We have been looking at ways to reopen the shop and the gaming space which is a key aspect to Battlefield Hobbies. After a lot of thought we have come up with the following plan.
From Saturday the 18th of July the shop will open on Saturdays only from 9:00am till 5:00pm.
It will still be possible to collect orders placed online, ideally on weekdays between 4:15pm and 4:45pm.
There will be a limit of three people or three households in the retail space at any time. We would ideally have liked to implement a one way system but the layout of the retail space prevents that from happening so shoppers will need to be aware of maintaining social distancing within the store.
We will still take cash payments but if possible please look to pay with card.
The gaming area will be open on Saturdays, people wishing to play will need to book online in advance. Please be aware that a maximum of two households can be at each table and households must sit on opposite sides of the table. This is not an ideal situation but the current guidelines are such that anything else would, by our reading be in breach of the rules. It does mean that roleplaying games and boardgames are likely to be difficult or impossible to take place. The restrictions on performance have been interpreted by many as a flat ban on roleplaying games but the two household limit is probably a bigger restriction there.
Tables numbers in the main gaming area will be more than halved to only six tables and reconfigured to be 6’ by 5’, they will be arranged well spaced out with room for inactive players to step back from the table. The centre room or “War Room” cannot have the tables moved as they are built in so only one table in that room will be in use at any one time.
There will be two “slots” each day 9:30-12:30 and 13:00-16:00. If you want to play all day then you would need to book two slots. The maximum number of games allowed at one time will be four, three in the main gaming area and one in the War Room. Tickets will be available as an event for each day we are open. Please make sure you pick the right ticket when booking and list contact information for each household involved.
When gamers arrive, they will have their temperature taken remotely and everyone playing will be required to wear a face covering. Note, from the 24th of July face coverings will also, as per the new government regulations be required for those just in the shop. Tables that are used in the early session will not be used in the later session. Cleaning will be carried out during the week and with the shop only opening once a week any terrain used will be safe by the following weekend.
The toilets will be limited to one person in the room at a time. Obviously, this is not an issue for the ladies, but this will affect the use of the gents. When leaving the toilets use a paper towel to keep your hand from the door handle and dispose of it in the bin outside the door. A similar procedure should be used on the toilet handle.
Hand sanitiser will be provided for use and gamers are encouraged to wash their hands regularly, especially on arrival.
At the moment we cannot see a sensible way to open on a Wednesday night. Hopefully things will continue to improve, and we will be able to look to bring back club nights but now is not the time for that.
Your support is appreciated in these difficult times. Please bear with us as we work to reopen in as Covid safe way as we can.
STAY ALERT > KEEP YOUR DISTANCE > PLAY GAMES