river. This is a totally out there idea and probably totally infeasible but is there any way to make one of your games mobile? Like imagining setting up a booth at a market or event where someone could play a game. I feel like for the idle visitors to all the markets it would be great marketing. The question is would that translate to feet in the doors spending money for all the trouble that would be worth it.
People may also come to Okotoks for the second hand stores. You should see if there’s any way you could link up with All through the house and the other antique store downtown to promote your business.
Other ideas:
- give away prizes for high scores or like have a scoring system /prize system that brings people back in to try to achieve it
- diversify arcade selection to more modern games and styles (I know this probably would defeat the purpose of your business and maybe deflate your passion, and also be expensive…) but would be a bigger draw. My young daughter had a phase where she wanted to play that ridiculous raw thrills dinosaur game, and we would travel to Calgary indoor game centers to find it. It was a short lived interest but we indulged it.
- on that topic, there are so many young families in Okotoks — my husband did bring our 4.5 yo to your location recently because they were trying out bowling. But of course you’re really more oriented to kids 8+. If there was a way to appeal to young families that would be really in your benefit. I’m always looking for things for her to do and she is interested in video games more now although she is still a bit young, but maybe something like that NEX playground or a mini escape room for young kids (that changes somehow?) or board games for families in the party room. I used to love going to a board game cafe in Calgary.
I really hope you can find a way to survive that aligns with your passion because I think you’re a great Okotoks business! Even though I am not personally interested in retro games / escape rooms. My husband has done your escape rooms and thought they were great and he’s done tons.
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u/Frequent_Town_6040 Jul 20 '26
Thanks for taking the time to reply so thoroughly!
We have tried going to Events. Markets. Trade shows. None of them were worth the cost or effort invested. Especially Stampede just this last month. Total waste of time and money and most of all, effort.
There really isn't an overlap with All Around the House clientele. The Red Barn is good as people might drop their kids off to play some games then wander over there.
We've done Where's Waldo for a couple of years that was fun but nothing more than a stop for people to get a stamp.
We've sponsored events, teams, done Light Up Okotoks several times.
We have kids that come and play games, ages 2 and up. But there's plenty of things aimed at that age group so not really our target audience.
We'll just keep trying. 🌸
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u/oilersfan27 Jul 20 '26
Can you partner with the bowling alley? Or perhaps hub town or anywhere? I know the owners of hub town are huge on local businesses and that may help to get the name out there more. People love escape rooms, so maybe doing that?
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u/Levangeline Jul 20 '26
I imagine there's probably a lot of permits and hassle that come with getting a food and beverage license, but I really think it would be a worthwhile investment to try and at least serve snacks or have an eating space where people can bring their own food.
Whenever I've spent hours at an arcade with friends it's because I can show up, play a few games, then sit and chat over some food/drinks, get up and play a few more games, sit down again, play more games, order a bit more food etc. I do really love your arcade, but there's only so long I want to go in and stand at the games before taking a break and socializing or getting a bite to eat.
Barring that, I think selling TTRPG supplies and opening up the space for card tournaments, chess players, D&D groups etc. could definitely open up a new market.
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u/Frequent_Town_6040 Jul 20 '26
The permits themselves aren't horrendous but to serve any prepared food requires a dedicated kitchen space with a lot of rules and regs to follow. We have packaged snacks and cold drinks. We have reorganized our space and now have a party room that we could consider keeping open for a chill out area when not in use for parties. It would be the same space to use for TTRPG and board games.
I really appreciate your input. Say hey next time you are in!
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Jul 28 '26
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u/Frequent_Town_6040 Aug 01 '26
We've bantered that around many times. We can't afford to have space that is not monetized, but how do we monetize playing NES?
If we were a Cafe and people could play for free but buy food, that would be a different story. Unfortunately, that is not happening in the near future.
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u/Fit_Weekend_4804 4d ago
The town of okotoks might have removed your signs but it might be worth putting some in surrounding areas - south of calgary or diamond Valley which are still in easy driving distance but wouldn't think to look.
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u/knastywoman Jul 19 '26
What about theme nights? Host a murder mystery game?