Free Cocktail – Help Fund a Gaming Bar

London is a big city. It has a population of over 8 million people – 12 million if you include the surrounding metropolitan area. It has a thriving games development industry and an equally vibrant games media community. What it doesn’t have is a dedicated place for us to drink alcohol, relax and play games together.

James Dance plans to change that. He’s been running a successful video-game-themed bar in Falmouth, served gaming cocktails at events around the country and now he wants to expand to London.

“To create cocktails and put them out through games media or fan projects like Minecraft and see them lead to countless stories; it’s amazing to see that level of interest in the work,” said Dance. “The downside is how little opportunity we have to make these available for people.”

I tried his cocktails at the ExPlay Festival last year and they are, indeed, fabulous. Dance and his photographer Will Edgecombe have an excellent sense of style and are great at working with a theme. Here’s a cocktail set inspired by indie roguelike game, The Binding of Isaac. You can find details of each shot over on The Drunken Moogle:

If you’ll be in London between 26th and 28th October, you should absolutely stop by the Eat Your Heart Out anatomically-correct cake exhibition and try some of Dance’s “World’s Most Disgusting Cocktails“.

As with any business expansion, opening a new bar in London will cost money. Lots of money. Dance is turning to his audience to help fund the new bar with a project on IndieGogo. Unlike many games-related crowdfunding projects, you’re definitely getting a return on this one.

The best tier for pocket change investment is undoubtedly the $10 offer – not only do you get your name on the custom wallpaper in London, you also get a free drink that can be redeemed at the new bar, at any of the pop-up events Dance is running, or at the existing Falmouth site for those of you in the south-west.

If you have a little more spare cash, the $30 tier will net you a round of four cocktails or an alcohol-free coffee pack and cocktail recipe. Go higher still and you could get a hoodie from InsertCoin, a signed copy of Arkham City, or your own private party for 100 people.

Check out and contribute to the IndieGoGo Loading London project here.