SNEAK PEEK: Kettering bar has 300 board games, craft beers and no TVs

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

What to Know
By Mark Fisher
Dec 19, 2016
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The founders of "D20: A Bar with Characters" want to give their customers a bit of a nudge.

“We decided to not have any TVs in here. We feel our generation is not very good at communicating, so we want people to talk to each other, talk to strangers,” Andrew Sparks, co-founder of the bar with Christine Cooper, said. “That’s partly why we’re not doing video games — we’re doing board games instead.”

The bar is scheduled to open at 5 p.m. today, Dec. 19, at 2144 E. Whipp Road in the Oak Creek Plaza, in what its owners described as “beta mode.”

The couple thought they’d start out with 200 or so board and card games by the time they opened, but that has already grown to more than 300.

RELATED: New Kettering gamer bar unveils kick-ass beer list

Sparks and Cooper identified some of the board-game and card-game titles they expect to be in strong demand at the craft beer and gamer bar. Those include Twilight Imperium, Pandemic, Joking Hazard, Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity, League of Legends, Settlers of Catan, Fluxx, and the more throwback favorites such as Monopoly, Chutes & Ladders and CandyLand.

D20’s hours are 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to midnight on Sunday. The bar will be family-friendly during the daytime hours, serving coffee and tea and “mocktails” for kids, Sparks said.

The gaming phenomenon has accelerated and has been embraced by local pub owners. The “Hole in the Wall” bar in Dayton’s Oregon District has been offering free arcade games for three years, and the trend picked up steam with last month’s opening of gamer-friendly Bar 145/Reset in the Austin Landing development in Miami Twp., and the development of Canal Street Arcade & Deli, coming soon to the former Canal Street live-music space in downtown Dayton.

RELATED: Local restaurant relocating to the former Canal Street Tavern

RELATED: New Austin Landing pub to focus on vintage arcade games

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About the Author

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.